On Saturday 17th January, US president Donald Trump announced that he would impose 10% tariffs on the UK and European countries such as Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland, by 1st February 2026. These tariffs would then rise to 25% by 1st June 2026.
As volatility continues to grow over trade across the Atlantic, BIFA would like to remind its members of the specific clauses of BIFA’s Standard Trading Conditions (2025 edition) that offer protection during this uncertain time.
The STC give BIFA members the contractual right to engage as either agent or principal and they also subcontract (with an airline or a shipping line for example) on any terms whatsoever.
The key clauses that affected members should be familiarising themselves with during this time, are:
- Clause 10 (A) – which deals with scenarios where a customer/consignee fails to take delivery of the goods “Freight earned “ clause
- Clause 20 (A) an (B) Client indemnifies the Member for outgoings, costs etc. “Indemnity Clause”
- Clause 25 – confirms that the Member is not liable for failure to adhere to delivery dates etc
A BIFA TV episode will be released on Tuesday 20th January to discuss this in more detail.
As this is a developing matter, BIFA will continue to advise its members on the situation across all of its communications channels.
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