Tariffs Threaten Spanish Hat Exports to US Orthodox Market

Mace | 27th May 2025 | Diplomacy, International, Washington

Jerusalem,,Israel,16,Fevrier,2024,-,A,Crowd,Of,Hasidic

Spanish hatmaker Fernández y Roche faces a 10 per cent US import tariff, jeopardising its 40-year trade with Orthodox Jewish communities. With a 50 per cent duty possible by July, Spain has launched a €14.1 billion support plan while EU–US trade talks continue.

A Spanish hatmaker that has supplied Orthodox Jewish communities in the United States for more than four decades is facing severe disruption due to new American import tariffs. Fernández y Roche, based in Seville, produces roughly 30,000 black felt hats annually for export to customers in New York and New Jersey. A 10 per cent duty has now been imposed on those shipments, with a possible increase to 50 per cent pending further trade negotiations between Washington and Brussels. The company accounts for 60 per cent of the estimated 100,000 hats purchased each year by Orthodox Jewish men globally, with around half of Fernández y Roche’s output going to the US market. The hats, worn daily from the age of 13 and typically replaced every three years, retail at between $120 and $380 depending on the model. The new tariffs are part of a broader trade strategy initiated by President Donald Trump, who announced sweeping duties on EU goods earlier this year. The increase to 50 per cent has been ...

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