US buyers still snapping up luxury Gold Coast yachts despite tariffs

While American consumers of luxury goods in Australia are still enjoying a post-Covid shopping spree, tariffs are doing little to rein in the spending power of the top 1 percent of the US.

Last month, Gold Coast luxury boat builder Riviera loaded its largest-ever ship shipment onto a ship bound for Florida, where the company has been in business for 40 years and now sells boats worth up to $6.8 million.

Florida-based Riviera sales director Chris McCafferty told NewsWire that 10 percent tariffs on imports to the U.S. have done little to weaken demand.

“Tariffs were certainly part of the acquisition discussions over the last few months, but they do not appear to have had a material impact,” he said.

“What we are seeing is more of a normalizing correction in the market after the increased demand of the Covid years.”

“Business owners in Florida are aware of the tariffs, of course, but for the most part it is business as usual, so sales remain solid; the overall market outlook for luxury motor yachts in the US right now is stable.”

Riviera motor yachts leaving the factory in Coomera on the Gold Coast are subject to a 10 percent customs duty when they hit US shores.

The tariffs went into effect in April, so with an 18-month gap between orders and arrival, orders for Riviera boats were not stopped immediately as tariff announcements, pauses and changes affected much of the global economy.

People who can spend millions of dollars on a personal boat have almost never stopped placing orders with the Gold Coast factory.

Riviera president and owner Rodney Longhurst said the initial shock of the tariffs has faded.

“When the tariffs were first announced on April 2 this year, they had the effect of disrupting the market and, in our case, leading to a period in which potential boat buyers in the US adopted a ‘wait and see’ attitude… The level of the tariff was unknown and varied greatly by country,” he said.

“Once the tariff for our industry to Australia was set at 10 per cent, we could clearly move forward… we saw the market starting to normalise.”

This “normalisation” led to the company sending its largest single shipment – ​​15 boats – from Brisbane to Florida last month. The shipment is expected to arrive in the coming days before the world’s largest underwater boat show in Fort Lauderdale, north of Miami.

These boats will be displayed and then delivered to their waiting owners.

By far the majority of what Australia exports to the US is gold. After gold, meat and medicine come in second and third place.

Last year Australia imported $18.2 billion worth of machinery from the US; this was the main import from our allies.

Effective April 9, the US imposed a 10 per cent tariff on most Australian exports; a much lower basic tax than many other countries.

Washington also eliminated exemptions for items valued under $800.

EY Oceania modeling published this week shows Australia is among the few countries that have more to gain than lose from disruptions in Donald Trump’s trade war.

Brazilian beef is subject to a 50 per cent tariff in the US, making Australian beef more attractive.

China has imposed duties on US LNG and oil in retaliation for sweeping tariffs, again creating a gap that Australian exports will fill.