US tariffs hit Carinthian exporters as repayment remains uncertain

Carinthia, an Austrian state with strong export activity, saw its exports to the United States fall by almost 15 percent in 2025, according to the Carinthian Economic Chamber and Statistics Austria. ORF reported that US tariffs had weakened companies’ competitiveness, forcing them either to raise prices or absorb the additional costs themselves.

The United States must repay some of the tariffs following a Supreme Court ruling, but it remains unclear when the repayments will be made.

Treibacher Industrie AG, a metallurgy and chemicals specialist in Althofen, was among the companies affected. Press officer Birgit Bucher said the company’s business remained relatively stable and that the US continued to be an important market. However, individual cases had caused short-term disadvantages because the conditions faced by the European company differed from those in other regions.

Geislinger, whose largest production plant is in Bad St. Leonhard in the Lavant Valley, has also had to pay additional tariffs. The company could pass the costs on to customers, but an economic loss still arose from the administrative work required to keep track of changing rules and determine how to apply them, managing director Torsten Philipp said.

Companies are particularly concerned about the lack of certainty for planning. Philipp said even US authorities were sometimes unsure which rules applied to repayments. Geislinger had been told the process could take several months, while the company did not know whether or when the money would arrive or whether another court ruling could change the situation.

The Carinthian Economic Chamber expects no improvement in the state’s foreign trade figures for the first half of the year.