The Ripple Effect: The Link Between Trade Tariffs and Trademark Renewals

One core requirement in many jurisdictions for maintaining or renewing trademark registrations is use in commerce , for example in the United States. If your goods or services are no longer sold in a given country or region, or if they are delayed, discontinued, or rerouted, you may become vulnerable to non-use challenges. Tariffs can contribute to such disruptions in several ways: 

High import duties may make bringing finished goods or components into certain markets prohibitively expensive, resulting in reduced sales volumes or even the withdrawal of specific product lines. 

Supply chain disruptions, including delays and increased logistics costs can also make it difficult to maintain consistent distribution in affected markets. 

If tariffs or trade barriers force companies to relocate manufacturing or sourcing, this may create a temporary or complete interruption of commercial activity in certain regions, potentially triggering non-use cancellation risks. 

As a result, obtaining jurisdiction-specific legal advice on the requirements applicable to your trademark portfolio is a key element of due diligence, particularly across markets where you currently operate or plan to maintain commercial activity. 

Tariff uncertainty can lead to increased costs (including import duties, customs compliance, supplier changes, and shipping expenses), which places significant pressure on profitability. Under such cost constraints, companies are often required to make strategic decisions about where to allocate investment. For trademark renewals, this may translate into:

• Prioritizing renewals in markets that are stable, high-value, or strategically important.
• Allowing certain registrations in less critical or loss-making jurisdictions to lapse, when continued maintenance is not cost-justified.
• Deferring renewals (where possible) or reducing the scope of protection by limiting classes of goods or services to reduce renewal costs.

However, allowing trademark rights to lapse or narrowing their scope of protection can have significant long-term consequences. Competitors may seek to register similar marks, brand protection may be weakened, and future market re-entry may become more difficult and costly.

Tariffs often drive companies to relocate manufacturing or change supply sources in order to avoid high import duties or comply with origin-based trade rules, such as those found in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and rules of origin requirements. These shifts can have significant implications for trademark strategy in several ways:

If production is moved to a new country, companies may need or strategically choose to secure trademark protection in that jurisdiction (or broader region), both for enforcement purposes and to protect local branding, packaging, and market positioning.

When goods are routed through new jurisdictions, they may enter target markets under different tariff regimes. In such cases, having local trademark registrations can strengthen customs enforcement, support anti-counterfeiting actions, and facilitate regulatory compliance.

As a result, a global trademark renewal strategy must be closely aligned with supply chain and manufacturing decisions, as new production locations can create additional jurisdictions of exposure requiring ongoing IP protection.

By increasing the cost of legitimate goods, tariffs can create opportunities for counterfeit products or grey market goods to enter the market. In turn, this can damage brand reputation and weaken the legal strength of registered trademarks. Key considerations include:

Counterfeit goods may flood markets where genuine products become too expensive, or where supply is restricted due to tariffs, import delays, or trade barriers.

Customs authorities play a critical role in intercepting infringing and counterfeit goods at the border. However, without properly registered trademarks in the relevant jurisdiction, a brand owner’s ability to enforce rights may be significantly limited.

As a result, brand owners may need to increase investment in monitoring and enforcement activities, making it even more essential to keep trademark registrations active, strategically maintained, and up to date across key markets.