Today's nautical news comes to us from Sweden, and more specifically from the Hallberg Rassy shipyard, which has announced a warning on 24% of its workforce due to customs barriers.

The current uncertainty surrounding customs duties in the United States, is having a direct and very real impact on economic activity, as announced by the Swedish shipyard, a specialist in blue-water sailing yachts.

The shipyard, based in Ellös in the west of Sweden, a stone's throw from Gothenburg, has just informed its employees of the possibility of a plan to reduce the production workforce by 24%, or 34 positions, out of the 144 people employed in the manufacture of its yachts. 

Hallberg-Rassy, which generates sales of €37 million, sells nearly 30% of its yachts in the United States, and the current uncertainty is said to have frozen current sales, with potential customers taking a wait-and-see attitude. What's more, the Swedish krona's rise against the dollar, of almost 13% since the start of the year, is not making things any easier.  

In a context where the sailing market is bearish, Magnus Rassy, the shipyard's boss, told Actunautique Yachting Art today, that the warning announced, could be modified before its application in September, if the situation regarding customs duties changed, bearing in mind that Hallberg-Rassy is currently developing a new yacht, the HR370, which will be launched at the Boot in Düsseldorf in 2026.