Disclaimer: We’re not customs brokers, lawyers, or tax professionals. What follows comes from our lived experience importing vehicles. It’s intended as a guide, not legal advice.
A Changing Landscape
Every year, the landscape for importing classic vehicles shifts a little. In 2025, the changes were bigger than usual, and anyone considering a Defender project needs to understand how tariffs and inspections now work in practice. We’ve lived through these updates ourselves, and this article breaks down what they mean for collectors and enthusiasts planning to bring a Land Rover into the United States.
How It Used to Be
For years, importing a classic vehicle into the U.S. followed a predictable formula. You had the obvious costs: Logistics, shipping, insurance, and customs paperwork and then you had taxes. Unless you held a U.S. dealer license, there was no escaping both the sales tax and the import duty.
Dealers had an advantage here. They could bring in a vehicle without paying sales tax at the port, though they would eventually owe income tax once that vehicle was sold. For everyone else: Enthusiasts, collectors, or LLC owners, the rules were simple: pay both.
Traditionally, the duty on passenger vehicles was 2.5 percent of the declared value. Our most recent Defender was assessed at 2.9 percent, a small bump that usually comes down to rounding or customs handling adjustments. Sales tax varied by state. In Florida, where we operate, the baseline was six percent, but local surtaxes pushed it closer to eight percent. In comparison for example: California, the range was even higher, with a base of 7.25 percent and a combined rate that could climb as high as 10.25 percent depending on the county.
That was the system most importers had learned to live with. But then came April 2025.
A New Era of Tariffs
On April 5, 2025, the rules of the game changed. A new universal tariff of ten percent was placed on all imports, applied on top of the existing duties. For cars, the math now looked like this: the traditional 2.5 percent duty, plus the new 10 percent tariff, creating an effective rate of roughly 12.5 percent.
Some countries were hit even harder. European Union vehicles saw their combined tariffs rise to around 25 percent. Some Middle Eastern and North African countries were hit especially hard, with tariffs ranging from 28% in Tunisia and 30% in Algeria up to 39% in Iraq and 41% in Syria. These rates reflect a tougher U.S. stance on regions with persistent trade imbalances. China, meanwhile, faces one of the steepest overall burdens: average tariffs around 51% across most goods, and an eye-watering 247.5% on electric vehicles, effectively shutting them out of the U.S. market.
Turkey, where our builds originate, has not been placed in those upper brackets. Vehicles imported from Turkey are currently charged the baseline tariff totalling the ~12.5 percent effective duty, which places them at the lower end of today’s tariff structure compared to Europe or the Middle East.
It is also important to note that the 25-year exemption still applies, but only in terms of EPA and DOT compliance. This exemption can relieve a vehicle from emissions or safety testing, but it does not waive tariffs. Even antique vehicles older than twenty-five years are subject to the new universal tariff.
The Inspection Headache
The tariffs themselves are only part of the challenge. Since April, inspections at U.S. ports have become stricter and more time-consuming. Where clearance once took three to seven days, it now often stretches into fifteen to twenty-five. Each extra day comes with port storage fees, which can add two to three thousand dollars to the process.
So the cost of importing today isn’t only about duties—it’s about delays. Those weeks stuck at the port tie up cash and push back delivery schedules, frustrating both importers and buyers waiting for their vehicles.
What It Means for the Market
The ripple effects are already clear. Businesses that import European classics have little choice but to raise prices, since tariffs eat directly into their margins. Buyers end up paying more for the same car, and sales become harder to close.
This is where Turkey’s position becomes strategic. With Turkey positioned at the lower end of the new tariff changes, vehicles restored here can remain competitively priced compared to regions facing steeper rates. For enthusiasts who want a Defender without unnecessary markup caused by tariffs, it makes a difference.
Passenger or Work Truck? The Chicken Tax
There’s one more complication that can catch people off guard: how Customs classifies your vehicle. Passenger cars fall under HTSUS 8703 and are taxed at the standard duty rate. But if Customs decides the build looks like a work truck, it can be reclassified under HTSUS 8704, which carries a 25 percent duty. This is what’s known as the “chicken tax.”
That single decision can add thousands to the import bill. The general rule is simple enough: if it looks like a truck designed to haul, Customs will tax it like one. To avoid that outcome, restorations should emphasize passenger use. Features like multiple seating rows, interior comfort, and aesthetic finishes help. Non-functional cargo elements, such as teak decking, can signal that the vehicle is decorative rather than utilitarian. Supporting photos, documentation, and marketing materials that present the car as a collector’s item or personal-use vehicle also strengthen the case for passenger classification.
Looking Ahead
Importing a Land Rover Defender into the United States in 2025 is not impossible, but it is undeniably more expensive and more complex. Between the universal tariff, the risk of higher duties based on classification, and the delays caused by extended inspections, the process demands patience and preparation.
For buyers, this means planning around higher costs than in years past. For importers like us, it means adapting to the new landscape while still delivering a vehicle that feels worth every hurdle.
Turkey’s current position at the lower end of tariff changes offers a meaningful advantage, and we believe it will continue to make sense as a source for custom Land Rover restoration projects. The cars themselves haven’t changed—only the rules have. And that makes choosing the right partner and origin more important than ever.
If you are exploring a custom Defender build, we hope this information helps you navigate the process with clearer expectations. And if you’d like to talk about what today’s import environment means for your specific project, we’d be glad to share our experience directly.