It's a strange time to be in the world, let alone in the powersports industry. And yet, plenty of people are. I've been asking folks from across the industry for their thoughts about the current, ever-evolving situation, as well as what their respective companies plan to do about it.
Most people have told me, unsurprisingly, that they're actively monitoring the situation to formulate future plans. And then, they've gone on to tell me that they can't tell me what those plans are at this time.
From across the powersports/automotive divide, I've of course noted strong reactions from multiple car and truck manufacturers, who've been lining up to say that they're halting shipments to the US entirely for the time being. Our excellent colleague, Christopher Smith, has been covering this in great depth over at our sister site, Motor1.
As a regular person who uses and buys products, I've also received emails from some manufacturers, warning me that prices are about to go up due to tariffs. Naturally, they'd like to encourage me to get some of whatever they've got in stock right now, because if you're them, why would you pass up this kind of sales opportunity?
But that's other people, and I'm here to tell you what a representative from Bombardier Recreational Products told me when I asked them about their plans for action regarding the tariffs. In case you're unfamiliar, BRP is the parent company of several powersports brands you probably know and love, including Can-Am, Ski-Doo, Sea-Doo, and Rotax.
Furthermore, BRP is a Canadian company that manufactures most of its vehicles in Mexico and Canada. So naturally, with the March 2025 imposition of 25% tariffs on most Canadian and Mexican imports to the US, there's been plenty of concern about how hard all of this would end up hitting BRP and its family of brands.
Was that concern unwarranted, though? For its part, BRP seems to think so. I asked a whole bunch of OEMs to share their thoughts on the tariffs, now that we have a better idea of what they're going to be, as well as when they'll go into effect.
A BRP representative told RideApart that, "As part of this announcement last week, the U.S. President extended the exemption from tariffs on all products from Mexico and Canada compliant with the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The vast majority of BRP's vehicles are produced in Canada and Mexico and all of these vehicles are USMCA-compliant, which means our units’ shipments to the U.S. remain tariff-free."
But that was only round one of the tariff talk that might have impacted BRP. About the most recent round formally announced on April 2, 2025, that BRP representative told RideApart, "Additionally, at the end of March, the U.S. President announced new auto tariffs effective April 3 that apply an additional 25% tariff on all cars and trucks made outside the U.S. We have determined that our vehicles are not subject to this tariff. "
It's not all sunshine and roses over at BRP, though. Even if BRP is correct in thinking that all its vehicles are USMCA-compliant, its Parts, Accessories, and Apparel section could still be impacted by the tariffs. New information, BRP says, is now required by US Customs; well beyond what was previously required under the previous way of doing things.
Since there's (maybe) a new 25% steel and aluminum tariff, this will impact parts and accessories that include those materials. We say maybe because at the time of writing, President Trump just announced another 90-day pause on tariffs. We know, we can't keep up either.
BRP says that both dealers and customers should expect delays in their ability to obtain those items while the company sorts through this current mountain of complexity. As other OEMs have told me, BRP is likewise monitoring the situation and doing its best to adjust as needed.
