Transit Connect

Tariff circumvention

As the Transit Connect is a light truck assembled outside of North America, Ford imports the first and second-generation Transit Connect into the United States as a passenger vehicle, equipping it with rear side windows, rear seats (and rear seat belts) in an effort to circumvent the 25% tariff on imported light trucks, as imported passenger vehicles were subject to a lower 2.5% tariff. The first-generation vehicles were exported from Turkey to Baltimore on cargo ships owned by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics. Upon their arrival, cargo examples of the Transit Connect were converted into commercial vehicles at a WWL Vehicle Services Americas Inc. facility. With the exception of Transit Connect Wagons, rear windows on Transit Connects were replaced by metal panels and rear seats/seatbelts were deleted; the removed parts were recycled.