Clayton said the company is already responding to Trump’s election, including by moving more of its production out of China as quickly as possible to protect itself against any new U.S. tariffs. “We will continue our inventory build in the U.S., unabated, likely until the increased tariffs are enforced,” he added.
SYDNEY—When the leader of global appliance maker Breville spoke to shareholders at its annual meeting on Thursday, he moved quickly to address the elephant in the room.
“Now that [Donald] Trump has won the U.S. Presidential election, the near-term risk of material tariff increases on consumer goods coming out of China has solidified,” Chief Executive Jim Clayton said.
Trump during his campaign signaled that he would lead a more combative tariff-focused trade regime than in his first term, when he launched a trade war with China and imposed higher levies on steel and aluminum from Europe, Canada and Mexico.
Trump’s plans now remain unclear. He has talked about a tariff of 10% to 20% on all imports, a tariff of 60% or more on imports from China, and tariffs of up to 100% on some imports from Mexico.
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