By Anna Peverieri
(Reuters) – French electrical and digital infrastructure group Legrand does not see U.S. tariffs as a strategic issue and expects the financial impact of the 10% U.S. tariff on Chinese imports to be around $30 million, CEO Benoît Coquart told Reuters.
The company has factored the tariffs into its 2025 guidance and said any further increases would add to its cost of goods sold (COGS).
Slightly more than half of Legrand’s U.S. COGS is sourced locally, while 45%-50% comes from abroad, Coquart said. Of that, 15%-20% originates from China, 20% from Mexico, and the remaining 10% from other regions, he added.
Asked how Legrand plans to absorb the additional costs, Coquart said the company would either “pass them on through higher selling prices or offset them with cost-cutting measures”.
If the U.S. were to impose a 25% tariff on all imports from Mexico, the estimated financial impact would rise to $90 million, the company forecast.
Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods, effective February 4, with Chinese countermeasures taking effect this week.
He delayed a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada for a month until March 4 to allow negotiations over steps to secure U.S. borders and halt the flow of the drug fentanyl.
(Reporting by Anna Peverieri; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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