Swiss chocolate giant Lindt & Spruengli said it will move some of its production out of the US to Europe to avoid retaliatory tariffs from Canada, one of its largest markets.
President Trump’s stiff 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and a 20% levy on China, took effect Tuesday at midnight.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday said he would retaliate with 25% tariffs against $155 billion in American goods also at midnight, with plans to keep them in place until the US reverses its trade policy.
Major companies, including Honda and Volkswagen, have reportedly discussed plans to boost their US manufacturing to avoid President Trump’s tariffs.
Lindt is one of the first to announce a production shift away from the US to avoid retaliatory tariffs from Canada – sending its shares up 7%.
Lindt already produces 95% of the chocolate it sells in the United States at five facilities in the country.
Those US-based factories also supply Lindt products to Canada – so the sweets and treats could be hit by Trudeau’s import tariffs.
In a statement, Lindt told The Post it has been taking action to protect its Canadian business from getting hampered by the tariffs.
“These include the possibility of supplying countries like Canada and Mexico from our European production facilities,” a Lindt spokesperson told The Post.
Currently, half of Lindt’s Canadian supply comes from the US. The other half is produced in Europe.
“The volumes that we source currently for Canada can all be shifted to Europe,” CEO Adalbert Lechner said after Lindt reported its full-year earnings on Tuesday.
“We are able to source 100% from Europe,” he told Reuters.
However, the company said it does not expect an impact on its US production since it has plans to grow in the US market, as well, a Lindt spokesperson told The Post.
Lindt has been rushing to send its US-manufactured treats over the border and stockpiling inventories in Canada so it can have a buffer period to fix its supply chain, which it expects to complete by the middle of the year.
Martin Hug, the company’s chief financial officer, said it would be slightly more expensive to transport its chocolate products to Canada from Europe than it was to send them from the US.
But it will still cost less than it would to fork over extra costs under Canada’s import tariffs, he added.
“Cost wise, we only expect marginal impacts,” a spokesperson told The Post.
Hug said the shift to European manufacturing could also help the Lindt brand avoid consumer backlash in Canada, since shoppers may shy away from made-in-the-US goods as tensions mount.
With Post wires
