A Pandora bracelet at the Pandora Concept Store.
Franziska Krug | German selection getty images
Companies around the world are lining up for reimbursement, as the impact of US tariffs becomes apparent during the first quarter earnings season.
PHILIPS And Pandora on Wednesday announced its intention to apply for tariff exemptions in view of President Donald Trump’s “Emancipation Day” in April 2025.
After the Supreme Court ruled Trump’s sweeping duties illegal in February, the Trump administration launched a portal for processing refunds that could leave the US in trouble for redressing an estimated $175 billion.
The first tranche is expected to be released around May 11, according to an order filed on Tuesday in the US Court of International Trade, Reuters reports.
Companies across Europe are pointing to disruption from tariffs as a factor contributing to the poor earnings picture.
“We will seek tariff relief in line with government policies,” Roy Jacobs, CEO of healthtech firm Philips, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday morning.
“We’ve been saying that certainly we prefer a world with no tariffs, no trade barriers, because we want to serve patients.”
Philips included the cost of the tariffs in its full-year guidance and did not estimate the impact from any potential refunds.
Danish jeweler Pandora also announced its intention to apply for exemptions on Wednesday, with CEO Berta de Pablos-Barbiere telling CNBC that the tariffs were “contradictory” to earnings in the first quarter.
“We don’t have any news yet, so we can’t count on that refund,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe.” “let’s wait and see.”
De Pablos-Barbiere said the biggest factor impacting Pandora’s profit this quarter was the price of silver, which has more than quadrupled in the past 18 months. He reiterated the company’s move from pure silver to platinum as a way to reduce costs.
BMW, Daimler, Renishaw, Smith & Nephew and Continental all flagged the tariffs as having a negative impact on results in earnings updates on Wednesday, but the companies did not say whether they were applying for exemptions.
Consumer prices unlikely to fall
The refund process potentially covers more than 330,000 importers on nearly 53 million entries, according to the results of the CNBC CFO Council’s latest quarterly survey, but is unlikely to benefit consumers, according to court documents.
Twelve of the 25 chief financial officers interviewed said their companies planned to apply for tariff refunds, however, none intended to reduce prices in response.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said the refusal to pass on rebates to consumers through lower prices is “not surprising.”
After taking into account the toll on U.S. businesses — including higher costs and supply chain adjustments to mitigate tariff risk — CFOs may be wondering “this is just compensation,” Zandi said. “They will keep those (refunds).”
— CNBC’s Jessica Dickler also contributed to this report.
