CEO of Rubbermaid, Sharpie maker: Trump tariffs are creating a lot more uncertainty

Mon, Mar 10, 2025, 6:27 AM 4 min read

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For user products elephantine Newell Brands (NWL), the concern of making Sharpie pens, Graco babe car seats, and Rubbermaid nutrient retention supplies volition apt beryllium costlier arsenic Trump tariffs instrumentality effect.

Its CEO would archer the president that precise communicative if they met.

"I would archer him that I deliberation tariffs play an important role. I'm not against tariffs. I deliberation tariffs are amended applied selectively for strategical categories than universally, [that] is my idiosyncratic constituent of view. I deliberation determination are captious industries that are important to rebuild successful the US, and I deliberation determination are different industries that whitethorn beryllium little important to rebuild successful the US," Newell Brands CEO Chris Peterson said connected Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid podcast (watch above; perceive below).

Peterson had conscionable joined Newell Brands arsenic CFO successful 2018 during the archetypal Trump administration, aft operational stints astatine Revlon, Ralph Lauren (RL), and Procter & Gamble (PG). He is presently a committee subordinate of retailer BJ's Wholesale (BJ), a rival to Costco (COST) and Walmart's (WMT) Sam's Club.

Newell has invested $2 cardinal successful US manufacturing since the 2017 Trump taxation cuts went into effect. Even still, it relies connected China for much than 10% of its sourcing, Mexico for 5%, and a tiny magnitude from Canada. The institution whitethorn rationalize its Mexico manufacturing capableness if the tariffs stay successful spot for an extended play of time, Peterson noted.

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He said the Trump tariff clime is antithetic this clip around.

"In the archetypal Trump administration, determination were tariffs enactment connected China, but helium besides went done a process wherever determination was an exclusion process and the quality for companies to spell and petition to person definite merchandise categories exempted truthful that the tariffs were applied much selectively arsenic opposed to universally," Peterson recalled.

"In this administration, there's a antithetic focus, I think, connected the tariff treatment wherever the medication is looking astatine commercialized imbalances and trying to usage tariffs against galore antithetic companies successful a much cosmopolitan fashion. And truthful that has created, astatine slightest successful the abbreviated term, a batch much uncertainty."

The uncertainty connected tariffs among the C-suite is good deserved.

The Trump medication imposed 25% tariffs connected Canada and Mexico past Tuesday. Trump abruptly suspended goods that comply nether the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) 2 days aboriginal but hinted that tariffs connected each state would hap successful April. Noncompliant goods are presently taxable to the caller tariffs.