Fitbit, the tech company known for its wearable fitness trackers, announced it will shift production out of China to avoid the ongoing tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Beijing.
The company expects that, beginning in January, its smartwatches and fitness trackers “will not be of Chinese origin,” Ron Kisling, CFO of Fitbit, said.
“In 2018, in response to the ongoing threat of tariffs, we began exploring potential alternatives to China,” Kisling said in a statement. “As a result of these explorations, we have made changes to our supply chain and manufacturing operations and have additional changes underway.”
The Trump administration has been engaged in a protracted trade war with China as officials from the world’s two largest economies continue negotiations over a trade deal.
Due to the ongoing trade tensions, some companies have explored moving manufacturing out of China to avoid having to pay duties on goods shipped to the U.S. Others, however, are examining whether they can absorb the cost of the tariffs or will have to pass them on to consumers through price increases.
While the trade war has been raging for more than a year, consumers are set to feel its effects in their pocketbooks for the first time. The Trump administration slapped 15% duties on a host of consumer goods, including clothing, electronics, and footwear, on Sept. 15, and a second round of levies is set to take effect Dec. 15.
President Trump has urged companies that rely on China as a manufacturing base to move their operations back to the U.S., but many who have done so have instead moved their production to countries in Southeast Asia.
