CEOs Want Tariff Refunds As Earnings Take a Hit (cnbc.com) 26
Companies including Philips and Pandora say they plan to seek tariff reimbursements after the Supreme Court ruled Trump's sweeping duties illegal, with the U.S. potentially facing up to $175 billion in refunds. Many firms say tariffs hurt earnings, but CFO survey results suggest companies applying for refunds are unlikely to pass savings back to consumers through lower prices. CNBC reports: Companies across Europe are flagging disruption from tariffs as a factor contributing to a skewed earnings picture. "We will ask for a rebate of tariffs in line with the government policies," Roy Jakobs, CEO of healthtech firm Philips, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Wednesday morning. "We have been saying that of course we prefer a world without tariffs, without trade barriers, because we want to serve patients." Philips included the cost of tariffs within its full-year guidance and did not assume the impact from any potential refunds. Danish jeweler Pandora also announced its intention to apply for a rebate on Wednesday, with CEO Berta de Pablos-Barbier telling CNBC that tariffs were a "headwind" to earnings in the first quarter. "We have no news yet, so we cannot count on any of that refund," she told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe." "Let's wait and see."
De Pablos-Barbier noted that the biggest factor impacting Pandora's profit this quarter is the cost of silver, which more than quadrupled in the last 18 months. She reiterated the firm's pivot from pure silver to platinum as a way of reducing costs. BMW, Daimler, Renishaw, Smith & Nephew and Continental all flagged tariffs as negatively impacting results in a slew of earnings updates on Wednesday, but the companies did not say whether they are applying for rebates. Businesses often bear some of the cost of tariffs, with some costs passing on to consumers through price hikes. Tariffs have had an overall inflationary impact on the economy, economists have told CNBC.
Despite the refund process potentially covering more than 330,000 importers on roughly 53 million entries, per court documents, consumers are unlikely to benefit, according to the results of the latest CNBC CFO Council quarterly survey. Twelve of the 25 chief financial officers interviewed said their company plans to apply for tariff refunds, however, none intend to lower prices in response.
De Pablos-Barbier noted that the biggest factor impacting Pandora's profit this quarter is the cost of silver, which more than quadrupled in the last 18 months. She reiterated the firm's pivot from pure silver to platinum as a way of reducing costs. BMW, Daimler, Renishaw, Smith & Nephew and Continental all flagged tariffs as negatively impacting results in a slew of earnings updates on Wednesday, but the companies did not say whether they are applying for rebates. Businesses often bear some of the cost of tariffs, with some costs passing on to consumers through price hikes. Tariffs have had an overall inflationary impact on the economy, economists have told CNBC.
Despite the refund process potentially covering more than 330,000 importers on roughly 53 million entries, per court documents, consumers are unlikely to benefit, according to the results of the latest CNBC CFO Council quarterly survey. Twelve of the 25 chief financial officers interviewed said their company plans to apply for tariff refunds, however, none intend to lower prices in response.
Prices are sticky (Score:3)
Anyone expecting corporations to not try to make a profit and extract maximum value for their shareholders ignore that that's their fiduciary duty. If they don't reward their customers, then maybe they'll lose out to a competitor. But otherwise they have no incentive to give it back.
For both Phillips and Pandora, their products are bigger ticket items. So not refunding some cost on a CPAP, defibrillator, or wedding ring isn't likely to cost them too much repeat business as long as they keep their prices competitive by the time the next hospital capital expenditure or anniversary rolls around. Whereas a place like Costco undercutting with the rebate might be able to ride customer sentiment into a bunch of new memberships in the next cycle.
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Anyone expecting corporations to not try to make a profit and extract maximum value for their shareholders ignore that that's their fiduciary duty.
Fortunately they're exempt from any ethical duty.
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Anyone expecting corporations to not try to make a profit and extract maximum value for their shareholders ignore that that's their fiduciary duty.
Fortunately they're exempt from any ethical duty.
There are specific "ethical funds" which you are free to put all your personal pension savings into.
Re:Prices are sticky (Score:4, Interesting)
"Anyone expecting corporations to not try to make a profit and extract maximum value for their shareholders ignore that that's their fiduciary duty."
It is not. That's just a lie that sociopaths say. A company has no inherent duty, a company's values and responsibilities are only what its owners say they are. You are just assuming that everyone believes exploitation is all that matters because you personally believe that. Family-owned businesses traditionally don't prioritize "extracting maximum value".
"If they don't reward their customers, then maybe they'll lose out to a competitor. But otherwise they have no incentive to give it back."
Yes, they do, you just think ethics aren't a thing. The problem here is you.
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Family-owned businesses
These aren't privately owned businesses. They are corporations who officers have a responsibility to their shareholders. And I am not their shareholder nor an executive acting on their behalf. Nor am I naive enough to think that their shareholders will see it in their best interests to return a paycheck that they don't have to.
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And of course pass those onto the customers (Score:3)
Itâ(TM)s should be refunded without needing a (Score:3)
These were illegally applied tariffs. They have no grounds in sanity. There should be zero need to explain why itâ(TM)s s needed.
Trump pushed these out to anyone out anywhere that dared challenge the omniscience of the current president and his current whims. Itâ(TM)s was never based in genuine unfairness
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So, ignoring this, um, threat... (Score:5, Informative)
I guess they'll be ignoring this: Trump says he will 'remember' companies that don't seek tariff refunds [reuters.com]
"It's brilliant if they don't do that," Trump said in a phone conversation with CNBC anchors that was aired live. "If they don't do that, I'll remember them. I will tell you that, because I'm looking to make this country strong," the Republican president said.
Trump, who has characterized the payment of tariffs by U.S. importers as patriotic, on Tuesday appeared to characterize American companies that are pursuing refunds as the "enemy."
As he does with anyone who does and doesn't do what he wants.
Trump said the Supreme Court "could have helped us" by upholding his sweeping global tariffs.
By ignoring the laws governing those tariffs and the fact that Congress has the power over most/those tariffs.
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Nothing would give me greater joy than to watch him attempt to draw the face of a clock on live tv. No way he could pass that cognitive test.
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Without enough practice, many Alzheimer's patients can learn to get good enough.
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Correction: "With enough". Damn, I hope such simple typos are not a sign of Heimalzers, or whaddever itz called.
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Who pays the tariffs? Who gets the refund? (Score:2)
Any rational person would understand who pays for the tariffs. That group of course excludes all MAGA.
However it is a grey area as to which domestic entity pays the tax. The importer might pay it by paying the tax and not raising the price to they sell to. Given the margins most importers work with that is not likely. I don't think many of them make more than 10% on their imported goods, and 5% of tariff would make their business unsustainable.
So mostly the consumer pays in the form in higher pr
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Any rational person would understand who pays for the tariffs.
Or anyone who does a quick Google search, or reads the Wikipedia page, for Tariffs. It's an *import* tax, paid by importers.
The importer might pay it by paying the tax and not raising the price to they sell to. Given the margins most importers work with that is not likely. I don't think many of them make more than 10% on their imported goods, and 5% of tariff would make their business unsustainable.
Expanding on that, importers and/or retailers may absorb these types of tariffs, at least for a bit, if they're small and they think they will be short-lived, but Trump is being capricious and vindictive with them. Trump is using tariffs in the wrong way, as a simple cudgel to get things he wants w/o going through the more-normal route of actual negotiations and/or punish countries
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Trump convinced his MAGA followers that China and other Countries would be paying all of these tariffs.
If only Trump had imported his wall from Mexico. :-)
prost! (Score:2)
land of the free!
FWIW (Score:2)
The process is such that the IEEPA refunds will proceed with the liquidation of the imports.
Customs basically finally closes a file (liquidates) about 315d after the entry. So if something was imported on July 1 2025, then May 12 2026 it would liquidate.
Importers having filed their CAPE data (which was super easy, took me about 15 mins for more than 1200 entries), those entries will be flagged for the return of the IEEPA duties plus interest, which is a usual customs thing.
Note that 'issuing the refund' an
Funny how these things play out, isn't it? (Score:2)
I mean, most everyone's mad at Trump over implementing these tariffs (and rightfully so, IMO, if only because of how haphazardly it was implemented). But now, you've got companies demanding a refund when it was mostly the consumer who really paid them. (I didn't see many places eating the cost of the tariffs and holding prices where they were? If that had happened, the typical consumer wouldn't have cared so much about them.)
Knowing these companies have no plans to cut prices, it makes it sort of accurate f
Ha ha you paid Trump's tax (Score:2)
At some point you got to start wondering when you're going to learn.
I don't know what you traded for real cash money out of your wallet in exchange for getting Trump as president a second time but was it worth it? Do you even have the guts to list out what it was?
Who am I kidding nobody who supports Trump is going to go anywhere near this thread or any other thread that could potentially be critical of Donald Trump. A
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