Brunswick granted exclusion from tariffs on boat engines made in China

Business Business Headlines News

Brunswick Corp. said Thursday it has been granted exclusion from tariffs on Mercury Marine boat engines that are made in China and sold around the world, reducing the expected impact from tariffs in 2018 and 2019. The company said it now expects a net pretax tariff impact of about $17 million to $22 million in 2019, down from the $30 million to $35 million estimated on its last earnings call. It expects the 2018 impact to be lower than previous estimates of $4 million to $6 million. "This estimated impact for 2018 is based upon the eventual refund of the tariffs paid to date on these engines since July, net of customer tariff surcharges that will be refunded to customers by Mercury Marine, as soon as practical," the company said in a statement. Mercury's engines were originally on the list of 1,300 products targeted for a 25 percent tariff. The company's exclusion requests were approved by the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. "We remain hopeful that the trade issues which led to the imposition of tariffs and subsequent retaliatory tariffs can be resolved quickly and amicably between the U.S. and its trading partners," Brunswick Chief Executive Mark Schwabero said in the statement. Shares were not yet active premarket, but have fallen 18.6% in 2018, while the S&P 500 has fallen 7.7%.