Zebra Technologies is moving ahead with plans to relocate more manufacturing from China ahead of looming tariff hikes, CEO Anders Gustafsson told CNBC on Tuesday.
The Trump administration’s next planned tariffs, scheduled for Dec. 15, target consumer items such as toys, laptops and smartphones.
The electronics maker has already done that for products that were hit by earlier tariffs, Gustafasson said.
“We’re now moving to other Southeast Asian countries with our current partners and they’ve been replicating our lines,” he said on “Mad Money.”
Gustafsson’s interview with Jim Cramer follows news that the Lincolnshire, Illinois-based company landed a contract with the U.S. Postal Service worth more than $500 million. It reported a mixed third quarter on Tuesday, but its shares rose almost 7% on the day.
Zebra makes bar-code scanners, printers and other mobile computing products for businesses. Cramer noted that he has been a long-time fan of the company.
Zebra Technologies’ decision to move its supply chain out of China was in response to President Donald Trump’s long-running trade war with the country. Trump has called for companies to move manufacturing elsewhere, including to the U.S., in order to avoid tariffs on Chinese imports.
Trump said earlier this month that the U.S. and China agreed to a preliminary “phase one deal” as the countries try to end the trade war. While nothing has been signed, officials have said they were “close to finalizing” the agreement.
If a deal isn’t reached by Dec. 15, that round of tariffs will still likely go into effect, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC earlier this month.
When asked by Cramer if Zebra was concerned about the quality of its products that had been moved, Gustafsson said he was not. He said the company is working with established partners as it moves to new factories.
“They’re going into existing facilities, so we think the start-up issue should be minimal,” he said.
