Polaris: Tariffs on Chinese metal could cost the company millions

Medina-based Polaris says potential tariffs on metal imports from China could cost the company millions of dollars.

The Trump administration in March decided to slap 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and 10 percent tariffs on imported aluminum. Several U.S. trading partners were exempted temporarily.

On Monday, the Trump administration announced it would hold off on imposing tariffs on Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Australia, Brazil and the EU until at least June 1.

The administration is preparing for trade talks with China later this week.

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Polaris said that if the tariffs stick on Chinese metals, that will increase the company's costs by $10 million to $15 million.

CEO Scott Wine last week lamented that he does not want to see trade talks raise tariffs and make it harder to do business.

"We support positive modification to trade agreements and will always advocate for free and fair trade but do not expect efforts to achieve these goals to result in higher prices for our customers, impact our ability to sell internationally or otherwise harm our business," he said during a conference call with analysts.

In the first quarter of this year, the recreational vehicle manufacturer had net income of $56 million on sales of $1.3 billion.

NPR contributed to this report.