‘Globally Diverse’ Factory ‘Footprint’ Shielding Lenovo From US Tariffs, Says CEO

Lenovo remains committed to China as part of its “globally diverse manufacturing footprint,” despite the Trump administration’s Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods, said CEO Yuanqing Yang on a fiscal Q1 call Wednesday. Lenovo is standing by its recent decision to invest more than $300 million in a “new smart manufacturing facility" in Shenzhen, he said. “That will not be changed.” The administration this week deferred 10 percent tariffs to Dec. 15 on several products Lenovo ships to the U.S. from China, including laptops and PC monitors, but left in place Sept. 1 tariffs on other goods, including desktop computers (see 1908130028). Lenovo has “built up efficiencies to offset” the U.S. tariff increase, said the CEO. “We reside in multiple locations around the world, which gives us a lot of flexibility compared with our key competitors in that atmosphere.”