Electrolux to pass on Section 232 increases
Swedish white goods manufacturer Electrolux Group says it is working to pass increased US steel-containing product tariff costs onto consumers, flagging a hit in demand and market growth, Kallanish reports.
Chief executive Yannick Fierling told analysts in a recent earnings call that US Section 232 tariffs on products that contain steel and aluminium, applicable since 6 April, are major headwinds in the North American market.
“General market pricing should logically adjust to reflected associated costs,” he said. “232 is putting a significant level of pressure on the entire competitive landscape, but it is very difficult to predict how these external factors will be evolving in the coming months. And as a consequence, our prices would be evolving in the coming months.”
The company has announced price increases of 5-20% in North America, aimed at offsetting the negative impact from tariffs.
“However, we will not be butter spreading the price increase. We have products which are more impacted than others. And we have product categories which are more under, I would say, competitive pressure than others,” the ceo added.
After experiencing the worst first quarter in ten years in the US market, Electrolux revised the market outlook from neutral to negative. The Brazilian home appliance market developed positively in the quarter, with the company changing its 2026 outlook for the region to positive, from neutral.
Demand expectation in Europe remains unchanged with geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty weighing on consumer sentiment. Noting the European market is “on a 12-year low”, the manufacturer says its outlook continues to be neutral.
Under the revised Section 232 tariffs, imported finished goods made with steel, aluminium and copper will face a 25% tariff applied to the product’s full value. This replaces the 50% duty on derivative items, which only covered the value of the metal inside them. Items with less than 15% metal content will be exempted and, instead, face the 10% global minimum tariff imposed by Washington.
For steel end-users, working out the exact costs of doing business in the US involves “a lot of dynamics and a lot of mathematics”, according to Electrolux chief financial officer Therese Friberg. Originally, exporters faced reciprocal tariffs and the IEEPA tariffs, then Section 122 for a period of time, and now the new Section 232.
FRom: Kallanish
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