Both iconic American brands — singled out for tariffs in part to inflict maximum pain on U.S. districts that voted for President Donald Trump or his allies — have warned investors that retaliatory measures will have tangible effects on their businesses. Wall Street should expect more companies to disclose pain ahead when they report second-quarter results in coming weeks as the list of goods in the crosshairs of major trading partners like the European Union, China and Mexico grows.
“We don’t know where it’s going to hit hardest, but it will hit companies like suppliers, transportation, retailers — a lot of different people,” said Bob Phibbs, head of the Retail Doctor, a consulting firm for retailers. “It will take months to assess what that means for the supply chain and just how it will escalate. There is no safe harbor.”
In addition to American motorcycles and bourbon, the EU is also targeting a variety of products from tobacco and fruit juice to apparel and playing cards.
The potential impact from these duties spans the corporate landscape, from packaged-food and soft-drink companies such as Hormel Foods Corp. and Coca-Cola Co. to consumer-goods conglomerates like Newell Brands Inc. and closely held jeans maker Levi Strauss & Co.
