Ecolab is placing a 5% surcharge on U.S. products to offset tariff costs.
Christophe Beck, chief executive of the St. Paul-based giant in water, hygiene and infection-prevention products, said Wednesday that the company will work to mitigate the baseline 10% tariffs President Donald Trump has placed on products from dozens of countries.
“However, global tariffs greater than 10% and the 145% tariff placed on China are having broader impacts on the cost of some raw materials, packaging and equipment,” Beck said in a statement. “We cannot fully mitigate these increases, necessitating adjustments in our pricing.”
Ecolab, with nearly $16 billion in annual revenue, has customers in more than 170 countries and produces its products as close to the customer as possible. That model offers some flexibility in mitigating trade tariff costs, but cannot completely cushion its U.S. operations from higher costs.
The 5% surcharge will go into effect May 1.
Beck said the flexibility of the business model limited the surcharge to that level, but he acknowledged more price actions may be necessary and that the company would adjust the surcharge based on additional announcements.
Other businesses, including Honeywell Building Automation, have already announced similar surcharges and price actions as a response to new tariffs announced by the Trump administration and reciprocal tariffs announced by trading partners.
The New Jersey-based watch company Movado Group announced in its fourth-quarter earnings report on Tuesday that it was not providing forward guidance for its new fiscal year given the uncertain environment and that it is planning price increases to offset recently announced tariffs.
