'Short-term, more conservative view': Local businesses struggle to come to terms with US tariffs
Local businesses are currently grappling with an «erratic, unpredictable and highly volatile» economic landscape, forcing them to take «a shorter-term, more conservative view» on business plans, said Darren Goh, senior business development & quality assurance manager at Dynamic Optronics.
Dynamic Optronics, a local optical products manufacturer, is just one of a number of local companies here bracing for impact from the sweeping US tariffs imposed on April 2.
With sales to the US contributing between 50 to 75 per cent of its annual revenue, Dynamic Optronics is at a crossroad.
As a relatively young Small, Medium Enterprise (SME) that is still in the red, the unexpected onset of the US tariffs has thrown a spanner in the works, as customers demand concessions to afford the additional tariff costs.
Goh said one key customer is requesting that the company shoulder half the tariff charge — which costs approximately one per cent of its total revenue — that would push down profit margin.