Item 1A. Risk Factors
Item 1A. Risk Factors
There have been no material changes in our risk factors previously disclosed in Part I, Item 1A. – “Risk Factors” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, except for the risk factor updated below:
Changes in import/export regulatory regimes, imposition of tariffs, escalation of global trade conflicts and unfairly traded imports, particularly from China, could continue to negatively impact our business.
The U.S. government has imposed tariffs on certain foreign goods from a variety of countries and regions that it perceives as engaging in unfair trade practices, and previously raised the possibility of imposing additional tariff increases or expanding the tariffs to capture other types of goods. In response, many of these foreign governments have imposed retaliatory tariffs on goods that their countries import from the U.S. Changes in U.S. trade policy have resulted, and may continue to result, in one or more foreign governments adopting responsive trade policies that make it more difficult or costly for us to do business in or import our products from those countries. For example, tariffs on certain Chinese origin goods impact the cost of material and machines we import directly from our manufacturing operations in China, as well as the cost of material and components imported on our behalf by suppliers. The indirect impact of inflationary pressure on costs throughout the supply chain and the direct impact, for example, on costs for machines we import from our manufacturing operations in China, is leading to higher input costs and lower margins on certain products we sell. In addition, tariffs imposed by the Chinese government on U.S. imports have made the cost of some of our products more expensive for our Chinese customers.
We cannot predict the extent to which the U.S. or other countries will impose new or additional quotas, duties, tariffs, taxes or other similar restrictions upon the import or export of our products in the future, nor can we predict future trade policy or the terms of any renegotiated trade agreements and their impact on our business. Tariffs and the possibility of an escalation or further developments of current trade conflicts, particularly between the U.S. and China, could continue to negatively impact global trade and economic conditions in many of the regions where we do business. This could result in continued significant increases in our material and component costs and the cost of machinery imported directly from our manufacturing operations in China. In addition, it may adversely impact demand for our products in China and elsewhere.
We have been able to mitigate a portion of the effects of tariffs through the U.S. government’s duty draw-back mechanism and will further mitigate the impact through the reinstated tariff exclusions on certain components. However, if we are unable to recover a substantial portion of increased costs from our customers and suppliers, the reinstated exclusions or duty draw-back, our business or results of operations could be adversely affected.
The Coalition of American Manufacturers of Mobile Access Equipment, an alliance of mobile access equipment producers in the U.S. of which we are a member, pursued anti-dumping and countervailing cases against unfairly traded Chinese imports of mobile access equipment. The U.S. Department of Commerce has issued countervailing and anti-dumping duty rates on mobile access equipment from China. If these duties are not enough to offset the subsidies provided by the Chinese government to Chinese mobile access equipment manufacturers and/or if the duties are modified as a result of any appeal process, we may continue to operate at a disadvantage to Chinese manufacturers. This could result in reduced demand for our products in the U.S. and have an adverse effect on our business or results of operations.
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