Fitbit Inc. said it’s shifting manufacturing operations out of China for all of its health trackers and smartwatches to avoid U.S. tariffs on imports from the country.
Starting in January, the company expects those products won’t be of Chinese origin and therefore not subject to import duties, Fitbit said in a statement Wednesday. Fitbit said it will give more details on the financial implications of the move during its third-quarter earnings conference call.
Shares in San Francisco-based Fitbit rose 2.7 per cent in early trading in New York.
Fitbit joins other U.S. companies moving out of China amid an ongoing trade war between the two countries. Tile Inc., which makes Bluetooth-enabled location trackers, also said it’s considering a similar move and is looking at Mexico, Malaysia, Vietnam and "possibly the U.S." as future manufacturing hubs.
Last year, GoPro Inc. announced it would move much of its U.S.-bound camera production out of China. And Apple Inc. has been battling the White House over requests to get the iPhone and other products off the list of Chinese-made goods slated to be hit with tariffs on Dec. 15.
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