Heavy equipment manufacturer JCB plans to double the size of a forthcoming plant in Texas in an effort to mitigate the potential effects of tariffs on its operations.
Expanding in San Antonio
The British construction and agricultural equipment maker purchased a 400-acre property in San Antonio last year to build a new, 500,000-square-foot factory—its second in the U.S.
The company said in early April that it would double the size of the new plant, which remains under construction, to 1 million square feet at a total cost of about $500 million. The facility is expected to create as many as 1,500 jobs.
Adding More U.S. Production
The San Antonio plant was originally announced to make more machines for the American construction equipment market, which is the world’s largest, and complement JCB’s existing U.S. factory in Savannah, Georgia.
Relieving the "Significant” Impact of Tariffs
JCB executives added in the announcement that the imposition of new tariffs would have a “significant” impact on its business in the short term but that the San Antonio plant would help to “mitigate the impact” in the medium term.
Officials noted that the tariff currently stands at 10% and that it is hopeful that the U.K. government would reach a new trade agreement with the U.S. “in the coming days and weeks.”
A Potential U.K.-U.S. Trade Deal
Sarah Jones, the U.K.’s business and trade minister, told reporters this week that trade talks between the two countries were ongoing and that officials in the U.K. “want to secure a deal with the U.S.,” but she declined to provide a timetable for reaching an agreement.
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