Primark committed to US expansion despite tariff uncertainty, says boss

By James Davey

LONDON (Reuters) -Associated British Foods' Primark clothing retail business is committed to expanding in the United States despite President Donald Trump's erratic approach to tariffs, its boss said on Tuesday.

Primark's U.S. business accounts for about 5% of the unit's total sales. It currently trades from 29 stores in the U.S. and has signed an additional 18 leases.

Trump's stream of tariff announcements, roll-backs and exemptions has left some firms wary of committing to expansion.

However, AB Foods chief executive George Weston said Primark was "absolutely" committed to a plan to have 60 U.S. stores by 2026 and remains confident it can succeed in a market that has been a graveyard for some of Britain's biggest retailers, including Marks & Spencer and Tesco.

Weston told Reuters in an interview that Primark would take the "(tariff) hits where we have to take them and before we take more substantive actions wait to see where we really are."

But he said Primark could benefit from Trump's move to end the "de minimis" duty exemption, which allows shipments worth less than $800 duty-free entry to the U.S. and has helped companies like Shein keep prices low.

"De minimis imports in the U.S. are very, very large, they supply a lot of Americans who don't know about Primark yet but are looking for value," he said.

"With prices going up from this part of the trade, I wonder if some Americans might start going back to shopping centres to find value there."

Weston was speaking after AB Foods reported first half results.

(Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Paul Sandle)