Dutch electronics giant Philips is ‘deadly serious’ about possibly shifting production because of the trade war between the US and China, chief executive Frans van Houten said on Monday, the NRC reported.

Speaking at the presentation of Philips’ third quarter figures, Van Houten said: ‘If the tariffs rise to 25% then that is what you have to do. Otherwise your business will stop. We can’t always cut prices.’

Philips, he said, was ready with plans to shift production of goods sold in the US to the US and to raise production in China to meet that market demand. ‘We produce in both countries, so it would be a question of changing production lines around,’ he said.

Philips third quarter revenue rose €200m to €4.3bn, which was below analysts’ forecasts. The news sent the company’s share price down as much as 9.9%. Net profit, excluding incidentals, was up 17% at €307m.