STOCKHOLM, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Swedish fast-fashion

retailer H&M is working to buy more of its clothes and

accessories from suppliers closer to its key markets in Europe

and the U.S., its finance chief told Reuters on Thursday, in

part to prepare for potential U.S. import tariffs.

"For many reasons we need to create a more regionalised

supply chain, both for geopolitical reasons, learning through

COVID that we need to create more resilience in our supply

chain, and also to support responsiveness and the customer

offer," Adam Karlsson said in an interview after H&M's quarterly

results.

Potential U.S. tariffs on imports are also pushing H&M to

seek suppliers closer to its U.S. market, Karlsson said, adding

that the retailer had drawn up scenarios for such trade

barriers, which he called a "concern".

"Of course it is a factor, and there are certain countries

under higher scrutiny connected to trade barriers, and we're

monitoring that as we move ahead," he said, adding that the fact

H&M sources from a wide range of countries was an advantage.

H&M is exploring options to source more products from

Central America, Karlsson said, to serve markets including the

U.S. and Brazil. For Europe, it is sourcing more from Turkey and

looking to build its supplier base in Morocco and Egypt.

U.S. President Donald Trump has made multiple threats about

tariffs including on imports from Mexico, Canada, China, and the

European Union, and has also floated the idea of a blanket

tariff on all imports, which retailers and economists have said

would drive prices up.

"If tariffs increase for everyone, there will be a relative

position to take (on pricing)," Karlsson said. "We should

position our offering in the same way no matter whether there

are tariffs or not."

H&M has not disclosed country-level sales for 2024, but in

2023 the U.S. was its second-biggest market by sales, accounting

for 14% of total revenues.