INTHEBLACK September/October 2025 - Magazine - Page 24
The Trump administration’s tariffs
program, announced in April this
year, has been a moveable feast
that has created uncertainty
across global markets.
Trade tensions present
a test to cash-flow resilience,
working capital agility, forecast
accuracy and supply chain
management.
CFOs are weighing up multifaceted
response options that may
include renegotiated contracts,
optimised transactional structures
and more.
F E AT U R E
RIDING THE
TARIFF
ROLLERCOASTER
The Trump administration’s tariff program
hit global markets with a bang in April this year.
While the ensuing months have seen much change,
CFOs continue to navigate rough terrain.
WORDS SUSAN MULDOWNEY
T
he past five years have created an ideal
training ground for managing uncertainty
and change. Finance chiefs across the globe
have helped steer their organisations through
a pandemic, inflation-induced economic upheaval
and game-changing technological advancements like
generative AI. But when the well-established rules of
global trade were upended in April, CFOs faced even
more complexity.
The scale of the “reciprocal tariffs” announced by the
US President on 2 April sent a shiver through markets
worldwide. Within two days, the stock market value for
S&P 500 companies plummeted by US$5 trillion.
24 INTHEBLACK Sep/Oct 2025 SPECIAL EDITION
The initial program included a 10 per cent baseline
tariff on almost all countries, which was supplemented
in certain cases by additional tariffs that varied by
nation. Trading partners like China and Canada
responded with countermeasures, and the US
increased rates for some nations before declaring
a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for most
countries. In mid-May, China and the US
also struck a deal to slash reciprocal
tariffs for 90 days, but changes
are ongoing.
While some industries will
feel the direct impact of trade
