Tariff PR: Navigating the Uncertainty of the Global Trade Shakeup

Let's be real: if you're advising clients on public affairs or corporate communications right now, tariffs are probably keeping you up at night. And you're not alone.

The numbers tell the story. A staggering 72% of trade professionals cite U.S. tariff volatility as the most impactful regulatory change affecting their operations: up from just 41% the previous year. Even more telling? 76% expect these tariffs to stick around for at least the next four years. This isn't a temporary negotiating tactic that'll blow over. It's a fundamental reshaping of how global commerce works.

For PR and communications professionals, this creates a perfect storm: clients facing operational upheaval, stakeholders demanding clarity, and a media environment that thrives on uncertainty. So how do you help your clients navigate this without triggering panic or, worse, getting caught flat-footed when the next policy shift drops?

The Landscape: It's Complicated (And Getting More So)

First, let's acknowledge what we're dealing with. Trade growth is expected to decelerate from 3.9% in 2025 to just 2.2% in 2026. That slowdown isn't just an economic footnote: it's a signal that companies across sectors are tapping the brakes, reassessing risk, and fundamentally rethinking their supply chains.

Supply chain management has become the dominant strategic priority, with 68% of trade professionals calling it critical: nearly double the 35% from the year before. Think about what that means from a communications standpoint. Your clients aren't just worried about quarterly earnings anymore. They're worried about whether they can get products to market at all, whether their suppliers will still be viable, and whether their entire business model needs an overhaul.

And here's the kicker: 39% of companies are absorbing tariff costs rather than passing them to customers: up from just 13% previously. That's not a strategy; that's a pressure valve that eventually has to release somewhere. When it does, stakeholders: investors, employees, customers, partners: will have questions. Are you ready with answers?

Why This Is a Communications Problem, Not Just a Business One

Here's where PR professionals need to step up. Tariff uncertainty isn't just about logistics or finance: it's about perception, narrative, and trust.

Consider what your clients are facing:

Investor Relations: How do you explain compressed margins without triggering a sell-off? How do you communicate that you're being strategic when, honestly, you're scrambling to keep up with policy changes?

Employee Communications: If nearshoring or supplier switches mean layoffs or restructuring, how do you message that without tanking morale? How do you keep your workforce engaged when the future feels murky?

Customer Messaging: Do you raise prices and risk losing market share? Absorb costs and watch profitability erode? Either way, someone's going to be unhappy: and they'll want to know why.

Media Relations: Reporters love uncertainty. They love conflict. They love stories about companies caught off-guard. How do you stay ahead of the narrative instead of constantly playing defense?

The organizations that will weather this storm aren't necessarily the ones with the best supply chains: they're the ones with the clearest, most consistent communications strategy.

Strategic Advice for PR Professionals: Stay Ahead of the Narrative

If you're advising clients through this, here's what needs to be on your radar:

1. Help Them Build a Monitoring System

More than half of trade professionals expect increased cross-functional collaboration over the next year, including trade risk councils and specialized working groups. Your clients need established processes for monitoring trade policy developments: not reacting after the fact.

As a PR advisor, you should be part of that monitoring system. Set up alerts for policy announcements, track which industries are getting hit hardest, and understand the political dynamics at play. The more you know, the faster you can pivot messaging when conditions change.

2. Prepare Multiple Scenarios

The worst thing you can do is craft one perfect communications plan based on one scenario. Instead, develop messaging frameworks for multiple possibilities:

• What if tariffs increase by 10%? By 25%?

• What if new trade agreements emerge?

• What if competitors move manufacturing and gain an advantage?

• What if regulatory scrutiny increases on your industry specifically?

You don't need full campaigns for each scenario, but you need message maps and stakeholder strategies that can be activated quickly.

3. Transparency Beats Spin Every Time

Here's a hard truth: your clients' stakeholders aren't stupid. They read the news. They see the policy chaos. Trying to spin tariff impacts as "no big deal" or "business as usual" will backfire spectacularly.

Instead, coach your clients toward strategic transparency. Acknowledge the uncertainty. Explain the steps being taken. Be honest about tradeoffs. Stakeholders respect leaders who admit challenges while demonstrating control over what they can control.

4. Coordinate Across Departments

Communications can't operate in a silo here. You need tight coordination with:

• Supply chain teams to understand operational impacts

• Finance to know when cost absorption becomes untenable

• Legal to stay within regulatory communication bounds

• Government affairs to track policy developments

• HR if workforce changes are coming

Some of the most effective organizations are creating tariff task forces that include communications from day one: not as an afterthought.

Practical Steps: What to Actually Do This Week

Enough strategy: let's get tactical. Here's what you should be doing right now with your clients:

Audit Existing Materials: Pull every investor presentation, customer FAQ, employee memo, and press statement that references international operations or pricing. Do they still hold up under current tariff conditions? If not, update them.

Draft Holding Statements: Create pre-approved statements for common scenarios: tariff increases, supplier changes, price adjustments, operational delays. When news breaks, you'll be ready to respond in hours, not days.

Map Your Stakeholder Universe: Who needs to hear from your client first when tariff impacts hit? Investors? Customers? Employees? Regulators? Create a communication cascade plan so no critical audience gets blindsided.

Scenario-Test Your Crisis Plan: Run through a tabletop exercise. "It's Monday morning. New tariffs just increased our costs by 15%. The media is calling. What do we say? To whom? In what order?" The answers should be clear and rehearsed.

Build Your Expert Network: Identify trade policy experts, economists, and industry analysts who can provide credible third-party perspectives. When your client needs to explain tariff impacts, having respected voices backing up your position adds credibility.

The Bottom Line: Adaptability Is Everything

Here's what we know: trade volatility isn't going anywhere. Global economic growth remains subdued at around 2.6%. Smaller, less diversified economies are getting hammered hardest. And companies are fundamentally restructuring their operations: 65% are changing sourcing patterns, 57% are renegotiating contracts, and 51% are nearshoring or reshoring production.

These aren't minor adjustments. These are tectonic shifts in how business gets done. And every one of those shifts needs a communications strategy.

The PR professionals who will thrive in this environment are the ones who can help clients stay nimble, maintain stakeholder trust through uncertainty, and communicate complex trade-offs without triggering panic or losing credibility.

So take a hard look at your client roster. Who's exposed to tariff impacts? Who's still operating with a 2023 communications playbook in a 2026 reality? Who's going to get caught off-guard when the next policy announcement drops?

Then get to work. Because in this environment, the communications strategy you build today might be the thing that keeps your client's reputation: and business: intact tomorrow.

The uncertainty isn't going away. But with the right approach, you can help your clients navigate it without losing their footing. That's not just good PR; that's essential business strategy.