Survey: Trade Wars Becoming New Normal for Supply Chains

The looming threat of tariffs and trade wars has 77% of manufacturing and supply chain leaders worried about their ability to manage their resources effectively in the months to come. 

According to a survey of more than 250 supply chain professionals from global manufacturing company Fictiv, 96% say that they are concerned about the impacts of President Donald Trump’s approach to trade policies, while 93% believe that trade wars will escalate in 2025. 

“We’re seeing a level of global uncertainty and supply chain disruption we haven’t seen since 2020,” said Fictiv co-founder and CEO Dave Evans.

More than 90% of professionals also said that accounting for global tensions is part of their companies’ long-term planning for their supply chains, up from 86% in the previous year’s survey. That includes 68% who said that they are prioritizing onshoring efforts to mitigate the effects of potential tariffs, particularly for industries that rely on producing complex parts at scale, such as medical technology, clean energy and electric vehicles. In total, nearly 70% said that they would like to increase their U.S. manufacturing presence in the face of coming tariffs.

President Trump has twice delayed planned 25% tariffs against both Mexico and Canada, although blanket levies on all imported steel and aluminum have already sparked retaliatory measures. Between April 1 and April 13, the EU plans to impose levies against €26 billion ($28.4 billion) wor…