Procurement and US Domestic Drama: Tariffs and the Great American Shuffle

Spreadsheets all across the US are becoming unstable.  Stakeholders are running for cover.   A tariff tempest in a domestic teapot.  

 There’s drama in the homeland. Not the Homeland Security kind (though who knows anymore), but the economic, procurement-y kind. A Presidential plot twist featuring one man, many duties (literally), and steel that costs more than gold-plated avocado toast. 

 We’re continuing our theme of tarif-y things occurring in the orangery – and how you US procurement folks need to get to the safe room. 

The Tariffs Strike Back 💥💥 

 Turns out, if you wrap the world’s most complex global trade system in a big red “America First” bow and start handing out tariffs like Halloween candy... you don’t get treats. You get tricked by the invisible hand of the market. It wasn’t amused. 

 Suddenly, procurement teams across the U.S. looked up from their spreadsheets and whispered: “Wait... how much for aluminium?” and; “How do you spell aluminium in ’Mercan?”. It’s a-lu-minum, stoopid. 

🔧 1. Costs Go Kaboom 

 Imported steel and microchips now come with a surcharge and a side of heart attack inducing corn cake.  It’s like all the chip factories in Japan burned down together, like an unloved restaurant reaching for the insurance policy.   

 How are manufacturers reacting?   Well, margins? Compressed.  More than Metallica's Death Magnetic.  Schedules? Delayed.  Like Christmas isn’t coming.  Procurement? Drowning in RFQs and crying into their compliance manuals.  Savings lost like tears in rain. 

💸 2. Prices Go Pop 

 You like that washing machine? That phone? That gas grill shaped like the Millennium Falcon? They all just got more expensive.  Wait, George Foreman was not in Star Wars. 

 Seems that consumers gonna notice, and wallets (on your phone or in your pocket) are gonna tremble. So US procurement professionals have added “manage consumer expectations” to their job titles, just after “crisis monkey.” 

🌽 3. Retaliation Rodeo 

 Other countries hit back. They didn’t just throw tea into harbours (or harbors)— they threw tariffs on soybeans, pork, and Harley Davidsons. Take that, Wisconsin. 

 U.S. farmers are saying: “Hello, please can we have our federal subsidies back?”; but global buyers aren’t having it: “We’ll shop elsewhere, thanks.” 

 And as we predicted, the maple syrup wars with Canada are starting.  Marky-Mark Carney is getting stuck into a sticky business.  There is unrest in the forest, the maples really are demanding more sunlight. 

🎯 4. Procurement Has a Panic Attack 

 Strategies have pivoted like an indecisive guest at a (Warren) buffet. So, everybody, get the sharpie out and let’s start drawing dotted lines around “alternative suppliers”. Let’s start Googling “tariff engineering” at 3 a.m., whilst pretending you’ve always loved nearshoring.  AI can’t save us now (spoiler – it probably can). 

👷 5. Jobs: More or Less? 

 Job creation has become the Schrödinger’s Cat of economic policy:  US manufacturing should gain a few (in time); exporters will lose a bunch, or find new markets (or dump stuff in Europe). 

 The net effect? Still waiting for that spreadsheet. Somewhere between “meh” and “mildly disappointing.” 

So What Now, Procurement Heroes? 

  Time to upgrade from mild-mannered sourcing specialists to battle-hardened risk analysts.   We have some more action-oriented bullets for you: 

 ✅ Track tariff news like you’re tracking your step count.  Every 10 minutes should do. 

 ✅ Build contingency plans that actually plan for things.   Anything could happen – so make sure you factor that in.  

 ✅ Slip “force majeure” into every contract.  Just like the French do - even though they don’t have a word for majeure. 

 ✅ Let data analytics take the wheel - spreadsheets are your spirit animals now. 

 Turns out trade policy is not just a niche interest for WTO bingo nights. It’s procurement’s new BFF. Or nemesis. Hard to tell some days. 

 The future? Still looking orange, still uncertain, and still asking: "Is this all part of the plan...?”   Until we find out, may your spreadsheets be stable and your stakeholders miraculously aligned.