5 Do-able Ways To Navigate Rising Tariffs In Global Supply Chains

Even with President Trump’s retreat on the most severe parts of his tariff regime, there are still many unanswered questions about how best to keep your supply chain uninterrupted and profitability sustainable in the years to come.

At the 2025 Manufacturing Leadership Summit in Cleveland, Kerim Kfuri, author of Supply Chain Ups and Downs and President/CEO of The Atlas Network, outlined practical strategies for businesses facing these challenges. As tariffs continue to strain global trade relationships, Kfuri shared insights from a recent trip to China and offered a framework for manufacturers to navigate the current landscape.

“I’m a supply chain optimist,” he said, “so in my mind when there are problems, it just is giving you the opportunity to have more and more solutions. Now is the time to really be able to look at your businesses in ways that you never have before and really be able to take actions that you may have never considered before. Look at it as a unique time, and hopefully it will be a fruitful time where you can grow, not just for today, but also for the future.”

He offered these suggestions:

Share the Burden Through Tariff Absorption. When tariffs hit, the question becomes who absorbs the cost. Kfuri recommends a collaborative approach rather than pushing the entire burden to one party. “In my discussions on the ground in Asia, I was hearing anything from 10 to 40 percent was pretty much what I was hearing across the board from many of the suppliers,” he explained. This willingness to share costs often depends on relationships, or what the Chinese call “guanxi.” A blended approach typically works best: “In the scenario of our customers and our clients, it’s a situation of a third, let’s say, by the supplier, a third by us, a third by the brand and then working through how that impacts their end consumer.”

Explore Strategic Tariff Deferral Options. Rather than immediately importing goods subject to high tariffs, companies can consider delaying shipments or utilizing alternative warehousing strategies. “We have this concept of being able to bring in goods into locations like bonded warehouses or even these free trade zones where the tariffs are only paid when you remove the goods from those warehouses or from those free trade zones,” Kfuri noted. This approach allows businesses to phase in tariff costs while maintaining inventory availability.

Reevaluate Product Pricing and Cost Engineering. This operational solution involves rethinking product value and construction. “Maybe it’s time for a rebrand. Maybe it’s time to basically tout those hidden benefits that you always sort of never really present it to the customer,” Kfuri suggested. On the production side, he advised working with manufacturers to reduce costs: “What materials have we not looked at what efficiencies exists today? Because you may have been producing this product a particular way for the first decade of your business, but now is a time where you may be looking to facilitate it in a different type of material or substrate.”

Negotiate More Favorable Payment Terms. Kfuri emphasized the often overlooked strategy of negotiating payment terms with suppliers. He shared a success story: “I simply said, so basically your choices is to not ship and not get paid for three, four months or whatever it may be. Or why don’t you just discuss with your client and tell them that you will ship, but you won’t charge them anything. Give them net 120, give them significant terms.” This approach maintained relationships and market presence while managing tariff challenges.

Develop Alternative Supply Chains. While Kfuri cautioned against rashly abandoning established supply chains, he strongly advocated for developing alternatives. “You need to always have options. You need to always be looking at diversification because anything and everything can happen in this arena.” He outlined five critical factors to consider: material access, transportation feasibility, production capacity, resource availability and technology capabilities—all while ensuring the overall cost structure remains competitive.

One thing you should not do: follow the all-too-common advice to simply dive in and start trying to dismantle or rejigger your existing supply chain in some radical way right now. “You should look at everything and should analyze it, and you should be prepared for it, but not necessarily tear it up, because it’s just shifting too quickly. The sands are shifting beneath our feet.”

When evaluating the current China situation, Kfuri noted that Chinese manufacturers appear ready to deal and make the best of things to preserve business where they can. “The main sentiment is a willingness to collaborate and to communicate,” he said, adding that the current environment gives U.S. businesses leverage they may not have had previously. “This is a period of negotiation for sure,” he said. “The leverage is starting to shift one way versus the other.”