Newsletter May 2025 Edition
Impatience in a World of Tariffs
Navigating uncertainty, confronting frustration, and finding actionable solutions
By Tim Kilfoil
“Hello, my name is Tim, and I am impatient.”
Living through this tariff transition as someone with little patience is frustrating. The slow pace of change, unpredictable effects, and lack of clarity are the real issues. Tariffs disrupt supply chains, inflate prices, delay product availability, and increase costs. For the impatient, the delays and opaque trade negotiations feel endless. Even if it ends well, new trade rules, audits, and supply chains will need to be established, causing angst.
To identify and isolate some key concerns, I listed my questions, hoping to guide our team on areas to focus on. This exercise was intended to point out where we can defend or gain business, independent of headlines or social media. What did I learn? I learned it can be easy to scare yourself with the unknown: When will prices stabilize? When will trade deals be announced? When will “preferred” countries of origin be defined? When will we have alignment with these “select” countries through our current manufacturers, or through their future investments? What business can I defend based on our current factory position? What business is at risk based on our current factory location? What business of my competitors can I pursue because of their own unenviable factory location? Are my customers going to need to visit every facility and re-audit? Am I going to be out until they do? Am I going to have to visit/spend to visit various global locations for audits? Will the need for audits push out further the release of new orders? When will we gain clarity? What if we don’t get clarity this month? Or next month? Or the next month? Can this actually tank the economy (not in an alarmist sense, but in a real sense)?
This quest for answers quickly turned into a realization of existential truths. Maybe I can try something else.
How about confronting my impatience instead, focusing on action to avoid spiraling frustration.
“Don’t come with a problem if you aren’t bringing a solution” is my belief. OK, so what can we control? US-based manufacturing sites seem advantageous for selling here, so I’m ensuring alignment with those options for our customers. Next, I’m identifying countries likely to maintain close relationships with us and aligning with manufacturers there. While I recognize this may require pivoting, it provides focus and a competitive edge now. Finally, I’m confirming where customers are investing, e.g., in local logistics providers/3PL or free trade zones, to align with their plans early.
Patience is a muscle to be exercised, but I’m prone to action now. While it may need undoing as clarity emerges in the future, at least I get the clarity on why I’m doing it now.
