Tariffs, Supply Chains Worry In-House Counsel After Trump Win

President-elect Donald Trump is rolling into office on promises of widespread tariffs—and many companies are already preparing.

For corporate counsel at multinationals with global supply chains that could be affected—particularly in China—that means creating or updating their contingency plans as they wait to learn what imported goods the tariffs will target, and at what rates. Some companies are already starting to act—stockpiling goods in the US before tariffs hit, and accelerating a move away from China. Multinationals in the automotive and manufacturing sectors have spoken publicly about how they are planning for potential tariffs.

“For international trade risk that multinationals and GCs are thinking about, I think customs and tariffs are numbers one, two, and three,” because it takes time to reshape supply chains, said Greg Husisian, a partner at Foley & Lardner LLP and chair of the firm’s International Trade and National Security Practice.

During his campaign, Trump suggested a 60% tariff on goods imported from China, as well as a universal tariff on all imported goods of 10% to 20%—among other prospective trade policies. It’s not yet clear what goods he’ll impose tariffs on or at what rates, or when they’ll come into effect.

“A lot of people right now are saying, ‘OK, how seriously do I need to take all these election promises?’” Husisian said. “And I think most people are concluding this is the one area where I really need to take it seriously, because he already has done it once.”

Questions for the GC

Companies have already been moving out of China in recent years as part of efforts to de-risk their supply chains, said William Reinsch, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and former president of the National Foreign Trade Council. The moves are in response to ongoing regulations, policies, and economic tensions between the countries. That trend accelerated this fall, he added.

There are also “prophylactic measures that companies are taking right now, and have taken since September, in anticipation of tariffs,” he said. For example, some have been ordering, shipping, and stockpiling imported goods early, ahead of tariffs hitting. And they’re making plans for how to handle price increases, Reinsch said.

Executives from BMW said in an earnings call last week they were well-placed to withstand potential tariffs because they had operations in the US, while the CEO of Stanley Black & Decker said the company had already been planning for how it may increase prices and move operations out of China. And the CEO of Steve Madden said last week the shoe retailer would speed up plans to move production away from China, in response to the election.

General counsel will likely have a seat at the table as their company is deciding whether and where to relocate supply chains, including helping assess data about how tariffs would affect the business, said Peter Lichtenbaum, a partner at Covington & Burling LLP and former VP for regulatory compliance and international policy at BAE Systems, Inc.

Right now, clients are also asking about personnel in the new administration, Lichtenbaum said: Who will be appointed to the positions that directly influence policy, and how will those officials view business’s perspective on trade issues?

Corporate counsel at a company hit with tariffs will also consider whether the company should sue the government over the policy, Reinsch said—and if they do, whether they should stand behind a trade association.

Trump may allow some companies affected by tariffs to apply for an exclusion, as he did in his first term. Crafting that argument could also fall on the GC’s desk, he said.

And, “companies are definitely reevaluating their compliance policies and procedures,” led by the corporate counsel’s office, said Caroline Brown, a partner at Crowell & Moring and a member of the firm’s White Collar and Regulatory Enforcement and International Trade groups. For example, they’re reviewing how they screen their supply chain for sanctions violations.

Shifting Supply Chains

Many companies are not re-shoring manufacturing in the US, but finding vulnerable points in their supply chains and reducing risks by finding additional sources for goods, Reinsch said.

“If there is a contingency plan for supply chains and diversification, and particularly continued de-risking from China, now is the time for companies to dust that playbook off,” Brown said.

Multinationals looking to re-shape their supply chains are also watching to see how the Trump administration designs its tariff policies—including how it addresses the import of component parts from China to be assembled into finished goods in Mexico.

Trump is also likely to pursue changes to the trade agreement between the US, Mexico, and Canada, which is up for review in 2026, said Gregory Shaffer, a professor of international law at Georgetown University.

The next four years could also see the World Trade Organization and international trade law be further undermined, giving companies less predictability and certainty, Shaffer said.

Add to business’s list of unknowns: How other countries may retaliate with tariffs when the US imposes tariffs on them, from China to the US’s European allies.

“We’re in for a much more radical sort of uncertainty,” Shaffer said. “Basically, the idea of global trade rules becoming moribund.”