Why Entrepreneurs Should Consider Trump Tariffs When Exploring Acquisition
February 14, 2025
by a searcher from Chapman University in Montclair, NJ, USA
Recently, I was listening to NPR discuss Trump's tariffs, and I started to wonder how we, as searchers, should take them into account when evaluating businesses. In my latest blog post, I share some insights on the industries most affected by the tariffs and how we can assess businesses through the lens of the cost increases they've created.
Read it here - https://medium.com/p/52dc2c88ad98
What adjustments are you making to your business acquisition strategy to navigate external challenges like trade policies? Share your thoughts in the comments!
from The University of Texas at Austin in Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Overall - it provides interesting historical context on Trump's trade policy views dating back decades. Understanding the deep-rooted nature of these policies suggests tariffs might be a longer-term factor to consider in acquisitions, potentially creating the market volatility others have mentioned. More broadly, the move towards tariffs, protectionism, and a more multipolar world are gamechangers from a macro-perspective.
For underwriting, it is definitely worth scenario planning and considering both the direct cost impacts and second-order effects when evaluating targets.
from INSEAD in Kirkland, WA, USA
For now, I’m heavily scrutinizing what inputs are, where they’re coming up, upstream inputs, and how elastic I think demand is (i.e., trying to get my head around how much cost you can pass on with what volume impacts).
I’m pausing altogether on anything that has meaningful exposure to inputs like aluminum. Not saying it still can’t be a good business, but I’m just not comfortable with the uncertainty.