Signal Thomson Reuters Institute 2026 Global Trade Report: 72% of Trade Professionals Name US Tariffs Top Risk

Summary

The Thomson Reuters Institute's 2026 Global Trade Report, based on a survey of 225 senior trade professionals across North America, the EU, the UK, Latin America and Asia-Pacific, found 72% named US tariff volatility as the most impactful regulatory change they face, up from 41% a year earlier; some reporting dates the report to February 2026, differing from an earlier December 2025 reference. Some 39% of organizations are absorbing or considering absorbing tariff costs rather than passing them to customers, roughly triple the 13% figure from a year prior, and 68% (nearly double the prior year's 35%) now cite supply chain management as their top strategic priority. Some 76% of respondents believe the new US tariffs represent a permanent shift in trade policy for at least the next four years, yet despite tariffs being the top-cited challenge, only 7% report using software specifically designed to manage tariff changes. The leading mitigation strategy is changing sourcing patterns (65%), ahead of contract renegotiation (57%) and nearshoring or reshoring to the US (51%). Trade departments report growing internal influence: 40% say they gained more say over procurement decisions and greater executive involvement over the past 12 months, and 40% report exploring technologies like AI or blockchain, up sevenfold from 6% in 2024. One trade professional said tariff costs "led our company to reorganize our supply chain," while KPMG frames the broader response around resilience: supplier diversification, nearshoring, inventory buffers and new technology adoption.