Nearly 70 days have passed since CFOs and others around the globe first assessed President Trump's initial plans to impose tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China. Last week, Trump escalated tariffs across the board, announcing a 10% universal baseline rate and introducing new tariffs on long-standing trading partners. This move rattled the stock market and triggered strong backlash from Wall Street leaders, who fear these sweeping tariffs will end the era of free trade that has existed since World War II.

As Trump rapidly reshapes U.S. trade policy—evidenced by Wednesday's announcement of a 90-day pause on some tariffs—finance leaders spent last week assessing the risks posed by the latest tariff measures while helping their organizations steady themselves amid a foggy future.

"The mixed signals and constant feints are exhausting. What CFOs truly want is clarity on tariffs," said Jack McCullough, founder and president of the CFO Leadership Council. He described "fatigue" as the dominant emotion among the finance executives he has spoken with, as of Monday. "Even if the policy is not ideal, clear direction allows them to guide their companies and make sound plans. Uncertainty is the real enemy."

Aligning on Price Impact

Aside from one CFO in manufacturing who believes tariffs will level the playing field with other countries, McCullough said none of the finance executives he has spoken with think a prolonged trade war is good for business or the overall economy. One is concerned that customers might seek alternative suppliers and stay there even after tariffs are removed. CFOs also worry that employees may jump ship as prices rise faster than wage increases.

While McCullough believes members may be inclined to hedge financial positions and hold more cash, many say they are taking time to reach out to partners, suppliers, and customers to ensure mutual support and to be "candid" about price increases. They are trying to convey a spirit of cooperation: "The message is, we are in this together and will get through it together," McCullough said in an email on Monday.

Holding More Cash Than Usual

Even CFOs not directly affected by tariffs on goods are adjusting strategies and closely monitoring the news. After Trump's April 2 tariff announcement, Pratap Daruka, CFO of AI and data analytics services firm Tredence, said the company reviewed its customer portfolio, especially in industries like manufacturing, consumer goods, and retail, which often respond to rising costs by cutting budgets, potentially impacting analytics and AI projects. The San Jose, California-based company also updated its financial plans to address any delays or changes, increased cash reserves for flexibility, tightened internal cost controls, and reviewed ongoing investments. He said the mindset is to remain agile rather than react after the fact.

The recent stock market decline and falling bond yields have also prompted Tredence to focus more on flexibility and liquidity, deferring non-urgent and long-term spending, closely monitoring and hedging currency risks, and prioritizing cash. "We are holding more cash than usual," he said in an email reply before Wednesday's tariff pause. "Not out of fear, but to be ready for opportunities such as M&A, new locations, or early customer needs."

Staying the Course

Jim Kelly, CFO of Orbia Advance, said he had been preparing for potential tariff disruptions since Trump's campaign, so the April 2 announcement was not a surprise. "We stuck to the plan we had in place before the tariff announcement, which essentially means being ready to react in a constantly changing environment," Kelly said in an email before Wednesday's tariff pause announcement. Given the business structure, his biggest exposure is the impact of tariffs on U.S.-Mexico trade. But at least for now, he said, transactions compliant with the USMCA have not been affected by the latest tariff announcements.

Measures the company has taken to protect itself from tariffs include strategic inventory management—shipping inventory into the U.S. before tariffs take effect—paving the way for price increases by communicating the possibility of higher costs with customers, and ensuring logistics flexibility to scale warehousing up or down in different locations as needed.

Lessons from the Pandemic Era

Tariffs are also creating headwinds for new finance chiefs, such as former PepsiCo executive Sanjay Khetan, who became CFO of New York-based dessert company Baked by Melissa on March 10. While he plans to work with the executive team to increase distribution across all channels, if tariffs persist, he sees supply chain volatility and hesitant consumer spending as the biggest risks.

To some extent, he thinks he may be able to draw on his experience as CFO of PepsiCo's e-commerce business when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2020. As stay-at-home orders changed consumer behavior, he had to find ways to manage those changes. "To enable PepsiCo to retain and deliver products to consumers, we worked closely with internal operations, finance, and sales teams, and coordinated meticulously with online retail partners," Khetan said in an email on Tuesday. "Many of the lessons from that time may apply directly to the current situation—though certainly to a different degree."