Welcome to this week’s Sourcing Spotlight.
In this weeks edition, we will be looking at the impact of the 7th August Tariffs and what to expect next week on the 12th August.
We also will be touching upon how AI is being implemented to help with tariffs, alongside everyday supply chain.
Feature Story
Global Reactions to 7 Aug 2025 US Tariffs: India, China, EU
On 7 August 2025, Washington flipped the switch on its most aggressive trade stance since the 1930s, lifting U.S. import duties to an eye-watering 10 %-50 % on goods from sixty-nine economies. The immediate fallout is anything but uniform. Brussels and London swallowed a 15 % “soft-landing” tariff in return for large-scale investments in U.S. energy and defence, while Tokyo and Seoul rushed through similar bargains just hours before the deadline.
Others were less fortunate. India finds itself staring at a punitive 50 % wall after the White House layered an extra 25 % surcharge onto its exports, ostensibly for refusing to curb imports of discounted Russian oil. New Delhi has condemned the measure but will not relinquish its cut-price energy lifeline. In parallel, Brazil and Switzerland are grappling with steep new levies of their own, and Pakistan has bristled at heightened border tensions stoked by the economic squeeze.
The clock now ticks loudest for China. A fragile 90-day truce expires on 12 August; failure to ink a deal could catapult Beijing straight into triple-digit tariffs, roiling everything from rare-earths to high-end semiconductors. Financial markets are oscillating, global supply chains are recalculating, and a proposed Trump-Xi summit looms as the next inflection point.
Will China concede, retaliate, or stall? Can India weather a 50 % tariff storm without upending South-Asian stability? And might this be the spark that ignites the largest tariff confrontation of the modern era? Dive into the full article for the answers and the stakes awaiting every capital.
Supply-Chain Chaos vs. Smart Bots
Global trade has morphed into a high-stakes arcade game: one minute Washington slaps a 20 % duty on your best-selling widgets, the next Brussels answers with a counter-strike. While most firms are still hammering spreadsheets, a stealthy cohort of retailers and manufacturers has unleashed AI-native “touchless planning” platforms. Think digital pit-crews that:
Spot tariff hikes in real time and instantly rewrite landed-cost math, shelf prices, and purchase orders, no caffeine required.
Diagnose stock-outs and phantom inventory before customers feel the pinch (or accountants find the hole).
Re-route containers, swap suppliers, and balance margins vs. market share at machine speed, freeing humans to do the big-picture diplomacy.
Early adopters are pocketing double-digit savings on logistics, shaving up to 50 % off forecast errors, and turning planners into strategy ninjas instead of number-crunching firefighters.
Curious how RELEX’s agentic bots rewrite a 150 k-SKU playbook overnight? Wondering whether your beloved spreadsheets are about to join the fax machine in tech retirement?
Archived Articles
DISCOVER OUR PREVIOUS ARTICLES….
From new AI concepts that could benefit you, to new technologies and strategies to navigate the current global economy. Read through for impactful resources to help you become proactive in your business.
How Stoke-on-Trent Kept Britain’s Ceramics Alive & What Can We Learn From It.
Walmart is using AI tool Pactum to negotiate with suppliers, and 85% prefer it to a human.
As tariffs escalate, Illinois finds itself caught in the crossfire. From manufacturing supply chains tied to Canada and Mexico, to billions in farm exports now facing retaliation
That’s it for this weeks Sourcing Spotlight.
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Until next time,
Quiet sourcing. Loud impact.
