100 days in, how are Trump’s tariffs reshaping marketing in Asia?

It’s only been 99 days since US president Donald Trump’s second term began—and already the global economic order is being rattled. In a flurry of moves, Trump has reignited the trade war with China, slapping a 10% baseline tariff on Chinese imports, quickly followed by a 34% ‘reciprocal’ levy—sending effective rates soaring to 54% on most goods, with some categories now facing tariffs as high as 145%.

The impact has been immediate. Markets are jittery. Supply chains are scrambling. Brands are rethinking where they make, ship, and sell their products.

Yet, just as the dust begins to settle, fresh uncertainty sweeps in. Trump has hinted that the tariffs may be rolled back “substantially” in future negotiations, though not eliminated entirely. For businesses across Asia, it leaves a volatile landscape where the rules—and the risks—seem to shift day by day.

For marketers, the consequences are already being felt: Surging production costs, fragile consumer confidence, compressed timelines, and mounting pressure to do more with less. In a region once poised to drive global growth, brands are finding themselves back in survival mode—forced to flex harder, move faster, and plan for every possible scenario.

Campaign reached out to brand and agency leaders across the region to find out how they are adapting.

Deric Wong
CEO, DJM Consulting and CBO Global
EternityX

What’s keeping us awake isn’t just the tariffs—it’s how global brands may delay the bold decisions they should be making today. In sectors like luxury, travel, and financial services, the brand experience doesn’t stop at the point of sale; it starts with perception, which is deeply influenced by economic confidence. Tariff-induced uncertainty risks not just margin compression but diluted consumer engagement. Silence isn’t strategy—agility is. Budgets are not being frozen, but they are being reframed through the lens of strategic ROI. Brands are embedding agility and resilience into their marketing infrastructure: refining consumer segmentation, planning media around scenario simulations, and deepening market-specific storytelling, particularly in China where domestic consumption is being prioritised.

Tariffs are functioning less as a cost burden and more as a catalyst for brand reinvention. We’re seeing a move away from overreliance on legacy trade corridors and a fast-tracking of investments into Asia, the Middle East, and emerging parts of Europe. The biggest opportunity is a strategic reset; the greatest challenge is balancing local relevance with global brand coherence. Growth today isn’t about footprint—it’s about fit.

Teriea Lu
Growth and corporate marketing lead and EA (business-driven)
R3 China

Rebecca McAfee
Head of brand
Fisher8 Capital

Brand strategies are typically planned at least a year in advance and should remain stable even as market conditions shift. Tactical marketing can be agile, but a brand’s core positioning must endure—after all, Coke doesn’t stop standing for happiness simply because markets are volatile. What keeps me up at night is whether protectionist policies could erode the economic viability of selling into the US. Working with Asian brands expanding into western markets, I worry that if selling into the US becomes uneconomical, brands may rethink whether it’s worth the risk. Confidence weakens when a single presidency can destabilise business prospects so dramatically.

Many companies anticipated pricing shocks and export pressures from China, which is why so many opened partner factories in Southeast Asia. What few expected was that tariffs could extend to those operations too. With limited visibility on where policy is headed, I am increasingly preparing for downturn scenarios in my planning. My strategy has shifted towards brands targeting either the very affluent or the underserved, where economic volatility tends to have less immediate impact.

At the same time, new opportunities are opening up. We are working on a product launch aimed at the US market, tapping into the surge in patriotism. Margins are under pressure, but still viable—for now. Longer-term, I do worry that producing outside the US, or even being based overseas, could become untenable if protectionist sentiment deepens further.

Shai Luft
Co-founder and chief operating officer
Bench Media

Rising production costs and disrupted imports are part of the problem, but the real hit will be to consumer and business confidence, which will stifle spending and investment. The biggest challenge isn’t any one issue—it’s the compounding effect. Margins are under pressure and consumers are hyper-aware, scrutinising every purchase for value, ethics, and stability.

In APAC, we’re walking a diplomatic tightrope. Brands must avoid taking sides as tensions between the US and China escalate. We’re also seeing increased caution around reliance on US and Chinese-owned platforms. Clients are diversifying across regional platforms and local publishers to mitigate geopolitical risk. The brands that remain visible, adaptable, and responsive will gain market share. Flexibility is everything: Shorter planning cycles, channel-agnostic buying, creative that can pivot quickly. In this volatile environment, agility isn’t a bonus—it’s essential.

Patrick Chin
Chief digital and innovation officer
Clairvoyant Lab, Asia