Tariff Talk: Why Effective Communication is More Important Than Ever

In the world of man­u­fac­tur­ing, respond­ing to rapid­ly evolv­ing tar­iffs has dom­i­nat­ed the nar­ra­tive of 2025. As PR pro­fes­sion­als who work with man­u­fac­tur­ers every day, we’ve had a front-row seat to the com­plex­i­ties that trade pol­i­cy, sup­ply chain volatil­i­ty and work­force uncer­tain­ty pose to the industry.

While no two com­pa­nies are exact­ly alike, three com­mu­ni­ca­tion strate­gies have emerged as essen­tial for man­u­fac­tur­ers nav­i­gat­ing this envi­ron­ment with confidence.

Lead the Con­ver­sa­tion, Don’t Fol­low It

Keep­ing up with the news isn’t enough. Com­pa­nies must active­ly shape their nar­ra­tive or risk some­one else doing it for them. That begins inter­nal­ly. Before focus­ing on exter­nal mes­sag­ing, man­u­fac­tur­ers should invest in strong inter­nal com­mu­ni­ca­tions plans.

Employ­ees don’t expect lead­er­ship to have all the answers, but they do expect trans­paren­cy. Acknowl­edg­ing uncer­tain­ties around increased pric­ing, job secu­ri­ty, or tar­iffs can reas­sure teams and build trust. Nobody knows what tomorrow’s poli­cies will bring, so use your com­mu­ni­ca­tion strat­e­gy to nar­rate the prin­ci­ples guid­ing your strate­gic busi­ness decisions.

An informed and aligned team not only con­tributes to a sta­ble cul­ture but also becomes a pow­er­ful exten­sion of your brand voice—amplifying your mes­sage and val­ues across their own networks.

Make a Tar­iff Com­mu­ni­ca­tions Plan

A strate­gic cri­sis response begins before the cri­sis hits. Man­u­fac­tur­ers should have a clear com­mu­ni­ca­tions plan in place that out­lines how they’ll respond to tar­iff-relat­ed ques­tions from var­i­ous key stake­hold­ers, includ­ing employ­ees, cus­tomers, part­ners and media.

Hav­ing proac­tive mes­sag­ing pre­pared ensures you’re not scram­bling when a trade pol­i­cy shift hits the head­lines. Whether it’s a pub­lic state­ment or a one-on-one con­ver­sa­tion with a key cus­tomer, plan­ning ahead lets your brand stay focused, cred­i­ble and calm. This plan can also include talk­ing points for any upcom­ing tradeshows on your cal­en­dar and respons­es to com­mon ques­tions on social media.

Deter­min­ing who will be the brand voice on this top­ic is also essen­tial. While a Sales VP or oth­er exec­u­tive leader may be the key spokesper­son for announce­ments and state­ments from your brand, con­sid­er if your company’s voice of author­i­ty should be a dif­fer­ent leader for a high­er-stakes top­ic impact­ing many dif­fer­ent audi­ences. If that per­son is uncom­fort­able dis­cussing the top­ic, it’s time to media train them now and align them with the cor­rect tools and messaging.

Build Rela­tion­ships with Trade Media

All too often, man­u­fac­tur­ing com­pa­nies only reach out to trade media when a new prod­uct is released, or when the com­pa­ny has a press release announce­ment to share. We rec­om­mend that our clients posi­tion them­selves as an ongo­ing resource for edi­tors and jour­nal­ists to build rela­tion­ships with key trade media con­tacts, even if the spot­light isn’t direct­ly on their com­pa­ny. This can look like offer­ing to com­ment on break­ing news and indus­try trends or shar­ing data and insights to sup­port future stories.

Trade shows pro­vide your com­pa­ny with the oppor­tu­ni­ty to meet with edi­tors and jour­nal­ists in per­son to share how your orga­ni­za­tion is deal­ing with tar­iffs. It’s com­mon for man­u­fac­tur­ing exec­u­tives and sub­ject mat­ter experts to set up infor­mal meet­ings or invite mem­bers of trade media to vis­it the com­pa­ny booth for an inter­view with the prod­uct team. Your pres­ence at trade shows will estab­lish cred­i­bil­i­ty and trans­form your brand into an expert resource for trade media.

In a year marked by uncer­tain­ty, the com­pa­nies lead­ing the nar­ra­tive will be best posi­tioned to thrive. By invest­ing in inter­nal com­mu­ni­ca­tions, prepar­ing a tar­iff com­mu­ni­ca­tions plan, and spread­ing qual­i­ty con­tent across dig­i­tal plat­forms, you don’t just react to the news cycle—you shape it. For man­u­fac­tur­ers in 2025, a proac­tive com­mu­ni­ca­tions strat­e­gy isn’t just help­ful, it’s essential.

Whether you’re in man­u­fac­tur­ing, tech­nol­o­gy, med-tech/de­vice or any indus­try that is being impact­ed by tar­iffs, we’d love to offer you coun­sel and assis­tance in devel­op­ing strate­gies to lead the nar­ra­tive whether it’s prepar­ing a tar­iff com­mu­ni­ca­tions plan, devel­op­ing key mes­sages, reach­ing out to media or explor­ing oth­er tac­tics that are right for your brand. Con­tact us to get start­ed today.