Irish SMEs face escalating tariff volatility that reshapes costs, supply chains and market access, writes John Cradden. This export playbook urges firms to access available supports, diversify suppliers and embed resilience into supply chain and sales strategy.
These are anxious times for Irish businesses with skin in the US market. It’s been over a year since US President Donald Trump enacted his first trade tariffs against imports into the USA, sparking trade wars with Canada, Mexico and the EU and escalating its existing one with China.
Despite the US Supreme Court blocking Trump’s most of efforts, he is still issuing threats to tax the world and a refined 10% tariff is expected.
“While more businesses are now prepared for global trade disruptions, the environment remains volatile and demands continued vigilance”
Even so, the detail of the tariffs have been a bit bewildering and difficult to keep track of (at least the time is flying), but they’re already having an effect. The most recent SME Business Sentiment Survey from Chartered Accountants Ireland and GRID Finance has found that 60% of businesses have been impacted by global trade tensions and tariffs in some way.
The good news, however, is that the proportion of businesses unprepared for related disruptions has fallen from 36% to 23% in the past six months – which suggests a growing resilience. Respondents to the twice-yearly survey report feeling better equipped to manage these issues, rising to 25% now compared to just 15% in April 2025, when the previous survey took place.
Be resilient
Cróna Clohisey, director of Members and Advocacy at Chartered Accountants Ireland, said the results demonstrate both resilience and ongoing strain within Irish SMEs.
“The findings highlight both the resilience and the pressures facing SMEs. While more businesses are now prepared for global trade disruptions, the environment remains volatile and demands continued vigilance.”
Indeed, the potential for the ongoing and highly erratic policy of stiff trade tariffs to spread into services as well as goods could present further challenges for Irish exporters that sell to the US.
As Enterprise Ireland warns, the new tariffs will erode profit margins, add strain to your US customer relationships, disrupt supply chains, put you at a disadvantage compared to non-tariffed competitors, and bring unexpected costs and delays that could put pressure on your cash flow.
Resources and supports
The good news is that resources and supports for beleaguered Irish exporters are kicking in.
Every Local Enterprise Office will have an Export Business Advisory Service that can provide strategic advice on how to navigate export issues and to find opportunities in new markets.
As well as exploring the supports available to your business right now, the organisation advises businesses to proactively engage with customers and distributors as early as possible to ensure open communication to explore what impact tariffs may have, and how you can continue to work successfully together.
It also suggests taking the time to analyse your competitive position and understand contract terms of US customers and distributors. In this vein, Enterprise Ireland suggests looking at clauses related to pricing, delivery and liability for increased costs due to tariffs, and to seek legal advice if necessary to clarify obligations and negotiate protections in future contracts.
EI also recommends checking whether your products are correctly classified under customs codes, as misclassification can result in higher duties, delays or penalties. If necessary, consult with customs experts, who can also advise on whether minor product modifications could move you into a more favourable tariff category.
A further suggestion made by Enterprise Ireland is to appoint a ‘tariff lead’, a senior team member of monitor tariff developments.
This individual could be tasked with assessing the impact of tariffs as their arise and coordinate your response. This person could track policy changes, communicate with your stakeholders and ensure nothing falls through the cracks. With a clear point of contact and accountability, you can ensure critical deadlines are not missed.
Above all, plan for any future disruption by developing alternative strategies to address potential supply chain and market access issues. This could include adjusting pricing strategies, diversifying into new markets, improving your competitiveness or exploring alternative suppliers.
The Local Enterprise Office offers the Market Explorer Grant, which will give you the opportunity to evaluate and research new markets you can enter. The grant will support first time and small-scale exporters to undertake essential market research and to support the development of viable and sustainable market entry strategies in new geographic markets for businesses. The financial assistance proposed will provide support towards costs incurred in researching new market opportunities for products and services.
Enterprise Ireland provides a range of supports in relation to trade tariffs, including advice, information, consultancy, market reviews and market research grants, digitisation supports, funding for research, development and innovation.
There’s also the Government’s National Enterprise Hub, the one-stop shop for government support programmes for Irish businesses.
Top image: Photo by Clément Bonnet on Unsplash
-
Bank of Ireland is welcoming new customers every day – funding investments, working capital and expansions across multiple sectors. To learn more, click here
-
For support in challenging times, click here
-
Listen to the ThinkBusiness Podcast for business insights and inspiration. All episodes are here. You can also listen to the Podcast on:
-
Spotify
-
SoundCloud
-
Apple
