As global trade tensions continue to reshape supply chains and commercial relationships, Agiloft released its latest industry report: “Navigating Tariff Turbulence: The Operational Impact of Global Trade Policies on Contract Management.” The report reveals that 92% of companies now include tariff-related clauses in their contracts, marking a seismic shift in how organizations respond to global trade disruption.
Based on a survey of more than 600 legal, procurement, IT and finance professionals across the U.S. and U.K., the results paint a stark picture: contracts are critical tools on the front lines of strategic decision-making as tariffs and political uncertainty reshape global commerce. Organizations are simultaneously dealing with more frequent contract revisions, longer review cycles and the need for enhanced cross-departmental collaboration, all while facing significant cost pressures and regulatory uncertainty.
The report also nods to a cascade of operational and financial pressures stemming from tariff complexity. The survey found that organizations are struggling most with tracking and applying the constant stream of tariff-related updates (53%), while over 49% are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of contracts requiring review and renegotiation. This burden extends beyond legal teams—38% of U.S. respondents cited lack of real-time collaboration between legal, procurement and finance departments as a major hurdle, while nearly 42% of U.K. respondents are hindered by insufficient contract analytics or intelligence.
“Geopolitical volatility is now an everyday reality that demands constant adaptability,” said Prashant Dubey, chief strategy officer at Agiloft. “This report makes it clear: today’s legal leaders are navigating unprecedented complexity and solid contracting processes have emerged as critical levers for ensuring resilience and managing unpredictability. From containing supplier costs to accelerating deal cycles, contracts are central to protecting margins and unlocking value. Yet, many organizations still lack good data-driven contracting process hygiene. Contract lifecycle management (CLM) with integrated, fully configurable AI is the catalyst that transforms contracts into strategic assets and operational instruments to maintain key customer and supplier relationships in the face of constant turbulence.”
Incorporating trade-related language into contracts is now standard practice. While this helps companies mitigate exposure to sudden cost shifts or supply chain disruptions, it also increases the burden on legal teams to efficiently draft, review and manage increasingly complex language across numerous agreements. This shift is driving significant changes in how organizations manage their contracts:
- 92% of organizations now have hardwired tariff-related language into their standard contracts.
- 73% of respondents agree that tariffs have increased contract complexity and made contract management more challenging, and 71% reported higher costs.
- 55% report increased focus on compliance and legal review processes.
- 40% state that contracts are taking longer to review and approve.
The report reveals a ripple effect of operational and financial challenges caused by tariff complexity, leading to substantial business risks that extend far beyond compliance issues:
- Nearly half of organizations (49%) identify increased costs of imported materials and products as their primary threat.
- 47% worry about the impact on customer pricing and demand—suggesting tariffs are creating pricing pressures that squeeze companies from both directions.
- Regulatory uncertainty and compliance challenges rank as the third-biggest concern (44%), followed closely by reduced profit margins (42%).
Tariff uncertainty is fundamentally straining supplier relationships and procurement processes. More than one-third of companies report that contracts with suppliers or clients are being renegotiated more frequently due to changing trade regulations, while 32% identify disruption to global supply chains as one of their biggest tariff-related risks.
- 48% of U.S. companies and 52% of U.K. respondents have exited existing supplier relationships as a direct result of tariff impacts.
- Notably, U.K. organizations express significantly greater concern about supply chain disruption (45%) compared to their U.S. counterparts (30%).
- 54% of all respondents state tariff-related pressures have led them to enter new supplier relationships in unfamiliar markets or regions.
- Over 57% said tariffs have made supplier onboarding and compliance checks more complex or time-consuming.
