Trump wins US 2024: Impact on global businesses

Having won the 2024 American election, Donald Trump will be sworn in at the presidential inauguration on 20^th January 2025, at which point he legally assumes the power and responsibilities of the presidency. 

He’s promised to make his economic ideas a reality, some of them on his very first day back in office.  Trump might be the first former president to return to office in more than 130 years, but he’s doing so with his Republican party in full control of the US Senate, which means virtually all of his economic and trade policies are likely to become law.  

For business, what does the does the new Trump government mean and who’s in charge of putting policy into practice? 

Key players: The new Trump cabinet  

Trump has already filled most the 15 official positions to lead executive departments, known as the Cabinet. These appointments may or may not still require conformation by the senate, but it strongly looks like a final lineup.  Some of these roles are of particular interest to business. 

Who is Brendan Carr? 

Brendan Carr has been named Chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which regulates all domestic and international communications by cable, radio, television, satellite and wire. Carr already served as one of five sitting FCC commissioners since 2017 but is now elevated to the position of setting the Commission’s policy. 

Carr: Cons for business 

Carr has made it clear that attempts by the prior administration to reinstate net neutrality, where service providers are prohibited from throttling competitors site traffic or creating internet ‘fast lanes’, are now defunct. Business with data traffic routing through the States, travelling within American borders, or digitally providing its services or products will come under the purview of the FCC. In the EU, Regulation 2015/2120 obliges ISPs to treat all traffic equally when providing access. This means that any business offering or promoting services to a transatlantic market will have to keep in mind that their web presence may soon perform significantly differently than it does at home.  

Carr: Pros for business 

While campaigning for Trump, he promised to end the “regulatory onslaught” that he said claims has stifled job creation and industry innovation. In a public statement, Trump said “Commissioner Carr is a warrior for free speech and has fought against the regulatory lawfare that has stifled Americans’ freedoms and held back our economy”. Under Carr, deregulation and decentralization will be the order of the day, which have always been welcomed by business.  

Susie Wiles  

Donald Trump first major appointment as President Elect was to name Susie Wiles as his White House Chief of Staff. Wiles is a Washington veteran, having been part of Ronald Reagan's campaign and White House personnel.  She’s still largely remained out of the spotlight and has courted little media engagement.   

Wiles: Cons for business 

ABC News reported that Trumps “second administration could face many of the same perils as his first…testing the ability of Wiles to manage a growing number of high-powered figures including Trump's children, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and billionaires like Elon Musk who will not be dependent on her for access to the president.” Having such a bottleneck of contact between the Oval Office and business interests could prove to be unprofitable.  

Wiles: Pros for business 

Wiles has past form of representing business interest in politics. She was a lobbyist for Amazon, Google, Major League Baseball and partners in Elon Musk's SpaceX. The new Chief of Staff was also senior at Ballard Partners, which after Trump’s 2016 election established itself in Washington and generated over $70 million in lobbying fees during Trump's first term, representing a notable roster of businesses.  

Marco Rubio  

Senator Marco Rubio has been picked as Trump’s Secretary of State, the President's chief foreign affairs adviser and head diplomat.  

Rubio: cons for business 

Of interest to international business is Senator Rubio mission from Trump to use the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to block foreign investment in America’s critical sectors. This is primarily targeted at China but will also extend to international companies that may potentially share Chinese business interest in sensitive sectors. 

Rubio: pros for business 

Just before accepting the role, Rubio told CNN that the U.S. was entering “an era of pragmatic foreign policy” which eased the concerns of international businesses who were becoming increasingly nervous that the world’s most powerful economy was about to become isolationist under the ‘America First’ policy. Rubio has also said that the State Department will foster more active business partnerships with allied countries like Japan, South Korea, and members of the European Union.  

Howard Lutnick 

As head of the US Department of Commerce, the Commerce Secretary is tasked with supporting US businesses and being a broker between nations for trade deals and investment. Wall Street billionaire Howard Lutnick has been chosen for the role, to defend American business and oversee increasingly stringent import restrictions and tariffs. 

Lutnick: cons for business 

Lutnick has fully embraced Trump’s ‘America First’ economic vision, which has not been received entirely sympathetically by business analysts. Describing himself as a ‘strong capitalist’, he’s praised Trump for offering a ‘competitive growth model’ through tariffs. Preston Padden, Principle of consultants Boulder Thinking, responded by telling reporters “No sane economist would support tariffs.”  

Lutnick: pros for business 

Trump has insisted that the new policies enacted by Lutnick will massively encourage business on both side of the Atlantic, to such an extent that in a podcast Lutnick said tariffs could replace income tax. 

Big tariffs 

The most heavily publicized and far-reaching measure effecting business are the sweeping new tariffs.  As the former 45^th and soon to be 47^th President, Trump has promised fees of up to 20% on all goods imported into the US, and a punishing 60% tariff on all Chinese imports. The goal of this is to force manufacturing to return to America while providing an income to offset reduced domestic taxes, and also secure the manufacturing base so that it will remain stable during the deportation of millions of immigrants.  

Tariffs are traditionally unpopular with economists in every party. Brendan Carr, the abovementioned Chair of the FCC, co-authored the Project 2025 policy roadmap which includes explicit advice against tariffs. It cited that steel tariffs imposed by Trump’s previous presidency gained the steel industry about 1000 jobs but cost 75,000 jobs from the wider manufacturing sector.  

A large proportion of products ‘made’ by American companies are actually assembled in China and then imported. Based on the sweeping statements made by Trump prior to the election, and the sheer magnitude of the revenue promised, then almost all imports to the world’s largest economy will soon be more expensive to bring to market.    

At least in the short-term, business can expect a wait-and-see slowdown as both manufacturing and capital finds out how the sudden increase in unit prices effect international market behavior.  

Aggressive trade 

The Trump presidency has consistently and credibly pledged to put American interests first and fund these promises at the expense of its trade partners. This has made many of America’s usual peers nervous that relations have taken an adversarial turn. Thilo Brodtmann, Head of the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association, said in a press statement " Trump's second term in office will be a greater challenge for German and European industry than his first term.”  

Despite Trumps claims that a heavily protected markets will make the world want to trade more with America, rather than less, most forecasters expect this approach to strain global trade and force both European business and especially China to develop alternative markets.  

On one hand, domestic device manufacturers can look forward to some fairly significant tax reductions under the new administration.  

On the other hand, the Wall Street Journal has predicted the overall reduction in state income means that the Federal Reserve will almost certainly increase its interest rates. This will be felt by transatlantic businesses that are currently financing credit, or looking to merge or acquire, which can destabilize even big businesses.   

What's next? 

The first reaction that many businesses have had is to stock up, quickly. Logistics companies are reporting that every sector from retail to manufacturing are moving as fast as possible to cushion themselves from a bumpy start to new tariffs and trade laws.  

Paul Brashier, Vice President at ITS Logistics, told CNBC News “This is 2018 all over again…The calls expand beyond shippers who have Chinese imports. The global tariff threat is fueling calls for frontloading all around the globe.” 

Between aggressive new policies, rapidly shifting technological priorities, tax incentives and trade disincentives, the terrain is unpredictable for business. A strong suggestion is to take control of the costs that can be seen and understood on an immediate term, to help with whatever is coming in the next quarter.     

Any prudent business strategy requires a flexible and scalable communications platform that performs both in terms of cost-efficiency and robust dependability. If you can’t be sure what’s coming down the road, you need to be certain that your organization and communicate and respond advantageously when that situation does arrive, from anywhere, anytime.   

Enterprise-tier solutions

Communication solutions tailored for enterprise-scale organizations, powered by embedded SIM (eSIM) and easily managed via single-surface administrative tools are among the most essential advantages used by agile businesses. Global connectivity pioneers like 1GLOBAL empower businesses with solutions that are both cost-effective and instantly scalable.

This technology provides a streamlined experience, eliminating the need for physical SIM cards and ensuring seamless connectivity across different carriers (including all of America) for optimal coverage and cost efficiency. If your people find themselves having to respond to changing opportunities and obstacles then individuals, teams or entire departments can be provisioned with the international data connectivity they need in just minutes. With swift activation and the freedom to activate data plans directly on corporate devices, professional global connectivity solutions keep everyone up to speed while also sidestepping the often-exorbitant fees of international roaming. 

The rapid adoption of packaged professional connectivity by both a local and enterpise-tier business has largely been driven by its unparalleled convenience at both an individual and organizational level. Pre-and post-pay- bundles offer cost-effective roaming and effortless network switching, while eSIMS do away with the cumbersome handling of physical cards. This technology and model has become a staple feature in virtually every modern corporate network.

Cost saving

Previously, international roaming involved juggling a collection of SIM cards, each with its own contractual obligations, fees, and regional limitations. This not only generated administrative overhead and expenses but also led to inevitable losses and replacements.   

This is exactly the kind of unnecessary cost and drag that the smartest businesses are making sure won’t slow them down in the new environment of market uncertainty, emergent opportunity and sudden pitfall.