The impact of global tariffs is only now being understood. Agiloft has investigated its impact and found that 92% of companies now have new tariff-related clauses in their contracts as part of their attempts to mitigate the risk brought on by the trade war. The Agiloft report “Navigating Tariff Turbulence: The Operational Impact of Global Trade Policies on Contract Management” (registration required). is based on a survey of 600 Legal procurement, IT and finance professionals across the US and UK.
It is not only about contract terms; changes lead to delays and increasing complexity in negotiations. The new reality also causes additional stress in contract creation, with an increasing number of revisions and longer review cycles.
The 19-page report highlights 10 key findings, evidencing them with data points and data visualisations. The authors also note the differences between the US and the UK, broadly though, the results were similar across both.
While the report also breaks down the survey demographic by function of respondent and size of company, the report itself sheds little light on the differences between them. There is also no qualitative element in the survey, nor have the authors drawn on industry experts or secondary resources.
In comparison to the recent report by CPiO on the impact of tariffs on SMEs, it is clear that the contracts of larger organisations are more affected by tariffs. Only 23.6% of SMEs have completed contract reviews according to the CPiO research (UK Only). In comparison, Agiloft found that 49% have exited existing supplier relationships due to the impact of tariffs.
Both reports have some interesting findings, with Agiloft focusing on the impact that tariffs have on contracts and procurement, specifically.
Prashant Dubey, Chief Strategy Officer at Agiloft, commented, “Geopolitical volatility is now an everyday reality that demands constant adaptability. 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. 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.”
Some Of The Key Findings
Tariffs have increased the complexity (73%) of contracts and also increased the cost of contract management.
Tariffs have had a greater impact on UK organisations, at 57%, compared to the US, at 51%. However, the details behind this statistic are unclear; Agiloft did not explore how suppliers have changed. Other factors may also be at play, including the war in Ukraine, Brexit, and COVID, which are still having an impact.
The Oxford College of Procurement and Supply gives three reasons that might lie behind the shift.
- Increased costs for raw materials and goods on US imports
- Supply chain disruptions and delays, caused in part by suppliers shifting distribution
- Compliance and Regulatory changes, notably customs documentation
Agiloft also noted the compliance challenges, with 65% of US respondents and 57% of UK respondents agreeing that tariffs have made compliance more complex and time-consuming. Despite the complexity, most legal teams are confident about handling the current and future trade regulations. What isn’t clear is why? Is this a result of AI providing better insights, the lead times for new regulations, or something else?
The level of confidence is not found elsewhere, and it would have been interesting to see whether the legal team shared the confidence. A survey by ReedSmith found that over 95% of companies that are facing a customs investigation demonstrate only low to moderate levels of preparedness.
New tariffs are reshaping cost structures and customer strategy, with both the US and UK identifying two of the top three risks as:
- Increased cost of imported materials or products
- Impact on customer pricing and demand
US organisations also fear the regulatory uncertainty and compliance challenges, while the UK sees the global disruption of supply chains as the greater risk. Perhaps the proximity to Ukraine and emerging EU regulations are a factor. Both sets of respondents seem to be tracking and applying tariff-related updates, as well as the volume of contracts to review, as key challenges.
Automation might be the answer, something that Agiloft is keen to help with its CLM technology. While 69.1% of organisations have adopted or are expanding existing platforms, 20% are now evaluating CLM.
The authors summarised 5 implications for organisations. The reader is given five actions they should consider looking forward including:
- Investing in Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) tools to streamline revisions and version control
- Cross-training legal and procurement teams to adapt more swiftly to regulatory and geopolitical shifts
Enterprise Times: What does this mean?
This is an interesting report that yields some expected statistics from respondents. There are a few surprises; however, the analysis and suggested actions are carefully thought out. The report could have gone deeper with a qualitative element.
The lack of trend information is disappointing, while there are significant changes in contracts around tariffs. What isn’t clear is how many contracts in 2024 contained tariff clauses.
How much has changed. The focus of the report is on the impact on contract lifecycle management, rather than the finance or supply chain elements, which might have resulted in a more comprehensive and insightful report. Additionally, the lack of breakdown between functions, industries, or company size is another oversight. Perhaps Agiloft will unveil more details in future blogs.
The Agiloft platform offers specific functionality to help organisations navigate the evolving contract landscape. It acquired Screens at the start of 2025 to provide practical, playbook-driven guidance to help organisations navigate tariff-related contract risks. Three of its playbooks can assist organisations to analyse contracts in real time:
- Buyer’s Perspective for Supplier Contracts
- Seller’s Perspective for commercial obligations
- Key Terms to Know for Quickly Identifying Tariff-Relevant Clauses
Agiloft’s AI-powered capabilities enable organisations to reduce contract review times by 80%, reducing the costs of reviews and highlighting issues that emerge. With the rising complexity and challenges contract teams now face, those without a CLM platform are facing a mounting challenge. Those who do have one need to consider whether they have chosen the right platform for growth.
