June 9, 2025
This week, the World Media Group group hosted The Editors’ View at the FMI Financial Marketing Leaders Summit. WMG CEO Jamie Credland chaired a panel with Faisal Islam, Economics Editor, BBC News, Izabella Kaminska, Senior Finance Editor, POLITICO Europe, and Elisa Martinuzzi, Editor EMEA Finance & Markets, Reuters. Our experts unpacked the impact of Trump-era tariffs, the global response to U.S. policy, and what this all means for business leaders navigating an increasingly fragmented world.
Global pushback
The discussion opened with the subject of U.S. tariffs, notably the 50% duty on steel and aluminum. Faisal Islam explained that the response to the tariffs has highlighted the fact that the world isn’t as US-centric as many had assumed, with the global community refusing to tolerate US policy. “What we’re seeing from the US is an attempt to establish dominion and authority,” Islam said. “And, if it was to have worked fully from the American perspective, the rest of the world would have quickly fallen into line as the UK has done. The story of the past six months is that it hasn’t happened.” Instead, we’re seeing countries such as Japan, China, Mexico and Canada push back.
Japan’s response to the tariffs provided a good example of this. Known for diplomatic caution, Japanese negotiators stood firm, emphasising their own strategic needs rather than bowing to US pressure, suggesting Washington’s unilateral moves are now provoking scrutiny and resistance rather than compliance. Izabella Kaminska speculated on how the strategic courtship of Japan by the U.S. might play out, particularly in finance. As the largest holder of U.S. Treasuries, Japan could be persuaded to buy longer-duration debt, providing a financial backstop in return for industrial or trade concessions.
Tariffs as theatre but with real consequences
The panel debated whether Trump’s extreme measures with tariffs were as much about optics as economics. Referring to the recent drama around Trump’s ‘TACO’ politics (Trump always chickens out), Kaminska said it should be viewed as a deliberate strategy rather than a reaction. “Trump has been doing ‘TACO’ for 40 years as part of his core deal-making strategy,” she said. “He talks about it in his books – his trademark way of getting a deal done is to take an extreme position, terrify your counterpart and walk it back.”
She argued that what many view as erratic decision-making is driven by a gut-led, instinctive understanding of deal-making honed over decades. “You can call Trump many things, but you can’t say he’s ineffective in terms of pushing his own agenda and achieving power,” she said.
Kaminska went on to talk about how Trump’s psychological profile, possibly shaped by ADHD, influences his strategic decision-making. This method, relying on instinct over detailed articulation, has delivered both unpredictability and results. While not a defense of his style, Kaminska suggested it’s critical to understand this framework to interpret U.S. policy direction. That said, the panel agreed that these moves had real consequences, disrupting markets, sowing uncertainty and shaking supply chains.
Europe: short-term gains, long-term challenges
Turning to Europe, Credland asked Elisa Martinuzzi for her perspective. “A fracturing world is not good for Europe. It’s an exporting economy, and we’re already seeing some real-life impact,” Martinuzzi said. You’ve had auto supply plants in Germany saying today they’ve had to stop production because of China’s export control, so it’s already having a real-life impact on the economies.”
While Europe may see a near-term economic boost from increased defense and infrastructure spending, it remains vulnerable to global trade fragmentation. Martinuzzi warned that without meaningful reforms, including progress on capital markets integration, Europe could miss the opportunity to bolster its strategic autonomy.
Political stumbling blocks are compounding the problem: snap elections, coalition volatility and structural fragmentation limit Europe’s ability to present a coherent economic response. “I think in the short term, there’s a bit of a silver lining – strategic autonomy,” Martinuzzi said. “But long term, if Europe is going to build on that, it needs reforms that are not there yet.”
The Battle to lead in AI
Beyond tariffs, a broader struggle is playing out: the battle over who will lead in AI and advanced manufacturing. Kaminska likened the current disruption to a necessary reset – a signal that the existing economic system is no longer fit for purpose. With AI enabling local, distributed manufacturing, global supply chains may become obsolete, leading to a redefinition of where and how goods are made. This shift is pushing countries like Saudi Arabia to position themselves as industrial powerhouses of the AI age, and it’s a space both the U.S. and China are racing to dominate.
UK: A need for reform
Answering a question from the audience about the UK’s future, Kaminska said Britain, like much of the West, is in a period of hyper-normalisation, where systemic dysfunction is accepted as the norm. Without structural reform, the country risks stagnation. Despite the current challenges, however, the panel highlighted reasons for positivity. They pointed to areas of strength, particularly in finance, defense and innovation, highlighting the UK’s capacity for significant long-term potential. With the right political alignment and investment in modern infrastructure and productivity, the UK could position itself as a flexible, high-value economy at the forefront of the AI-driven industrial transformation.
Communicating complexity to the public
For financial marketers, a key takeaway was how to make complex economic stories resonate. The panel highlighted the power of storytelling through real-world examples. Islam relayed an anecdote about a toy importer in Arizona who was unable to print the prices in her holiday brochure due to uncertainty around tariffs. The story brought to life the real-world impact of the trade war. By combining these sorts of anecdotes with data, journalists can create narratives that truly connect with audiences.
Finally, the panel agreed there’s a growing appetite for deep, explanatory journalism, and, by extension, an opportunity for brands to step into that role in their own storytelling.