Podcast Summary: Supply Chain Now – The Buzz: Understanding the Impact of Global Trade Tariffs

Date: March 21, 2025
Host: Kevin L. Jackson (sitting in for Scott Lewton)
Guest: Warwick Powell, Chairman of Smart Trade Networks, Adjunct Professor at Queensland University of Technology

Episode Overview

In this episode of "The Buzz," host Kevin L. Jackson explores the sweeping impact of recent U.S. global trade tariffs and their far-reaching implications on supply chains, business strategy, and international relations. Featuring Warwick Powell, an expert in digital trade and supply chain dynamics, the episode digs into how organizations are reacting, innovating, and evolving as global trade barriers rise.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Setting the Context: U.S. Trade Tariffs (03:00–04:30)

• Summary of Recent Tariffs

  • U.S. has imposed sweeping tariffs: 25% on Canada and Mexico (general imports), 10% on Chinese goods, 25% on EU steel and aluminum.
  • Some countries, such as Canada and the EU, have retaliated; others, like Australia, have opted not to.
  • The episode focuses on how these changes reverberate through global supply chains.

• Quote:

  "Unless you've been under a rock, you know that our president has been basically telling every country in the world that you have to pay up to trade with the United States." — Kevin L. Jackson [03:30]

2. Guest Introduction: Warwick Powell (04:30–06:13)

• Powell's background in Australia, originally from Hong Kong.
• Roles: R&D in digital technologies (blockchain, AI, IoT) and chairman of Smart Trade Networks.
• Mission: Empower small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to access global markets and benefit from technology.

3. Australia’s Ecosystem & Powell’s Academic Work (08:43–11:11)

• Brisbane and Southeast Queensland described as significant regional economic hubs.

• Powell’s academic work bridges tech innovation and supply chain management, emphasizing collaboration.

• Importance of digitalization and interdisciplinary research in supply chain innovation.

• Quote:

  "When you get a bunch of clever, creative people together in a room and you get to brainstorm around a particular set of problems, you really are able to... reach a level of being a human being that... is to be creative." — Warwick Powell [10:19]

4. Geopolitics, Technology & Data Sovereignty (11:11–16:22)

• The intersection of advancing technology and shifting politics is fueling change in supply chains.

• Governments are increasingly focused on risk and national security, including where data is stored and how it's managed.

• The age of uncontested American tech dominance is fading, with rising concern for data sovereignty.

• Quote:

  "What was in effect an environment where American big technology was the de facto global technology... has been unwinding very quickly and countries around the world have become more sensitive to the big question of data sovereignty." — Warwick Powell [12:26]

5. Data & Information as a Supply Chain (13:20–17:46)

• Data is the core glue for supply chain operations — enabling forecasting, demand signaling, and coordination.

• Cryptography’s role: securing information exchange while respecting national restrictions (“mathematics of secrets”).

• Infrastructure for digital data (cables, data centers, cloud) is now strategic, not just technical.

• Quote:

  "Information itself is a supply chain problem. We collect information, we make information, we validate information, we store information, we distribute information, we access information and we use information." — Warwick Powell [18:56]

6. Impact of Tariffs: Agility, Compliance, and Adaptation (16:22–23:34)

• Tariffs aim to shift price signals, incentivizing domestic sourcing and investment.

• Companies adapt by:

  • Seeking alternative suppliers (non-tariff countries, domestic substitutes)
  • Absorbing or passing on increased costs
  • Navigating complex compliance (an “information problem”)
  • Relocating manufacturing to countries like Vietnam, Malaysia, Mexico, to bypass tariffs

• “Digital transformation” is essential for tracking, transparency, and compliance.

• Quote:

  "Compliance is just an information problem and a big and complicated information problem." — Warwick Powell [20:51]

7. Australia’s Response & Economic Reasoning (23:34–28:06)

• Australia has chosen not to retaliate with tariffs on the U.S., citing potential harm to its own consumers via higher prices and inflation.

• U.S. generally holds a trade surplus with Australia—a unique dynamic.

• Companies may absorb tariffs to protect market share, sometimes at the cost of margins or jobs. Eventually costs can trickle down to consumers.

• Quote:

  "Australia is a trading nation... the United States actually has a trade surplus [with Australia]. The imposition of tariffs obviously affects prices and the way it works through supply chains can be quite complex." — Warwick Powell [24:44]

8. Strategic Advice for Companies (28:06–34:55)

• Smart Trade Networks’ Guidance:

  • First, pause and assess the broader environment instead of reacting hastily.
  • Careful planning and scenario-mapping are vital for investments in new locations or capacity.
  • Diversify markets: as U.S. share of global trade shrinks, other regional markets (especially in Asia) are growing.
  • Emerging trends: supply chains reforming into tighter, regionally concentrated networks (e.g., intra-Asian trade).
  • Doubts about U.S. ambitions to revive manufacturing simply through tariffs due to deeper issues (financialized economy, declining skills, lack of equipment manufacturing).

• Quote:

  "Just as the market in the U.S. becomes a tougher market, it also creates opportunities to open up markets elsewhere... In Asia... supply chain reconfiguration is seeing an intensification of... intra regional trade." — Warwick Powell [29:43]

9. Is This Really a Trade War? (35:13–38:55)

• Host asks if this is an economic “war” or just economic evolution.

• Powell: While concerns about decline in U.S. industry are understandable and legitimate, tariffs alone will not reverse economic history. The world cannot be “turned back.”

• Global trade dynamics are more distributed than during the 1930s; American tariffs lack the old leverage.

• Quote:

  "The world can't be turned back because of technology development [and] the ability of other countries to literally move on to markets elsewhere." — Warwick Powell [36:12]

10. Historical Perspective: Tariffs Then vs. Now (38:55–44:47)

• Powell contextualizes the current moment versus the tariff wars of the 1920s-30s:

  • Then: U.S. and Europe made up 60–70% of global trade.
  • Now: Cross-Atlantic trade is only 6% of global trade; China's trade with the Global South exceeds that with Western economies.

• Today's impact of U.S. tariffs is much less systemically destabilizing.

• Quote:

  "At this stage, I would suggest that the leverage impact... of American tariffs today is far less significant than it was 90 years ago. And that's how the world has changed." — Warwick Powell [44:23]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Most of these critters are more scared of humans than humans should be scared of them." — Warwick Powell (on Australian wildlife) [06:58]
• "Compliance is just an information problem and a big and complicated information problem." — Warwick Powell [20:51]
• "The rest of the world, however, will continue moving on. And I think that's the big difference between what's happening today and what happened in the late 1920s and early 1930s." — Warwick Powell [34:11]

Segment Timestamps

| Time | Segment | |-------------|---------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:03–00:59 | Promo, show opening, event announcements | | 00:59–04:30 | Host intro, tariff overview | | 04:30–06:13 | Guest intro, Smart Trade Networks background | | 06:13–08:43 | Australia anecdotes, personal stories | | 08:43–11:11 | Brisbane, Powell’s academic work | | 11:11–16:22 | Geopolitics, technology, data sovereignty | | 16:22–23:34 | Tariffs, agility, digitalization in supply chains | | 23:34–28:06 | Australia's response, economic effects | | 28:06–34:55 | Company advice, shifting global trade patterns | | 35:13–38:55 | Is this really a "trade war"? | | 38:55–44:47 | Global history: Smoot-Hawley v. current circumstances | | 44:47–46:43 | Connecting with the guest, resources | | 46:43–48:23 | Closing, upcoming shows (content ends at 48:23) |

How to Connect with Warwick Powell

• LinkedIn: Warwick Powell
• Substack: warwickcarl.com (in-depth essays on geopolitics, China, supply chain)
• Book: “China Trust and Digital Supply Chains: Dynamics in a Zero Trust World”

Tone & Final Thoughts

• The episode combines wit (Australian wildlife banter), deep technical and historical insight, and practical advice.
• The overall tone is expert but accessible—demystifying a complex topic for practitioners and business leaders.

"Just as the market in the U.S. becomes a tougher market, it also creates opportunities to open up markets elsewhere... the rest of the world will continue moving on."
— Warwick Powell [29:43]