Start of Q4 Bringing New Tariffs and Affecting Supply Chains

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The opening bell live from the New York Stock Exchange.

While the government shut down at the stroke of midnight, and the US placing tariffs on all imported heavy duty trucks, pharma companies that aren't building in the US now face 100% tariffs on their products, also 25% tariffs on kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, upholstered furniture to go into effect in two weeks.

Meanwhile, foreign softwood lumber and Timber will also see a 10% tariff starting the 14th of October.

Well joining me here live at the New York Stock Exchange is Karim Kiy, president and CEO of the Atlas Network.

Kareem, great to have you here.

Thank you so much for joining me for having me as always.

Really appreciate it.

Well, as we kick off the final quarter of 2025, the countdown to Thanksgiving and also the holidays are on, but we know that the American economy moves on. spending.

So what do you make of these incoming tariffs?

What does the need for consumers?

Well, you know, it's a real challenge because almost 70% of Americans, that's 170 million people, are on medication of one sort or another in the United States.

And so when we're talking about tariffs of up to 100%, these are impacts that will absolutely, you know, work against the American consumer.

And you know we see certain companies such as Pfizer that are scrambling right now to essentially be able to figure out ways to work hand in hand with the government, which they are, and coming up with sort of some reprieves as they're doing more and more building in the United States, which is obviously a very positive thing.

But at the same time, what happens on the in between when we need these meds the most and who's going to end up paying for these cost differentials?

So again, I think it's very important to think about the American consumer.

When we're talking about these products that impact their daily lives.

Yeah, and speaking of products, since we're talking about pharmaceutical, there are a lot of moving parts here, including that manufacturing on US oil and investment that you mentioned, but at the same time, we heard the announcement about Trump RX as well.

So how do you think all of this is going to shake out and what does it mean for a supply chain?

Yeah, I mean, I think that in the end of the day supply chain is It was about finding the most effective solution and getting it to the hands of the consumers in the most effective manner and as long as we're working towards those processes, whether they're domestically or overseas, it's always going to be the best outcome.

So we have to look at the most effective way to get products in the hands of consumers.

Today we know that there's a high reliance upon the international markets to do so and for some companies that have the bandwidth or cap.

Abilities that are able to do these transitions, it may end up working out better in some ways for some consumers and these companies, but there is a bandwidth and there's a runway to be able to get these products facilitated and produced efficiently and at scale.

So it's going to be sort of a give and take a little bit over the next, I'd say 1 to 2 years to really determine this.

I think the Trump RX program is part of this initiative to go in these directions and we're just going to have to see where it's going to really go.

Yeah, and as you were talking, Kareem, I was thinking of the terms optimization as well as operational efficiency, and we've been hearing a lot about the role that artificial intelligence plays in industries.

So tell us how AI is actually transforming procurement, but also logistics here.

It's unbelievable what's happening with the realm of AI, especially in global supply chain.

We know that in global supply chain there are many aspects to the supply chain.

So for example, in the procurement sourcing side, I do a lot of work with Alibaba, as you know, they've developed Axio, which is the world's first AI sourcing powered tool to procure and find the right supplier anywhere in the world, and this is an amazing product that in you know, the push of a button you can essentially get access to the right suppliers anywhere in the world that meet exactly your needs and demands.

Not only that, but will produce an entire business plan on how to run that company if you can believe it.

Um, outside of that, you obviously have areas of warehousing and fulfillment that are fully automated according to robotics and so forth.

We have delivery mechanisms that range from drones to automated trucking that are coming online as well.

And so the use of kind of the human capital side of global supply chain, which consists tends to be a bottleneck in many ways.

Think about things like a strike or pandemics, things where people can't get to work.

Those concerns become alleviated when there's more of a reliance on AI and levels of robotics.

And so if we're looking at supply chain just in terms of general efficiency from end to end, AI and technologies will continue to push that forward.

And when we're talking about technology, we do have to talk about security.

So tell us about cybersecurity and risk, because when we're talking about national security, we know that there are so many moving parts.

So what's going on with investment in cybersecurity?

So this is interesting because of the rising costs of technology, specifically.

Around products, let's say that rely upon certain metals like copper and so forth that go into semiconductors and things of that nature because of these rising costs, many companies have been curbing back on some of these peripherals such as upgrades and cybersecurity, which ends up leaving them vulnerable to attacks and hacks and things of that nature which could be ultimately more disastrous.

These increases in the cost structure that they're dealing with.

So I do think that just like anything else in business, you need to look at what's immediately in front of you and also plan for the unexpected too, and the cybersecurity protection is part of that process.

It can't be ignored, absolutely can't be ignored because it is significant and very important to the process.

Yeah, we all know hindsight is 2020, and there's a reason why contingency plans actually are in place.

So finally, I do want to ask you about the role of automation.

So do you think automation will actually minimize future disruptions or no?

Well, I do believe that it will minimize certain types of disruptions and specifically I think the Disruptions that rely upon, as I said, levels of human capital where you know robots don't take sick days, they don't take vacation days and so forth, and technology can run 24 hours a day.

I mean just look at where we are here in the New York Stock Exchange.

I mean, it's all machines and it's moving at the speed of light and that's what's moving the global economy forward and the same thing goes for global supply.

Chain I think that as we see more levels of automation that we're going to continue to see levels of efficiency, better output, better results, and so forth, and I think that that's good for the general global economy.

And finally, Karim, before I let you go, you have many conversations with different types of stakeholders when it comes to supply chains.

So what is something that the headlines are currently missing right now?

I think the headlines are currently missing the importance of communication and supply chain.

We talked about this earlier today, and you know when you're dealing in a global economy and you're bridging these continents, one of the most important parts is having proper levels of communication between yourselves and your counterparts to really be able to get the best outcome.

Regardless of the levels of technology and automation and efficiency that we have, there are still human beings that are involved in the process.

It's not a replacement for human beings.

It's an enhancement.

And so we need to focus in on the importance of being global citizens and at the same time relying upon the importance of communication, and that will get the most efficient outcome.

Well, some sage words there, Karim.

So thank you so much for joining me as always and thank you so much for sharing all of your insights so much appreciate it.

Thank you.