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A temporary 90-day US-China tariff pause offers some relief, yet many advertisers are already pulling back spend or reallocating budgets in anticipation of higher costs and geopolitical uncertainty. (For a more exhaustive analysis of companies from Google to Netflix to Meta and beyond, read our new Digital Advertising Earnings Q1 2025 report.).

Why Trump is pushing for the US鈥� withdrawal: He blames the WHO for mishandling the COVID-19 pandemic that originated in China, as well as other global health crises. Trump also thinks that the WHO demands unfair payments from the US relative to other countries. He says that despite having a population that鈥檚 300% larger than the US, China contributes nearly 90% less money to the WHO.

"They create really interesting experiences in stores,鈥� said Canaves, pointing to last year鈥檚 Valentine鈥檚 Day flower shop-style store display in London. These displays have played a crucial role in international expansion, especially in places like China where parents may not have grown up playing with the legacy brand. Strategic partnership ecosystem.

President Trump鈥檚 10% tariffs on Chinese imports will drive up prices of a wide array of goods鈥攊ncluding toys, apparel, and consumer electronics鈥攖hat will cost the typical US household an extra $172, per The Tax Foundation estimates.

础尘补锄辞苍鈥檚 ecommerce scale has made its ad business non-negotiable for brands. 础尘补锄辞苍鈥檚 dominance in US ecommerce, coupled with the challenge of achieving organic visibility on the platform, creates a buffer for retailers; advertisers鈥� reliance on its scale and reach is likely to outweigh any temptation to pull back on ad spending.

YouTube鈥檚 global prowess is particularly notable because the platform is not available in China, one of the largest potential digital markets, yet still has billions of users. Despite having more users than other platforms, YouTube is not No. 1 in digital ad revenue share worldwide. That distinction goes to Amazon, followed by Instagram, ByteDance, TikTok, and Pinduoduo.

Dig deeper: To learn more about how tariffs will roil the retail landscape, read our Retail & Ecommerce Briefing鈥檚 analysts鈥� take.

Why it鈥檚 worth watching: The tariffs, which include a baseline 10% levy on most imports and up to 245% on some goods from China, are reshaping pricing strategies across the tech industry. After the initial confusion stemming from the on-again, off-again tariff decrees, manufacturers are starting to increase prices or are halting sales.

YoY revenues for GroupM, WPP鈥檚 media investment group, also declined by 0.9% due to client losses and weakness in China. While CEO Mark Read affirmed that President Donald Trump鈥檚 tariffs did not upend client spend or directly affect WPP, he did note that tariffs 鈥渨ill impact a number of our clients as well as the broader economy.鈥�. What鈥檚 next for WPP?