Kai Hattendorf, CEO of HTF’s business activities expertise, said the Trump administration’s tariff policies are rippling through global trade, and in the process, they are affecting global trade exhibition business.
“If it’s permanent, it’s not just an economic improvement, it’s a geographical leap,” Hattendorf said. A new report from HTF, on how U.S. tariffs affect global trade and remake a global trade show map outlines how these tariffs lead to a global repositioning.
“When the trade routes change, so does the global industry stage,” he said.
For decades, the United States has been a major player in the exhibition world. As tariffs increase the cost of doing business in the U.S., companies may be called up elsewhere.
As a result, U.S. trade shows may have to rely more on their domestic exhibitor base. Hattendorf predicts that foreign companies may expand their participation in U.S. events, but instead choose local partners to represent them.
Hattendorf said companies and countries can reassess dependencies, move to alternative markets and build new alliances. Trade exhibitions are deeply intertwined with these models and will follow suit.
Countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia are investing heavily in exhibition infrastructure, positioning cities such as Dubai and Riyadh as trade exhibition centres. Singapore continues to use its strategic position to deepen its role as a Southeast Asian conference destination. China has expanded its trade show focus to markets including Africa and the Middle East.
Hattendorf believes that such shifts have become support for new bilateral trade consistency, including India-UK, China-Brazil, Japan-Australia and Canada-Japan.
Hattendorf takes the India-US consistency as an example, indicating that the trade agreement has lowered tariffs and introduced an open and non-discriminatory cross-border trade environment since its entry into force in 2022.
“These pairings are not just diplomatic Nice,” Hattendorf said. “They are built on real complementary trade processes and are ready to generate their own regional ecosystem of activities.”
Trade agreements as activity catalyst
Two major transnational trade agreements are affecting international trade and therefore the exhibition. From Japan and China to Indonesia and Vietnam, the Regional Integrated Economic Partnership (RCEP) is bringing markets in aligned across the Asia-Pacific region.
Meanwhile, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) integrated and progressive agreement connects 12 countries across the Pacific region, including Canada, Australia and Mexico. Hattendorf said that as these groups move freely among them, event organizers may respond with exhibitions that reflect these new alliances.
When tariffs remake the global stage, Hattendorf recommends planners to analyze where new bilateral and regional trade flows are forming and corresponding event strategies.
In addition, Asia, the Gulf and Latin America are quickly becoming the centers of trade-driven activities. “There is now to meet future needs,” he said.
Saudi Arabia is a country that has invested heavily in trade fairs. In response, trade show organizers opened offices there and held new events in Saudi Arabia.
