Tariff And Trade Speakers: Who To Book When The Rules Keep Changing

Tariff and trade speakers have moved from a niche booking to a standing agenda item, because the rules businesses plan against have been rewritten twice in eighteen months. The eleven below cover the policy rooms where the decisions get made, the models that price the consequences, and the broadcast skill to explain both to an audience that does not work in economics.

The scale of the shift is easy to state. The US average effective tariff rate was 2.3% in January 2025. By July 2026 it stood at 6.7%, with China-specific rates at 22.8% and steel and aluminium at 40.5%, according to the Penn Wharton Budget Model. In February 2026 the Supreme Court struck down the tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and within months comparable barriers were rebuilt under different statutes.

What does a tariff and trade speaker actually cover?

Four things, and most briefs want two of them. What the current rules are and which legal authority they rest on. What they do to prices, margins and supply chains. Where the politics moves next. And what a business should do about it, which is the part audiences turn up for.

The legal authority question matters more than it sounds. After the February ruling, the replacement measures came through Section 122, a 10% global surcharge that expired on 24 July 2026, then Section 301 tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on imports from 60 economies from late July. Each statute carries its own time limits, review points and exposure to challenge, so "which authority" tells a planning team how long a rate is likely to hold. A speaker who can answer that is worth more to a leadership audience than one who can only describe the headline number.

For the domestic picture alongside the global one, our guide to economics keynote speakers on the UK economy covers the speakers who work on tax, spending and growth at home.

Five speakers on tariffs, trade and what happens next

Josep Borrell was the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and a Vice-President of the European Commission, which put him in the room for the bloc's response to trade and sanctions decisions taken elsewhere. He works on European politics, economic policy and international affairs, and is based in Madrid.

For an audience with European exposure, he is the speaker who can explain how Brussels decides what to absorb and what to answer, and why the response is often slower and more legal than the coverage suggests. Useful for leadership teams whose supply chains cross the Atlantic and who need to understand the other side's constraints rather than just their own. £26,000 to £50,000.

Learn more and book Josep Borrell →

George Yeo served as Singapore's Foreign Minister and now advises multinationals on operating across Asian markets and across political systems that do not share a starting position. He works on geopolitics, international economic policy and leadership.

Most trade content sold into UK and US events is written from one side of the map. Yeo gives an audience the view from the other, which matters if your growth plan, your manufacturing or your logistics runs through the region. Sessions suit senior audiences making location and sourcing decisions rather than reacting to the last headline. $26,000 to $50,000.

PepTalk Fact: George sits on the boards of AIA Group and Kerry Logistics Network, so the supply chain question is not a theoretical one for him 🚢

Learn more and book George Yeo →

Neil Shearing is Group Chief Economist at Capital Economics, where he analyses geopolitics, trade and the macro picture for clients worldwide. He appears regularly in the Financial Times, on Bloomberg TV and on BBC News, so the material is current rather than a set piece rebuilt once a year.

This is the booking for an audience that wants the forecast and the working behind it. He is also the most affordable name on this list by some distance, which makes him a strong choice for an internal leadership day or a client breakfast where the budget will not stretch to a former minister. £6,000 to £10,000.

Learn more and book Neil Shearing →

Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation, a former economic adviser to Donald Trump and a long-standing Wall Street Journal writer. He works on tax, budget and energy policy from a supply-side position.

Audiences hear the effects of US trade policy constantly and the reasoning behind it rarely. Moore supplies the reasoning, which is what a board needs if it is trying to anticipate the next move rather than react to the last one. Pair him with an economist or a European voice if you want the room to hear the case tested. $26,000 to $50,000.

Learn more and book Stephen Moore →

Steph McGovern built her career translating business and finance for mainstream audiences across the BBC, Channel 4 and her own podcasts, after starting out in manufacturing. She works on financial journalism, entrepreneurship and British industry.

The rest of this list is aimed at people who follow this material already. McGovern is the booking for everyone else, an all-staff conference, a customer event, a regional business audience where half the room makes the product and none of them read the trade press. She also hosts, so she can carry a panel of the specialists above. £11,000 to £25,000.

Learn more and book Steph McGovern →

Six more trade and economics speakers worth knowing

How much do tariff and trade speakers cost?

From £6,000 to over £50,000, and the range tracks what the speaker did rather than how well they present. Neil Shearing and Fredrik Erixon sit at £6,000 to £10,000. Paul Johnson, Steph McGovern and Ben Thompson are £11,000 to £25,000. Josep Borrell and Stephanie Flanders are £26,000 to £50,000, with George Yeo and Stephen Moore at $26,000 to $50,000. Mário Centeno and Zanny Minton Beddoes are priced on enquiry.

Two working economists cost less than one former minister, and for a brief that is mostly "what does this mean for our numbers", they often serve the audience better. Save the ministerial budget for when the room needs the view from inside the negotiation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the content still be accurate by the time of our event?

The rates will have moved, and a good speaker builds for that. Ask for a content refresh in the fortnight before the date, and choose someone who works on this daily, since a speaker who is in the FT or on Bloomberg most weeks is already maintaining the material.

Do we need an economist or a broadcaster?

It depends on the room. A leadership team or investor audience gets more from an economist working with models and forecasts. An all-staff or customer audience gets more from a broadcaster who explains the same material without assuming prior knowledge. For a mixed audience, book a broadcaster to host and an economist to deliver.

Can a trade speaker address our sector specifically?

Most will, given a briefing call and something to work from. Send your exposure in outline, the markets you import from or sell into, and the decisions you are weighing. The sector detail comes from the brief rather than from the speaker's stock material, so the earlier it lands, the more tailored the session.

How far ahead should we book?

Three to six months for the former ministers and editors, who diary up early around conference season and policy events. Working economists and broadcasters can often be secured closer in, sometimes at six to eight weeks, which is worth knowing if trade policy has forced its way onto your agenda at short notice.

For the speakers who report on all of this rather than make it, see our guide to journalist speakers who can explain the world to your audience.

Tell us the audience, the exposure and the budget, and we'll come back with a shortlist. Send us a message via the chat and we'll take it from there. Remember, it's always a good time to get a PepTalk!