Navigating M&A Transactions Amidst Trump’s Tariffs: Five Legal Issues to Consider
The introduction of tariffs under the Trump Administration—and their subsequent partial (yet perhaps temporary) rollback—has added a new layer of complexity and a great deal of uncertainty to the high-stakes world of M&A transactions, as the market enters what is likely to be a challenging second quarter. There are several key practical issues that legal […]
Peter B. Wolf and Stephanie Coirin are Partners and McKaela Broitman is an Associate at Mayer Brown LLP. This post is based on their Mayer Brown memorandum.
The introduction of tariffs under the Trump Administration—and their subsequent partial (yet perhaps temporary) rollback—has added a new layer of complexity and a great deal of uncertainty to the high-stakes world of M&A transactions, as the market enters what is likely to be a challenging second quarter. There are several key practical issues that legal teams must consider when executing an M&A transaction in light of the ever-evolving tariff environment, including new and heightened areas of risk during the due diligence process, allocating closing risk through material adverse effect (MAE) clauses and related conditions to closing, and other critical transaction components. This Legal Update provides practical guidance to help dealmakers considering an M&A transaction in the near-term better understand how parties on both sides of the transaction must carefully weigh the impact of these tariffs and effectively manage the associated risks.
