October 14, 2025 — While a majority of large Asia-based companies don’t expect to experience any significant negative impact from U.S. tariffs, there is one important exception to that trend: companies in countries like South Korea and India that did not expect to get hit with sizable tariffs.
Most of the Asia-based companies participating in a recent study from Crisil Coalition Greenwich say new tariffs won’t have a major effect on their businesses in the short term. Many large companies in China have already diverted a portion of their exports to new markets and scaled back ties with U.S. banks. Elsewhere in Asia, strong corporate balance sheets have enabled companies with significant exposure to the United States to absorb tariff costs while they wait and see how things play out.
As a result of these factors, only about one-third of large corporates based in Asia say tariffs will have a negative impact on their businesses in the next six to 12 months.
The situation is very different in countries that did not anticipate high tariffs. South Korea is one example, where the share of companies predicting that tariffs will have a negative impact jumps to a full 60%.
“South Korean companies were blindsided in April 2025 when the U.S. announced a 25% tariff on most South Korean goods,” says Ruchirangad Agarwal, Relationship Director and Head of Corporate Banking at Crisil Coalition Greenwich and coauthor of Asia trade finance: Assessing the impact of U.S. tariffs. “Although the South Korean government ultimately negotiated the tariff rate down to 15%, even that new duty represents a significant change to the export business models of South Korean companies.”
A similar scenario is playing out today in India. On August 27, the U.S. increased the tariff rate on Indian goods to 50%. While the exact number of companies negatively impacted by tariffs in India is not yet known, the percentage is expected to be high.
Asia Corporates Hold Off on Price Increases - For Now
Only 5% of the large Asia-based corporates interviewed in Q2 2025 for the Coalition Greenwich Voice of Client – 2025 Asia Trade Finance Study had raised prices because of tariffs or said they planned to raise prices in the next six to 12 months.
Companies appear to hold this stance for two reasons. First, corporate balance sheets on average are strong across Asia. And second, those strong balance sheets have given companies the flexibility to absorb tariff costs in the short term to preserve customer relationships and market position, and wait to see the ultimate outcome.
“That dynamic may change as markets begin adjusting to the new tariff rates,” says Elijah Lim, Senior Research Manager and Product Lead for Trade Finance, and report coauthor. “It’s one thing to accept a transitory price increase. It’s another thing entirely to accept permanently lower profit margins.”
Asia trade finance: Assessing the impact of U.S. tariffs draws on interviews with large companies across Asia to assess the impact of U.S. tariffs and document the strategies companies are implementing to navigate tariff-related challenges. The report also analyzes some potential unexpected consequences of the tariffs, including increasing calls for de-dollarization, a loss of market penetration in Asia for U.S. banks, and falling prices for raw materials and other goods in some Asian markets.