Channelnomics data shows American partners growing skeptical of Trump’s tariffs, while European partners remain cautiously optimistic.
Partner sentiment toward Trump’s tariffs is diverging sharply between North America and Europe, as shown in the Channelnomics analysis. In North America, optimism is steadily declining. In Q1, 54% of partners believed the tariffs would help their business, but by Q3, that number dropped to 45%. Meanwhile, concern about negative impacts rose from 20% in Q1 to 35% in Q2 before moderating slightly to 33% in Q3. The share expecting no impact edged up to 21%, suggesting growing uncertainty about real-world effects as tariffs become reality.
Europe tells a different story. Initial optimism was lower than in North America — 53% in Q1 — but remained steadier, with 46% still seeing potential benefits in Q3. More partners in Europe than in North America predicted no impact, holding near 26% to 28% across all three quarters. Concerns about harm increased early on, peaking at 34% in Q2, but eased to 28% in Q3, indicating that EU trade responses may be cushioning some of the potential downside.
