In 2025, the global trade war saw major escalation, driven by new and revised tariffs instituted by the US and President Donald Trump. The first half of the year was marked by contentious negotiations and back and forth retaliatory tariffs that left consumers and businesses alike reeling.
The question at the heart of the confusion — what do changing tariffs mean for brands and buyers — has no definitive answer. However, the global discussion so far offers some valuable insights for marketers as they prepare for the months ahead.
We used GenAI Lens, Meltwater’s industry-first, LLM-monitoring solution, to understand how tariff discussions in 2025 have impacted how AI tools represent major global brands. For marketers, the public narrative around tariffs can have huge impacts on messaging, pricing, product development, and more.
But first, let’s take a look at what the overall tariff conversation has looked like, as well as which industries are showing up in the discussion most.
The overall global tariffs conversation
According to our social listening analysis of traditional, digital, and social media sources, there were over 1.13 million mentions of tariffs related to the luxury goods, food and beverage (F&B), fashion, and beauty industries from January 1 to December 2, 2025. About half of those came from news sources, while X and Reddit mentions comprised about 20% each.
Mentions and engagement peaked in April, driven by President Trump’s Executive Order. This imposition of a 10% reciprocal baseline tariff, plus added rates for imports from over 80 countries, escalated the global trade war and sparked significant public outcry.
The piece of content that generated the highest engagement that month was a reaction from MrBeast. Just days after the Executive Order was announced, the YouTube superstar commented that it was now cheaper to manufacture his Feastables brand chocolate bars overseas rather than in the US.
The second most engaging post came from a fan account of US fast food chain In-N-Out Burger, which used the new tariffs as an opportunity to highlight that none of its ingredients are imported and so its prices would not change. Responses to the X post praised the company for using domestically produced goods and remaining affordable.
In the future, as policy announcements continue to fuel consumer conversations about tariffs, select brands can use those moments to highlight favorable aspects of their business to their fans.
Which industries dominate tariff conversations?
Our social listening analysis looking at tariff mentions related to the F&B, fashion, beauty, and luxury sectors found that the F&B industry comes out on top in share of voice (SOV) of tariff discussions. Of the four sectors we analyzed using Meltwater’s AI-powered content classification, F&B comprised 87% of mentions and 78% of engagement. F&B’s prominence in tariff discussions reflect its prominence in consumers’ everyday lives. As a result, these products are top of mind for social media users talking about tariffs and their potential impacts on daily life.
Notably, discussion of tariffs’ impacts across industries varied by source. F&B mentions were prominent on X and Reddit, while those about fashion dominated Instagram, reflecting the platform’s visual-first and trend-driven nature.
To better understand how location influences tariff discussions, we analyzed geolocated posts from the US, Canada, and the UK, revealing which countries were mentioned most often in each market. Tariff mentions in the US focused on its biggest trade partners: Canada, China, and Mexico. However, posts in Canada overwhelmingly focused on itself, reflecting the rise and prominence of the Buy Canadian movement and national pride.
Similarly, tariff mentions in the UK mentioned itself more than any other country, but interestingly over 30% of luxury and fashion mentions were linked to China. This was likely driven both by longstanding consumer buzz about global supply chains as well as a wave of viral social media videos earlier this year claiming to “expose” luxury brands that allegedly manufacture their goods in China but label them as European-made. As Business of Fashion reported in April, top luxury brands largely ignored the buzz.
For brands, tailoring messaging around tariff-related issues like price and sourcing requires digging into audience conversations by topic, geography, and more. Media and social intelligence assistants like Mira enables brands to uncover those talking points and perceptions at scale to ensure resonance with audiences and alignment with their preferences and concerns.
How LLMs surface brands in tariff narratives
Unlike social listening data, which reflect consumer conversations, LLMs are largely informed by media coverage and the long-standing associations therein. LLMs’ growing role in customer journeys and purchase decisions means brands need greater vigilance over how they show up in these models in order to remain competitive.
Learn more about how to build an AI brand monitoring strategy.
To better understand how narratives around tariffs are impacting brands, we used GenAI Lens to track how major AI assistants and LLMs answer this prompt: “What brands are most frequently mentioned alongside tariffs?”.
Apple, Nike, and Walmart, all US-based brands whose supply hubs are largely based in Asia, dominated those results from November 22 to December 6, 2025. Walmart in particular stands out as the US’s biggest importer, with 60% of its imported items coming from China, according to Reuters.
Because of their status as leading US consumer goods importers, Walmart, Apple, and Nike are prominent in news coverage about tariffs and their impacts. This earned media partially explains their prevalence in the LLM answers we tracked.
What marketers can learn from global tariff discussions
Our analysis of four key sectors revealed just how multi-faceted and complex the global conversations around tariffs really is. Notably, tariff perception and discussion is highly market-specific:
- U.S. consumers focus on Canada and Mexico
- Canadians frame discussions domestically
- UK audiences link tariffs to China in discussions about luxury and fashion
The nuances of tariffs discussions around the world underscores just how much this topic is driven by digital and social media narratives over company-driven ones.
For brands looking to remain competitive, social media alone doesn’t cut it anymore. LLM tracking capabilities combined with GEO earned media strategies are now non-negotiable. GenAI Lens is the industry-first tool designed to help brands stay ahead of these consumer trust signals as LLMs continue to rapidly evolve.
Want a look at how a major brand uses GenAI Lens to transform their communications and reputation management strategies? Read our HEINEKEN case study.
Learn more about how Meltwater can give you a competitive edge in the GenAI age. Fill out the form below for a free demo.
FAQ: Global Tariffs, Brands, and LLMs
What role do AI and LLMs play in brand perception?
Large language models (LLMs) increasingly shape how consumers discover brands and interpret news. Brands that appear frequently in AI responses gain visibility even if they are not the focus of consumer discussions. Monitoring these narratives with tools like Meltwater’s GenAI Lens helps marketers understand potential gaps between public perception and AI-driven brand representation.
How can marketers track the impact of tariffs on their brand?
Marketers can use solutions like Meltwater’s Explore+ and GenAI Lens to gain insight into how and where their brands are being mentioned alongside tariffs, as well as how these conversations differ across platforms and geographies.
Which industries are most affected by tariff discussions?
Meltwater’s social listening analysis shows the food and beverage industry dominates global tariff conversations, accounting for the majority of mentions and engagement. Fashion and consumer electronics also appear frequently, particularly on visual or trend-driven platforms like Instagram.
Why is there a disconnect between consumer conversations and LLM outputs when it comes to discussions of tariffs?
Consumer discussions often reflect immediate concerns like product pricing and sourcing. LLMs, on the other hand, are heavily influenced by news coverage and historical associations, which tend to highlight large importers or well-known global brands. This divergence underscores the importance of monitoring all channels with AI-powered solutions like Meltwater’s Explore+ and GenAI Lens.
How can marketers monitor how LLMs talk about their brand?
GenAI Lens, Meltwater’s industry-first LLM monitoring solution, lets marketers track how AI assistants and LLMs reference their brands in real time, revealing visibility, public perception, and potential gaps between social media conversations and AI model outputs. These insights help marketers make informed decisions around messaging, campaigns, and strategic planning.
