The pursuit of ‘lean’ operations has left companies mercilessly exposed to the tariffs chaos—and facing an existential threat

The global trade ecosystem has been overturned. President Donald Trump imposed 104% tariffs on China on Wednesday, a week after levying a host of tariffs ranging from a minimum of 10% on imports generally to 20% on EU goods and 46% on ones from Vietnam—levels not seen for nearly a century. China quickly retaliated, announcing today it will raise tariffs on American goods to 84% starting tomorrow.

With retaliatory actions likely from other trade partners and U.S. threats to match any of those tariffs...