Afshin Molavi: Navigating Tariffs in an Evolving World
2nd May 2025
5 mins read
A prominent geopolitical keynote speaker, Afshin Molavi is a Senior Fellow at the Johns Hopkins SAIS Foreign Policy Institute. He also co-directs the emerge85 Lab, a joint initiative focused on the growing influence of non-Western economies, and is a senior advisor for Oxford Analytica.
U.S tariffs on the world have rocked markets, shifted geopolitics and shaken global supply chains. As your organisation grapples with the impacts of these tariffs, global trends strategist Afshin Molavi has a simple message: “keep your eyes on the long game. Structural trends like global demographic shifts, urbanisation, new trade routes, connectivity, the rise of AI, and an emerging post-American globalisation will drive our future.”
He also adds: “While trade routes may be shifting and the U.S may face a bout of coming turmoil, don’t short the United States of America,” adding that “the United States still has the deepest and most liquid capital markets, the most dynamic private sector, the leading AI players, the best research universities in the world, and the power of the (still) ascendant dollar.”
Afshin also notes: “the news of globalisation’s demise has been greatly exaggerated – even amid the tariff wars. Globalisation is not dying. It’s everywhere from your morning cup of coffee to your evening spirits, and everything in between,” as he wrote in a recent Forbes column.
For more than a quarter of a century, Afshin has been traveling the highways, shipping routes, and air corridors of our evolving world as a journalist, geopolitical risk analyst, former World Bank staffer, and academic.
From Shanghai to Mumbai to Dubai and from London to Washington to New York, he has delivered impactful keynotes for some of the world’s leading investment banks and trade associations that mix rich anecdotes from his travels with surprising data from his research to paint a picture of a world that he describes as “both moving at quantum speed and also rhyming with traditional patterns of history.”
Gain unparalleled insights into navigating today’s complex geopolitical and economic landscape. Book Afshin Molavi through CSA Celebrity Speakers to equip your audience with a clear understanding of global shifts, emerging opportunities, and the resilience of key players. His engaging presentations, blending real-world experience with rigorous analysis, will empower your organisation to make informed decisions in an era of rapid change.
