As countries attempt to shield their export-driven sectors from rising US protectionism, lobbying—long viewed as a tool of political influence—is gaining renewed relevance as a strategic economic lever.
As US tariffs reshape global trade dynamics, countries are increasingly turning to lobbying firms in efforts to build closer relations with US authorities and protect their interests.
Lobbying has evolved from a peripheral activity to a central strategy, offering governments and trade bodies a way to navigate Washington’s complex policymaking ecosystem.
The re-emergence of lobbying in global trade discourse is not incidental. As tariff regimes become increasingly unpredictable and politically driven, governments and trade bodies are moving beyond traditional diplomacy and opting to engage directly with Washington’s power structures.
Lobbying, although often viewed with scepticism, is now being actively pursued by countries aiming to influence US policy outcomes in their favour, it seems.
In the lead-up to the imposition of tariffs on Indian exports to the US, there were reports suggesting that the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC, had engaged Mercury Public Affairs LLC, a lobbying firm with established links to the Trump administration. While neither the Government nor Mercury publicly confirmed this engagement, the firm’s reputation and past client list suggest it was a calculated move.
Mercury is known for representing foreign clients that have faced friction with US trade and foreign policy.
Earlier, it disclosed a contract with the Embassy of Denmark, which had pushed back against Trump’s widely publicised interest in purchasing Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, as per reports.
Mercury’s portfolio also reportedly includes major Chinese firms such as Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co and ZTE Corp, both of which came under US scrutiny.
In 2018, the firm is said to have lobbied for Hikvision’s US arm, amid growing criticism of the company’s surveillance activities in China’s Xinjiang region. It also represented ZTE, the Chinese telecom manufacturer that was hit with severe US sanctions, reports claimed.
The growing reliance on lobbying reflects a deeper structural shift in how trade battles are now being fought. No longer confined to negotiation rooms or multilateral forums, the battleground has moved to Capitol Hill, where access to policymakers, legal framing of arguments, and narrative shaping can be just as influential as the tariff itself.
The complexity of US policy mechanisms makes lobbying a vital tool for risk mitigation and influence-building, and this trend is not limited to large economies only.
In Africa, Kenya has reportedly followed a similar path. According to media reports, Kenyan President William Ruto’s administration has engaged Carlos Trujillo—a former Trump adviser—and his firm Continental Strategy to represent Kenya’s interests in Washington.
The focus is to preserve market access under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which provides duty-free and quota-free access to the US market.
With AGOA set to expire soon, Trump’s reciprocal tariffs are only adding to the uncertainty, leading to Kenya’s decision to engage a politically connected lobbyist.
Meanwhile, in South Asia, Bangladesh’s garment industry—one of the world’s largest—has also been drawn into the lobbying playbook, it seems.
Earlier, facing the prospect of steep retaliatory tariffs from the US, trade bodies in Dhaka reportedly explored the option of hiring lobbying firms to represent their interests in Washington.
According to Bangladeshi media, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) even initiated steps to engage US-based lobbyists as tensions around reciprocal tariffs escalated.
A BGMEA official was even quoted as claiming that the organisation had been ‘actively trying’ to hire lobbyists to protect the industry’s interests.
Although the outcome of these efforts remains unclear, Bangladesh ultimately succeeded in negotiating one of the lowest tariff rates among its peer countries—a notable achievement given the intensity of trade disruptions elsewhere.
However, as the balance of power in global trade shifts, countries are realising that influence in Washington can be a critical buffer against economic disruptions.
Lobbying offers access to lawmakers, regulators, and policy advisors who shape and interpret trade rules. It enables foreign governments and trade bodies to frame their positions within the US’s complex political and regulatory system and to pre-empt or challenge measures that could undermine their economic interests.
Critics may argue that lobbying raises transparency and fairness concerns. However, in the context of an increasingly fragmented global trade environment and the weakening of multilateral trade governance, lobbying seems to have become a practical necessity.
It is no longer the exclusive domain of large corporations or domestic interest groups. For many governments, it has become a vital extension of economic diplomacy.
As the US continues to recalibrate its trade priorities—whether through tariffs, sanctions, or new bilateral agreements—the need for real-time, high-level engagement with American policymakers is only set to grow. Countries that understand the inner workings of Washington’s political ecosystem and invest in building influence are likely to be better positioned to weather policy shocks and safeguard their long-term trade interests.
Once seen as peripheral to foreign economic policy, lobbying is now firmly entrenched as a core strategy for countries facing the complexities of US trade policy and as recent examples illustrate, the road to market access may well run through Washington—but not necessarily through official diplomatic channels alone.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DR)