b'GLOBAL PERSPECTIVEMOBILITY INThe trade war between the U.S. and China may also be a harbinger of things to come. James Egan, the recently retired senior advisory partner for global immi-CONFLICTING gration at EY, is among the industry watchers predicting rising tensions that will create even more disruptions in the East. "The one everyone\'s thinking about, of course, concerns China and Taiwan. TIMES If there is a conflict there, how will that impact confidence and investment in China and the region? And, if China tries to take Taiwan or bring some other party into that conflict, that will signal further pullback, causing additional worries and economic concerns," Egan says. By Matthew BradfordThe Russia-Ukraine war is exacerbating What it takes to navigate geopoliticalchallenges in the East. The conflict has resulted in embargos, lack of investment, conflicts across the globe and other barriers that make it a diffi-cult region to predict when it comes to current and future mobility conditions. T he global mobility landscapecan lead to new tariffs, sanctions or travelRussia is becoming a much more isolated is rarely static. Today, severalrestrictions, which further complicateeconomy, Egan observes. A lot of my geopolitical conflicts and shifts international assignments. clients pulled all their investments and are compelling employers andresources out of Russia or were forced to mobility professionals to once againThe U.S.-China trade war is one suchsell them basically at bargain basement rethink the who, where, when and how ofdisruption. With tariffs reaching up toprices, and theyre very nervous about talent movement.25 per cent on over $360 billion worthgoing back. of goods, companies have been activelyThere\'s a real lack of willingness to invest There is no shortage of geopolitical eventspursuing supply chain diversification,in that area, so the ability of either Russia shaping global mobility disruptions. Tradewith many moving operations to South- or Ukraine to invest and pay for things or wars, diplomatic disputes and regionaleast Asia or reshoring production. Thisto be a market for other goods is going to conflicts are doing their share to impactwave of strategic relocation underscoresbe challenging, Egan adds. cross-border operations and, by extension,the challenges [mobility professionals] employee movement across internationalface, particularly as they factor in politicalEven if tensions decrease in the area, it will borders. As Gunturu Raghu Babu,stability, cost structures, and talent poolsbe some time before the region returns to founder of SimplyBiz, reports, Risingto maintain their competitive edge, a semblance of "normality" for businesses. tensions between major economic powersBabu says. Before that happens, mobility specialists 16PERSPECTIVESSpring 2025'