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Register for the next SMU Community Chat with ISM CEO Tom Derry!

Written by Michael Cowden

July 22, 2025

Institute for Supply Management (ISM) CEO Tom Derry will join SMU for our next Community Chat on Wednesday, July 23, at 11 a.m. ET (10 a.m. CT). You can register here.

ISM is the first and largest supply management association in the world. That means Tom is in a great position to talk about how President Trump’s tariffs – and their on-again, off-again nature – are impacting supply chains.

SMU last checked in with Tom at the Tampa Steel Conference in February and again in April in the newsletter. He always has good insights to share, and we’re sure that will be the case again.

And we won’t talk only about tariffs. We’ll discuss everything from the ramifications of the administration’s immigration crackdown to increased tensions in the Middle East.

Also, are we finally going to see more nearshoring, and when? What would that look like if bringing back 1960s style factories isn’t realistic? (Unless you have a time machine.) And could the unpredictability of US policy keep big investments from happening here?

Maybe the biggest question is this: Is it really possible to put the genie of globalization back in the bottle?

We’ll take your questions, too. So don’t forget to bring some good ones to the Q&A. As always, we’ll keep it to about 45-50 minutes. You can drop in, learn something — and then get on with your day.

Editor’s note: The live webinar is free for anyone to attend. A recording and the slides will be available only to SMU subscribers. If you’d like more information about subscribing to SMU, please contact Luis Corona, our senior account executive, at luis.corona@crugroup.com.

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He specializes in flat-rolled steel but has also reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube, and aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a copy editor and in marketing at the University of Chicago Press. Cowden has a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Contact him at michael@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7872.

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