“Politics is no longer derivative of economics; it’s the other way around.”
Event 11 Nov 2026
With that line, Drs Hala Naoum Néhmé Nehmé set the tone for an INSEAD Directors Network Netherlands session, based on the research behind Impact of Geopolitics, the recent book by @PwC and the The Clingendael Institute Institute. Her definition is crisp, geopolitics spans war, tension, diplomacy and great-power competition, involving not only states but also companies and other non-state actors. In short, “economic statecraft” drives markets, tariffs, subsidies and export controls can decide whether a shipment leaves Rotterdam this quarter, or not.
A major thread was US-China rivalry, a long-horizon Chinese approach versus a more score-keeping US mindset, with tit-for-tat moves across tech stacks, export controls and rare earths. This shift pulls firms into the arena. Your “corporate passport” matters: governments can instrumentalise businesses without giving them a seat at the table. It is about the use of economics, trade and finance as a political weapon.
The automotive sector was our stress test. Tariffs, local content rules and Chinese subsidies are forcing European carmakers to rethink where they build and source. We discussed Volkswagen’s sprawling supplier base, tens of thousands of sites across roughly 95 countries, which heightens exposure to export controls and price shocks. An example raised in the room was that of Porsche exploring US production to meet localisation tests and reduce tariff risk. The point: plant location, supplier mix and pricing power are now geopolitical choices as much as operational ones.
Board takeaway: put geopolitics on the strategy cadence, not just the risk register.
Thanks to PwC for hosting and to Willem Schouten and team for the warm welcome. Drs Hala Naoum Néhméé is Director Public Sector Finance at PwC. Born in Aleppo and based in Amsterdam since 1999, she previously served at the Dutch Ministry of Finance. She is co-author of Impact of Geopolitics: how companies determine their strategy. The book is a joint publication between consultancy firm PwC and the Clingendael Institute and was commissioned by SMS, the think tank of VNO-NCW (the business network of the Netherlands).