Download this article in PDF format.

Companies have been dealing with more than their fair share of uncertainty this year as everything from tariffs to geopolitical issues to trade wars has impacted their global supply chains. Now, just under a month away from the national midterm elections, they’re adding another challenge to the list: how to plan for an outcome that no one is really sure of yet.

Without getting overly political, the main point here is that control of either or both the House and the Senate could change next month. That would shift the balance of power in more ways than one and lead to a very different looking second half of Trump’s term. As election day closes in, PwC says proactive organizations are “already taking steps to prepare for what’s coming next.”

“While the most likely election scenarios are unlikely to yield the sort of extensive legislative and regulatory changes that occurred over the last two years,” the firm states in The midterms won’t end uncertainty. Here’s what CEOs can do now, “we believe there will still be important strategic shifts that companies need to adjust to moving forward.”

5 Preparation Strategies

In this environment, PwC tells executives to focus on what they can control: understanding their exposure, investing in more intelligent and transparent operations, staying anchored to clear corporate values, and building the organizational capabilities to adapt repeatedly over time. “Whatever the midterm outcome,” it adds, “CEOs should expect continued volatility, geopolitical uncertainty, and a policy environment shaped by executive action, particularly on tariffs and trade policy.”

Here are five strategies companies can use to prepare amid the uncertainty:

1. Help shape policies that are under development. If Democrats retake a chamber of Congress, they will likely focus legislative activities on issues they think demonstrate why voters should support their party in 2028. “That creates a window of opportunity for your company to influence the structure of those policies before the political stars are aligned in a way that causes proposals to move more fully into the legislative machinery,” PwC says. 
   
   
2. Brace for more supply chain uncertainty. Regardless of the election results, companies should also plan for a wider range of potential futures. Critical minerals are a point of vulnerability across industries, for example, and “securing domestic access to lithium, graphite, rare earths, copper, and other critical minerals is likely to remain a shared priority because of its implications for energy, defense, manufacturing, and grid reliability,” says PwC. “There’s also likely to be bipartisan support for policies that expand the domestic semiconductor chip manufacturing as a way to reduce supply chain dependency and strengthen national competitiveness.” 
   
   
3. Reallocate resources to manage trade uncertainty. Tariffs will likely stay in place regardless of any power shift, according to PwC, which says tariffs at some organizations are now the biggest cost item in the P&L (even bigger than taxes). At the same time, enforcement is growing, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) using more data-driven enforcement tools and the Department of Homeland Security aligning with the Department of Justice in a cross-agency Trade Task Force to make sure that companies are complying. 
   
   
4. Get ready for increased AI oversight. California enacted the first state framework for independent verification of AI systems, setting criteria for who’s qualified to perform those assessments and directing the state to align them with established auditing and assurance standards. “The midterms are likely to showcase growing concerns about AI,” PwC predicts. “Republicans are likely to continue to hold a pro-innovation stance regarding model governance and chips, while Democrats will push for greater regulation, including calls to slow the develop of frontier AI models.” 
   
   
5. Continue focusing on sustainability. Growth in AI, data centers, electrification, advanced manufacturing and reshoring is leading to greater demand, PwC notes, and energy affordability is triggering populist resistance to data centers in many municipalities. There are also new sustainability requirements to consider. “In the near term,” it says, “some companies will need to start reporting in line with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive’s disclosure requirements and California’s climate-related disclosure laws.”