Two-thirds of local CEOs anticipate no or minimal impact from US tariffs
In the midst of the unfolding international trade pressures and escalating geopolitical tensions, the latest run of the PwC CEO Confidence Tracker, captures another snapshot of the sentiment of Malta’s top business leaders in the first quarter of the year.
Over 50 CEOs leading Malta’s largest business organisations, across various industries in Malta, participated in this barometer, which was carried out during the first weeks of June 2025.
Tariffs
The convolution created by the flurry of tariffs threatened by the US, including the recent ones on the EU, appear to have created a contained level of concern for local CEOs. The Confidence Tracker suggests that almost two thirds of business leaders anticipate no or minimal impact on their business. This generally aligns with the fact that Malta’s direct economic exposure to US accounts for 3 to 5 % of the total international trade.
Recent statistics by the European Commission predict a somewhat different sentiment in the euro area, where a slowdown in economic growth during 2025 is anticipated, due to the impact of tariffs.
Business performance
The Confidence Tracker suggests that during the past quarter CEOs experienced elevated levels of business performance when compared to the previous quarter. Furthermore, the percentage of CEOs who reported that their respective business fared better than the preceding quarter, is at one of the highest levels since September 2021, when the PwC CEO Confidence Tracker was introduced.
Such level of performance is consistent with the messages emanating from the latest Economic Update published by the Central Bank of Malta. Here, the reported Business Conditions Index (BCI) suggests that annual growth in activity rose slightly and stood moderately above its historical average.
Outlook
Notwithstanding the international trade pressures and the escalating geo-political tensions, the CEO Confidence Tracker indicates a consistent resilient and cautious optimistic business outlook for the next 6 months.
Such sentiment is being reported in the context of economic projections which forecast that Malta’s GDP growth, whilst expected to decline from the post-COVID rebound levels, will comfortably remain above the Euro Area, unemployment is expected to remain stable at 2.8% - lower than the equivalent rate in 2024, and commercial and residential building permits, which typically fuel the Maltese economy, are on the rise in 2025.
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