Toyota Motor Corp. has longtracked President Donald Trump's trade threats toward Japan, not tomention tweets slamming the automaker for building a new plant inMexico. Yet when the U.S. actually imposed tariffs on aluminum and steel imports lastyear, Toyota's crisis management kicked into an entirely differentrealm.

The company now has a “virtual war room” of about 150 employeesmapping out the impact of various U.S. trade policy scenarios,according to a person familiar with its strategic planning. About50 of them, mostly supply chain and logistics experts, are based inNorth America. The great unknown: Will Washington's rapid policyshifts on trade end in 2020, or carry on for another four years ifTrump is re-elected?

In the shadow of a shape-shifting trade conflict betweenWashington and Beijing, business leaders find themselves in ageopolitical free-fire zone. The rules that have governed economicrelations between both countries since China's growth miraclestarted in the 1980s are being torn up, forcing corporateexecutives to hedge against a great unraveling of supply chains,manufacturing networks, and pricing strategies.