Italy sounds alarm bells on US tariffs, EU bureaucracy
As EU member states are bracing themselves for the first round of import tariffs from US President Donald Trump, Italy's head of state, Sergio Mattarella, warned Washington's global trade war may have a detrimental impact on several countries, including Italy.
On Monday, speaking during an event celebrating the 68th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome establishing the European Economic Community, which went on to become the current European Union, Mattarella slammed Trump's tariff agenda, calling it unmotivated protectionism which would end up harming Italy's competitiveness.
Open Market satisfied two vital interests, for peace and for our vital export interests; tariffs create market barriers, distort the market and penalize quality products.
This is unacceptable to us, but it should be unacceptable to all the world's countries.
Sergio Mattarella, Italian President
US tariffs could have a highly significant impact on Italian exports, as almost half of the value of Italy's exports in 2024 was destined outside of the European Union.
One of Italy's main trade partners, the US, absorbed about 10% of Italian exports and more than 1/5 of Italian products destined for non-EU markets.
Many cooperatives exporting their products to the US are changing their investment plans and seeking new markets elsewhere.
Having said that, the EU is also making a big mistake by choosing to invest hundreds of billions of euros in a massive rearmament plan instead of investing in other sectors of our economy.
Marco Olivieri, Regional Association of Social Cooperatives
Also on Monday, Mattarella stressed the need for the EU to reform. The head of state argued that Brussels has shortcomings to resolve, such as the need for faster decision making processes.
The issue here is which one of the 27 EU countries will accept a two-speed European Union in which a small group of countries will develop policy initiatives by themselves.
If such a decision will be adopted or imposed by Brussels remains to be seen.
Analyst
US President Donald Trump's tariffs on the European Union are slated to kick in on April 2.
In response, Brussels has recently announced that one batch of its tariffs targeting American goods in retaliation for US levies on steel and aluminum would start in mid-April, two weeks later than planned to give more time for dialogue.
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