United States And European Union have reached an official agreement on the duties: from August 1st On most European goods directed to the USA they will be applied Rates of 15%. These duties will also be applied to the sector automotive (for which they were 25%) and the sector pharmaceutical (so far free from the rates), while the rates of 50% on steel and aluminum will remain in force.
According to an estimate of the Confindustria Study Centerthe new rates could cause economic losses up to 22.6 billion euros for Italy, among the major exporters of products to the USA.
So far they were in force 10% duties for European goods, after the momentary suspension by Donald Trump of the customs rates of 20% announced on 3 April on the occasion of the “Liberation Day». In recent weeks, however, the US President had threatened to bring 30% rates if an agreement with the EU had not found himself.
From wine to steel: what these duties mean for Italy
A simulation of the Confindustria Study Center estimated that, following the increase in duties at 15%, Italian exports could lose approx 22.6 billion euroswhich can hardly be compensated even with an increase in exports to alternative markets.
The US, in fact, are the Third destination market of Italian products, after Germany and France, and in 2024 the products exported to the United States reached a value of 66.4 billion euro. These duties will therefore hit several national sectors, from food to the pharmaceutical and luxury goods. According to some EU sources, however, possible exemptions for Italian wine may take over, even if there is nothing confirmed at the moment.
In general, however, in 2024 the value of exchanges between the European Union and the United States has exceeded 1,600 billion euros (of which 108 billion of exchanges between Italy and the USA). The EU, in particular, exports many more assets to the USA than they care: last year they were exported to the United States 503 billion of euros of goods, compared to imports of 347 billionwith a surplus of about 156 billion euros. serviceshowever, the union has a deficit of 100 billion Euro: this is due to the presence of American big techs (Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, i.e. Google’s parent company) that dominate 80% of the European market.
The problem is that, in practice, the Rates of 15% They will have a much higher impact than it might seem due to the devaluation of the dollar.
In fact, from the settlement of Donald Trump, the value of the dollar as a coin started to weaken, reaching one overall devaluation of 13% since the beginning of the year also due to the economic and political instability generated by the US President. But what does all this mean? The devaluation of the dollar than the euro, which is now stronger, causes the cost of the Italian goods exported in the United States increases furthermaking them even less competitive.
According to estimates, for Italian exporters The overall impact of these new rates could reach a rate of 21%6 percentage points more than the rate established for the agreement.
To meet the losses caused by the new customs tariffs, the European Union could accelerate the closure of new commercial agreements with other states or regions, such as the one with the countries of Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay), which could generate up to 7 billion euros of additional exportscompeting at least in part the earnings lost by the US market. However, these are complex negotiations which, in most cases, will take some time to be completed, therefore failing to parry the recourse trade with the United States.
What changes compared to before
Before the entry into force of the agreement, the European goods directed to the USA had been temporarily applied one customs rate of 10%to which the 4.8% foreseen by the MFN (Most Favoured Nation). It is a clause established by the World Trade Organization (WTO), which imposes the prohibition of discrimination among the commercial partners.
The duties of 10%, however, did not apply to all types of goods: on carsfor example, a rate of the 25% (now reduced to 15%), while onsteel The duties had doubled at the 50% Always from Trump.
These rates of 50% on the steel will remain and this could further penalize Italian companies: according to the data of theInternational Trade Administrationfrom March 2024 to June 2025 we exported 404,648.3 tons of steel to the USA, positioning ourselves as the 16th exporter of this material towards the United States worldwide and 2nd in Europe after Germany.
For the moment, however, the European Union has decided to suspend the package of countermeasures for the USA from 93 billion euroswhich should have come into force on August 7 in the event that President Trump had actually applied 30% duties to European goods, as anticipated in recent months.
