Europe is split on the commercial agreement signed with a handshake between Donald Trump and Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland. There are those who, between the European chancelleries (Berlin and Paris among all), complains about the expected damage to companies, from the defense sector to energy, from the automotive to semiconductors and to the agri -food. Rome, on the other hand, welcomes the agreement with caution, accepting the duties of 15 percent on European products intended for the USA in order not to cross relations with the American president
For Brussels the next few days will be intense. The US-EU commercial agreement has not yet been signed: the European Commission would be in a hurry to close the dossier and formalize the agreement by 1 August, fearing a possible change of position by Trump.
The European shield: where to find the funds (which are not there) to help companies
Among the main criticisms aimed at the President of the European Commission is the fact that Brussels, despite having negotiated the agreement with Washington, has no buyer’s power. In fact, the orders with American exporters will in fact be private companies – or parastatal – of the individual Member States, not the community executive. The mechanisms of support for the economy will be inevitable, because it is not clear to what extent the agreement between the EU and the United States can be respected by the European Championships. In Brussels they admit that the private nature of the 600 billion euros of investments in the USA could make it difficult to honor the commitments made, which is why public funds will be needed.
The car is not saved from Trump’s duties: what happens with the new rates
For this reason, the European Union is evaluating the creation of a network of aid to support the sectors most affected by duties. With the agreement still to be defined in detail, the European Commission is evaluating a package of measures based on what is already on the table: suspensions of duties, exemptions, wine and definitive lists of the products concerned.
However, the tools available to Brussels remain limited. The common balance, expiring in 2027, offers reduced resources: any incentives could arrive through European funds and programs. Another hypothesis is the temporary ease of the rules on state aid, as happened during the Covid pandemic. More complex, but not excluded, a derogation from the constraints of the stability pact, which would however require a political agreement unanimously of the 27 Member States.
The Package of Aid of the Meloni government
The fear of an economic blow for companies also hovers in Rome, although it has welcomed the agreement signed in Scotland. Giorgia Meloni’s government is ready to launch an indemnity package for the production world. However, Italy asks for a common action of the European Union to support the supply chains and introduce compensatory mechanisms to protect the sectors affected by American duties.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who yesterday met entrepreneurs at the Farnesina and set up a dedicated task force, proposes to strengthen the credit fund for SMEs and urges an intervention by the European Central Bank to lower interest rates. “The real knot is the relationship between the euro and dollar”, said Tajani, explaining that the US currency has been devalued by 17 percent, ” duties set at 15 percent “. And then the appeal to the European Central Bank: “You have to reduce the cost of money as in Covid emergency: you can drop from 2 percent to zero and evaluate the quantitative Easing, with the ECB that acquires European government bonds to enter more liquidity”. The decision now belongs to the institute led by Christine Lagarde.
But waiting for the EU to do “its part”, Rome aims to offer a “umbrella” to the companies affected by the duties, using the revision of the national recovery and resilience plan. On the table there are 25 billion euros: about 14 billion could be remodeled inside the PNRR to support employment and improve productivity, while another 11 billion would be reprogrammed through the funds for cohesion and the energy and climate plan.
Meloni content in half: the “if” and “but” of the agreement between the EU and the US on the duties
The Italian shield will however have to obtain the green light of the European Commission, necessary to introduce a transitional regime on state aid and guarantee greater flexibility in revision of funds. Once again, the last word belongs to Ursula von der Leyen, who brings with him the label – difficult to shake off – of those who have sold to Trump’s pressures.
