The EU needs competitiveness measures, not deals that enrich Washington and promote EU deindustrialization

Brussels, 30th July 2025 – While we await the full details of the agreement, the European Union’s recent stance on trade tariffs and the preliminary deal with the United States represents an incomprehensible and unacceptable surrender to U.S. interests.
Once again, under the leadership of President Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission has shown its inability to defend Europe’s economic sovereignty, yielding to transatlantic logics that benefit only the United States—at the expense of our companies, workers, and strategic autonomy.
And that’s if the details don’t also hide threats to Europe’s production model in terms of public health. Of particular concern are the references to future agreements aimed at removing non-tariff barriers—provisions that, in the European agri-food sector, are essential safeguards for food safety and public health and cannot be bargained away. Without mentioning the key role of the EU system of Geographical Indications. These missing details are precisely what is causing the most concern and uncertainty among operators.
“We arrived unprepared at this outcome, despite the many socio-economic warning signs in recent years,” noted Luigi Scordamaglia, President of Eat Europe.
“While deals are being signed that boost U.S. energy exports and open investment in the American market pushing the relocate of production to the US,” Scordamaglia continues, “the real structural issue is being ignored: the competitiveness of European industry.”
The best way to counter tariffs is not to negotiate from a position of weakness, but to relaunch the competitiveness of all EU productive sectors. What is needed is a strong industrial strategy based on a huge investment plan, pushing research and innovation, and cutting red tape—not opaque deals or shortcuts that sell off Europe’s industrial future.
The proposal for new taxes on companies with revenues exceeding €100 million – part of the MFF package proposals – could harm precisely the strategic industrial players that are vital for a successful green transition. This approach continues along the lines of the Timmermans agenda, whereas the ecological transition must be made credible and feasible by strengthening Europe’s production system and protecting our manufacturing sector.
We say no to a subordinate Europe that gives up its economic strength to satisfy U.S. pressure. We say no to a model in which trade agreements undermine the possibility of a genuine industrial policy. We say no to the logic of lowest-common-denominator compromises that is guiding the von der Leyen Commission’s actions. “A change of course is needed,” concludes Scordamaglia. “What we need is not more concessions, but a European plan for competitiveness and resilience, in service of European citizens and businesses.”

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