By Claudio Maria Ciacci
Starting August 1, 2025, 30% tariffs will come into effect on all European exports to the United States. A decision announced by the Trump administration aimed at “rebalancing” trade relations between the two sides of the Atlantic. But once again, it will be small Italian agricultural businesses, especially those in the South, and above all, Calabrian companies—recognized as excellences in the agri-food sector—that will pay the price, now at risk of exclusion from the American market. The new trade front opened by Washington hits strategic sectors of Made in Italy: wine, extra virgin olive oil, cheeses, preserves, cured meats. Many of these goods are typical products and often PDO, the result of family-run and artisanal supply chains. Calabria, with its traditional crops, from citrus fruits to olive oil, from honey to figs, and even the Tropea onion, sees already thin margins and hard-won investments vanish. The 30% tariff makes these products immediately less competitive. Those who work with quality cannot cut prices. Those who produce in small quantities do not have the volumes to compensate. And yet, despite the imminent damage, there is no structural response from the European Union. The American controversy revolves around the alleged “unfavorable” trade imbalance with Europe. But this calculation ignores a key factor: the value of services. Every year, the United States collects billions from the European continent thanks to the sale of financial, digital, cloud, consulting, technology, software, logistics, and defense services. Eurostat data show that the services balance is consistently positive for the USA, to the detriment of Europe. But no one proposes to apply tariffs or taxes to Google, Amazon, Microsoft, JP Morgan, Lockheed, or Raytheon. The result? The USA taxes European products but continues to sell intangible and strategic services without obstacles. An obvious structural imbalance that penalizes local and productive economies, such as agriculture. To the external pressure, another entirely internal problem is added: European regulations on agriculture are becoming an obstacle to the survival of the primary sector. In recent years, Calabrian agricultural businesses have had to face: - Environmental regulations designed for large Northern European estates, inapplicable in hilly or marginal areas; - Restrictions on the use of land and water, even for traditional crops; - Bureaucratic and digital obligations that weigh especially on small family businesses; - A CAP that favors intermediaries and reduces direct funds to those who actually farm; - Phytosanitary and health constraints that penalize local processing of products. In Calabria, where agriculture often rhymes with identity and stewardship of the land, this regulatory system is threatening the very vitality of an entire rural economy. Beyond the complaint, a proposal is needed. Faced with a systemic crisis, three urgent lines of intervention are required: - Strengthen the internal market: support local supply chains, encourage conscious and identity-based consumption, protect national agricultural products from dumping practices. - Simplify rules for agricultural businesses: a moratorium on the most penalizing European bureaucratic constraints and a simplified national agricultural code for micro-producers. - Energy at the service of the land: promote rural energy communities, biomass and on-farm photovoltaic plants, to reduce costs and guarantee independence to agricultural businesses. American tariffs are just the latest symptom of a fragile, dependent, and unresponsive Europe. Agriculture, especially in complex territories like Calabria, is one of the few activities that generate real value, safeguard the land, and keep communities alive. But without protections, without simplifications, and without an autonomous geopolitical vision, this agriculture risks disappearing. It is time for European and Italian institutions to choose which side they are on: either with those who work the land, or with those who speculate on the cloud.