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Trump slaps 20% tariffs on EU imports: Is Europe the parasite in his trade war?

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The long-feared tariffs are here: who really pays the price?


The hammer has finally fallen: Donald Trump slaps 20% tariffs on European imports, branding the EU ‘friends who stole money from us.’

“The European Union, our friends, have stolen money from us,” declared Donald Trump last night, unveiling punitive tariffs of up to 20% on European goods (Politico). 

Ah, grazie mille, Donald—here we were, believing we were allies, only to learn we’re just a gang of pickpockets in Prada shoes.

Trump slaps 20% tariffs – The math of misery


Who Pays? You do. All of us.

Consumers—yes, even Americans—will see prices rise. Analysts warn of across-the-board hikes, from Italian leather to Vietnamese sneakers.

But the damage won’t stop at checkout counters. Exporters will bleed market share. Workers—from Milan’s textile mills to Ohio’s factories—will face slashed contracts and hiring freezes. Inflation, already biting, will get new teeth.

This isn’t protectionism—it’s collective punishment dressed up as policy.

Within hours, European markets nosedived—predictably. But the real spectacle was Nike, Adidas and Puma plunging 10%, their Vietnamese and Chinese supply chains now in the crosshairs. 

Nothing screams “patriotic revival” quite like sabotaging the very offshoring model US corporations pioneered.

The perfect storm: fashion industry’s worst-case scenario


The European Union had braced for this blow, but the fashion sector still gasped. Textiles, clothing, accessories: all now face a tariff war they can’t afford. This is an industry already on its knees, battered by inflation, supply chain chaos, and the whims of geopolitics. Now, add Trump’s Trade Tantrum to the list.

In fact, Italy’s textile and fashion sector braces for inevitable collateral damage.

The bigger question


As Trump slaps 20% new tariffs like punitive badges of honour, we’re left to ask: what’s the vision here? What’s the endgame? A world where commerce is treated as conquest, where long-standing allies are recast as economic villains, and where the true villains—according to this logic—aren’t the billionaires monetising division, but the artisans stitching handbags? Spare us.

Europe’s fashion industry isn’t “stealing”; it’s competing. Trump’s tariffs won’t magically resurrect American manufacturing; they’ll just subsidise its race to the bottom. The ‘Made in USA’ tag still relies on poverty wages and migrant exploitation—but sure, let’s pretend Europe is the problem.

This isn’t protectionism—it’s economic masochism with a flag pin on its lapel.

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The Fashion Month: A Step Backward

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What did you expect from the SS23 fashion shows?


The fashion month is over, and the idea of changing the sytem vanished among global hysteria.

From NY, London, Milano and Paris, the Spring/Summer 23 runways favoured the physical format plus streaming. But some brands opted to reveal the digital version later, not without leaving a certain perplexity. Because this way of looking for an angle, being the cool ones who pull themselves out, seemed more like a step backwards in a digital era.

However, there were so many outfits on the runways, most of which were ugly with just a few interesting concepts. Also, stealing designs, now the norm, killed brands’ identity. But if you expected a different approach, you would be disappointed. The wind of change, so much discussed during the last two years, is gone. Disappeared. Evaporated!

The industry is back to normal!


In case you were one of those afraid of a back to normal during the pandemic, there we are! Totally there! 100% there! The countless number of outfits put together in every show was impressive. Such an endless overconsumption pattern has nothing to do with change. And nothing to do with sustainability.

Furthermore, one of the most popular shows sent out a model in underwear, and then someone sprayed on her body. From an engineering viewpoint, it can be interesting, even if McQueen did it first in Spring 99. But it doesn’t seem to be sustainable. Indeed the material sprayed contains plastic, so it seems like they are promoting single-use plastic.

Even though facts did not correspond to words, all the big groups claim the sustainability umbrella.

Fashion lacks consistency


The fashion industry seems like an enormous bandwagon with no courage or maybe no real will to change. And the reason is simple: changing the pattern leads to degrowth, which means lower budgets. And so, lower profits.

But if brands are so interested in showing their sustainable standards, why was there no trace of it in their fashion shows? Do we still believe that using a sustainable material or building an eco-friendly atelier makes a brand sustainable? No, it only builds up a facade.

As revealed through this fashion month, this industry, which relies on a polluting and exploiting system, has no intention to change.

So please, forget all the talks you may have heard in the last two years! Industry players just had a reactive moment because they worried about losing everything. Now the fear is gone, so is the will to change!

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Fashion & Music

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Exploring influences, inspiration, and intersection


Fashion is not only what we wear. Fashion involves the environment around us. Fashion is the music we listen to as well. In fact, there is a clear parallel between fashion and music. Both have developed precisely the same pattern.

What kind of music do we listen to today? What is popular?
DJs are sampling tracks from the 70s, 80s or 90s, remixing them, and then the singer of the moment adds the voice. So, here it is, the modern creative effort. Usually, this music is popular for a few months. Perhaps a year from now, no one will remember a single track.

Of course, there are always exceptions. Take, for instance, “Walk this way” by Run DMC. Well, as we said, exceptions do exist.

What kind of fashion do we see now?


DJs are the new fashion designers. They take designs from the past and add logos all over, following the above remix pattern.
In this world, design skills are no longer a necessity.

Some time ago, a TV show celebrated Fabrizio De André, the great poet-musician, and they interviewed his wife, Dori Ghezzi.
During the interview, singers who recently won the Sanremo Festival appeared in a clip, dressed up to promote fashion brands more than their music, but acclaimed as geniuses. Afterwards, they asked her: “What do you think?” So, she replied: “In my husband’s time, there was a lot of space, we have experimented a lot, and we did a lot. Now, perhaps, these guys don’t have much left. They are scrambling.”

Ads disguised as entertainment–that’s how marketing gurus refer to it, indeed.

The sampling of things already seen, stealing others’ ideas and presenting them for absolute novelties–this is the sign of our times. And in both fields, fashion and music, it’s marketing, not art.

But in the end, we do not have to accept it or conform. We have the freedom to differ, to think differently.

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