Rome, 26 February 2025 - 'It's a dark hour,' is how Confindustria President Emanuele Orsini comments on the duty news from overseas. 

"It is an unexpected and incredible paradigm shift coming from the United States. The threat is not only of an impact on trade dynamics. The truth is much more dramatic: the economic and social viability of many EU states and of the Union itself is at risk here. What is coming from the American leadership is an attack on European companies and jobs. The real goal is the deindustrialisation of our continent, and thus of its employment levels'.

'At risk,' Orsini continues, 'are the founding values of Western democracies to which we pride ourselves on belonging: the social pact between business and labour. We must think seriously about extraordinary measures for an extraordinary time'.

In light of the news coming from Washington, 'Europe must change gear: time is over,' continued the number one of Viale dell'Astronomia, 'the measures that were announced today in Brussels are not enough. 

"I want to mention three clear lines of action: cutting red tape, less regulation; secondly: the Clean Industrial Deal must be a pact for growth, not degrowth. Stop fines and self-imposed tariffs on European manufacturing. Thirdly, we need, and have been calling for since last year, an industrial plan for European economic and social growth'.