European leaders and industry circles have reacted strongly to US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he will impose 30% tariffs on imports from the EU from August 1, a significant increase on the current 10% base rate, according to Euractiv.
According to the publication, the decision has caused outrage among EU member state leaders, who are calling for an immediate and tough response from Brussels. European diplomats will hold an emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss measures
Bernd Lange, chairman of the European Parliament’s Trade Committee, called Washington’s actions “arrogant and a slap in the face” and said that countermeasures should take effect as early as Monday.
French President Emmanuel Macron called on the European Commission to resolutely defend the EU’s interests if no agreement is reached by August 1.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez noted the strength of the single market, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed hope that escalation could be avoided.
Hungary criticized the European Commission, saying that tariffs should have been lowered after Trump’s return.
Meanwhile, representatives of European industry are warning of serious consequences of the new tariffs. The Federation of German Industries (BDI) called Trump’s statement “an alarm bell” and called for a quick solution to avoid further escalation. According to official data, German exports to the US have already fallen to their lowest level since March 2022,” the statement said.
The food industry, particularly the wine sector, is particularly affected. The Italian wine association UIV said the new tariffs could lead to an embargo on 80% of Italian wine exports to the US. “This is the darkest page in the relationship between two historic allies,” said UIV President Lamberto Frescobaldi.
Deputy Prime Minister for Recovery, Minister of Community and Territorial Development Oleksiy Kuleba and Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy Antonio Tajani signed a grant agreement for EUR6 million in non-repayable aid for the reconstruction of two irrigation systems in the Odesa region,
according to the press service of the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development.
“This decision will improve the efficiency of agricultural production in southern Ukraine, stabilize water supply, and reduce resource losses in arid areas,” said Deputy Prime Minister for Recovery and Minister of Community and Territorial Development Oleksiy Kuleba.
The ministry added that the ministers signed a number of other agreements on financing key areas of recovery: agricultural infrastructure, cultural heritage sites, medical facilities, housing programs, and ensuring Ukraine’s access to Italian financial mechanisms.
Imports of transformers, inductors, and chokes to Ukraine in January-June 2025 increased 2.6 times compared to the same period in 2024, reaching $494.2 million, according to statistics from the State Customs Service.
According to the published data, China remains the largest supplier of these products to Ukraine — during this period, $407.5 million worth of these products were imported (82.5% of all imports of these goods), while a year earlier, $103.9 million worth of transformers and chokes were imported from this country (53.7%).
In addition, transformers were imported from Germany ($28.8 million) and Turkey ($15.3 million), while in January-June 2024, imports from Turkey amounted to $38.4 million, and from the Czech Republic – $7.2 million. In particular, in June, imports of this equipment increased 3.6 times compared to the same month last year, and almost doubled compared to May this year, to $103.4 million.
At the same time, Ukraine exported transformers, inductors, and chokes worth $13.7 million in the first half of this year, compared to $8.6 million last year, mainly to Germany, Hungary, and Poland.
According to the State Customs Service, imports of transformers, inductors, and chokes to Ukraine in 2024 more than doubled compared to 2023, reaching $596.11 million. with imports from China increasing 2.5 times to $400.48 million.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has granted a loan of up to EUR50 million to Nova Poshta LLC, part of the Nova Group, to finance part of its capital investment program for 2025-2026.
According to the bank’s press release on Friday, the loan will be multi-currency with the option of drawing funds in hryvnia and euros and will consist of two tranches: the first tranche of EUR35 million will be provided upon signing, and the second tranche of EUR15 million will be reserved by the bank at its sole discretion.
According to the release, Nova Poshta’s development strategy supported by the loan includes improving physical infrastructure, optimizing and expanding the network, modernizing IT systems, improving energy management and restoring human capital, as well as decarbonization and wider access for women.
The total cost of the project is EUR69.1 million, according to the announcement.
The EBRD financing is guaranteed by a first loss guarantee covering 15% of the EBRD loan amount provided by the European Union (EU) under the Ukraine Investment Framework for Municipal Infrastructure and Industrial Resilience (UIF MIIR).
An investment grant of up to EUR1.5 million is also expected to be provided to support decarbonization and human capital restoration programs supported by the TaiwanBusiness-EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund and the Crisis Response Special Fund (CRSF).
According to the release, in 2024, Nova Poshta set a new record by delivering 429 million shipments, 16% more than in 2023, and the significant growth in demand, in turn, created a need for further expansion.
Nova Poshta is the main operating subsidiary of the Nova Group, which is owned by two Ukrainian businessmen, Vyacheslav Klimov and Volodymyr Poperechnyuk. It operates a network of over 39,000 service points and has around 33,000 employees in Ukraine, serving over 11 million customers every month.
The EBRD has been successfully cooperating with Nova Poshta since 2018, financing four of its projects during this time.
According to Nova Poshta’s financial report for the first quarter of 2025, its consolidated net income increased by 20.7% compared to the first quarter of last year, to UAH 14.3332 billion, while net profit decreased by 21.4%, to UAH 567.7 million. The ultimate beneficial owners of the company are Volodymyr Poperechnyuk and Vyacheslav Klimov.
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Italy, Andriy Sybiga and Antonio Tajani, signed a Declaration of Intent within the framework of the Tallinn Mechanism on the sidelines of the URC2025 Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reports.
“The document confirms Italy’s continued support in strengthening Ukraine’s civilian cyber resilience and in facilitating the post-war recovery of our country. It also stipulates the intentions of the parties to deepen cooperation in the field of cybersecurity, digital transformation and the implementation of long-term initiatives and projects under the Tallinn Mechanism,” the telegram channel said.
It is noted that for this purpose, Italy has declared the allocation of 1 million euros to finance relevant projects.
In January-June this year, Ukrainian enterprises increased their consumption of rolled metal products by 11.65% year-on-year to 1 million 938.7 thousand tons.
According to a press release issued by Ukrmetallurgprom on Friday, 716.7 thousand tons, or 36.97% of the domestic rolled metal consumption market, were imported during this period.
According to Ukrmetallurgprom, in the first six months of 2025, steelmakers produced 3.070 million tonnes of rolled steel (97.8% compared to the same period in 2024), of which, according to the State Customs Service of Ukraine, about 1.848 million tonnes, or 60.2%, were exported. In January-June 2024, the share of exports amounted to 63.6% (1.996 million tons with a total production of 3.140 million tons of rolled metal products).
The share of semi-finished products in export deliveries in January-June 2025 was 30.90%, which is significantly lower than in January-June 2024 (45.39%). The share of flat products in export deliveries in January-June 2025 is significantly higher than in January-June 2024 (46.81% and 41.73%, respectively). The share of long products is also significantly higher than in January-May 2024 (22.29% in 2025 vs. 12.88% in 2024).
The structure of imports in January-June 2025 is still characterized by a significant dominance of flat products over long products (77.31% and 20.96%, respectively); in January-June 2024, the dominance of flat products over long products was also significant (80.06% and 18.30%, respectively).
“In the first six months of 2025, the domestic market capacity amounted to 1938.7 thousand tons of rolled steel, of which 716.7 thousand tons, or 36.97%, were imported. In January-June 2024, the domestic market capacity was 1736.4 thousand tons, of which 592.4 thousand tons, or 34.12%, were imported. Thus, in January-June 2025, there was an 11.65% increase in the domestic market capacity compared to January-June 2024, with a simultaneous increase in the share of the import component by 2.85%,” the press release states.
According to the State Customs Service, the main export markets for Ukrainian rolled metal products in the first six months of 2025 are the European Union (83.1%), the rest of Europe (7.5%) and the CIS (6.7%).
In January-May 2025, the first place among metallurgical importers was taken by other European countries (57.4%), followed by the EU-27 (23.3%), and the third place by Asian countries (18.7%).
As reported, Ukraine’s rolled steel market in 2024 decreased by 6.26% year-on-year to 3 million 288.4 thousand tons, while in 2023 it increased 2.19 times compared to 2022 to 3 million 505.6 thousand tons.
