The world of international trade is in turmoil. The agreement reached in the last weekend of July 2025 between the European Union and the United States of America set a unified 15% tariff on most European exports to the US. But what does this new balance really mean for those who manage transatlantic logistics flows every day?

The 15% represents a compromise between the zero-tariff solution initially hoped for by Brussels and the 30% threatened by Washington. For Italian and European logistics, this agreement marks the beginning of a new and necessary strategic reorganization. The reality is that the new tariffs triple the pre-existing average rates and drastically reshape the economics of transport, opening up new scenarios for those able to correctly interpret these new global political balances.

Not all sectors will respond with the same countermeasures. The automotive industry, for example, benefits from a tariff reduction, dropping from 27.5% to 15%, which is a real breath of fresh air for a sector that had been blocked toward the US. For specialized logistics, this means a revival of flows to dedicated ports such as Baltimore, Maryland, with all the related business opportunities that follow.

It is true that customs costs will increase the average value of shipments, making maritime transport of low-margin goods less profitable. However, this is not necessarily a problem. It can be an opportunity to completely rethink the approach to transatlantic transport. Logistics companies are already adapting their strategies, focusing on combined shipments and intermodality to optimize costs. Every cubic meter of cargo must economically justify the trip, driving logistics toward more profitable and perhaps even more sustainable models.

The geopolitical period we are living through should be seen as the beginning of a more mature logistics sector, ready to evolve strategically. Those who can interpret these changes as opportunities for innovation and specialization will emerge strengthened by this transformation.