The President of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV), Spyros Theodoropoulos, expressed his concerns regarding the impact of Donald Trump’s return to the White House on the EU economy. “Hopefully, this election will be a starting point for Europe to wake up,” Theodoropoulos commented.

This sentiment reflects broader concerns within the business community, which is extremely anxious about how Trump’s second term could impact bilateral trade. The primary source of concern is the new president’s stated intention to impose general import tariffs of 10% to 20% to boost local employment in the U.S.

This risk arises at a time when Europe’s competitiveness on the global stage is decreasing, with the U.S. being on the rise. It is worth noting that EU’s GDP stands at 18 trillion euros, compared to the U.S.’s 27 trillion euros.

SEV’s president pointed to Mario Draghi’s report which predicts that “if the European Union doesn’t change, it will disintegrate” stressing that change needs to happen  now.

The President of the Panhellenic Exporters’ Association, Alkiviadis Kalabokis, also showed concerns over the imposing of new tariffs, urging both the Greek government and the European Commission to utilize all diplomatic channels to protect Greek exports.

He points out that the U.S. market is the fifth export destination for Greek products noting that during Trump’s previous presidency, Greek olive oil and olives were exempt from tariffs.

Kalabokis calls for immediate action suggesting that the European Commission should consider subsidies not only for generic products but also for products with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).

Furthermore, sources within the dairy industry also express their concerns regarding potential risks for Greek exports under Trump’s expected tariff policies, noting that the primary issue lies in how the U.S. views the protection of PDO products.

The American market is significant for Greek dairy producers as feta exports, though still small, has great potential for growth. The U.S. is currently the fourth-largest export market for feta, with roughly 5,000 tons exported annually, and this market is expanding at a strong pace.