Pricey Birkin-Stock

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Evodince GmbH
April 18, 2025

Editor’s Note – by Leigh Fatzinger

Good morning. On Tuesday, we reported on small leather and clothing makers in the South of France feeling the pinch of uncertain US/EU tariff policy. Now, major luxury retailers—Hermès, LVMH, and others—are making their plans public.

In the US, some luxury buyers are already shifting to secondhand channels to avoid tariff premiums. But here, too, there’s a catch: resale dealers will also be subject to tariffs when shipping to the US. That hasn’t shaken confidence in the market just yet.

“The wealthy will find a way around tariffs,” said Gilles Rouveyrol, a French dealer of secondhand luxury and collectible housewares from brands like Hermès and Cartier, speaking to Evodince from Antibes, France on Wednesday.

Which begs the question: just how much additional tariff revenue can the US Treasury realistically expect from the luxury segment?

Soy-cre Bleu: On Wednesday, France’s Le Monde led its world coverage with the headline: “U.S. farmers are gravely concerned by the impact of Trump’s trade war.”

But in the US heartland, some farmers are taking a more measured view.

“I wouldn’t say we’re gravely concerned,” said Dan Linse, an independent soybean farmer in western Wisconsin and a member of the Wisconsin Soybean Association, speaking to Evodince on Thursday. “We hope our leaders work out a deal that benefits both countries.”

Still, Linse says farmers are adjusting their practices in anticipation of potential disruptions:

“We look at every possible way of decreasing the amount of spending that we have on producing the crop,” Linse said. “We should do that every year, but especially this year.”

Now, on to what Europeans are reading and talking about as the US/EU trade tension continues.

From Belgium

The global luxury sector is likely to expand between 1% and 3% per year between 2024 and 2027, according to a recent report by McKinsey. 

This is compared to the personal luxury goods sector, which includes leather goods, fashion, jewelry and watches growing by 5% per year between 2019 and 2023 and by 9% annually between 2021 and 2023, McKinsey highlighted.

Hermès to raise US prices following Trump’s tariffs - Financial Times (United Kingdom) - 17 April, 2025

The end of cheap clothes? Temu and Shein give tariff price warning - Euronews (Belgium) - 17 April 2025

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From Germany

A group of US-based researchers is due to start work at a French university in June, as scientists and academics scramble to deal with massive cuts introduced by President Donald Trump's administration.

France's Aix-Marseille University said its "Safe Place for Science" scheme, which in March became available to US scientists threatened by cuts to higher education in America, was flooded with applicants.

"Our colleagues were frightened," university director Eric Berton said. "It was our duty to rise to the occasion." Berton added that 10 European universities have contacted him about launching similar programs.

From France 

Donald Trump and Giorgia Meloni struck an optimistic tone on a potential US-EU tariffs deal as the Italian prime minister launched a charm offensive at the White House.

The two far-right leaders shared warm words, with Trump calling Meloni "fantastic." Casting herself as the only European able to de-escalate Trump's trade war, Meloni stressed their ultra-conservative alignment and vowed to "make the West great again."

Meloni meets US Vice President Vance in Rome - ANSA (Italy) - 18 April 2025
Vance said that Friday's talks would focus on "relations between the two countries" as well as "trade negotiations, not only between Italy and the US, but also with the EU."

Trump signals willingness to resolve trade tensions with EU - The Globe and Mail (United Kingdom) - 18 April 2025

Evodince Strategy + Insights: Three Questions to Discuss with your Teams

As the US–EU trade standoff evolves, three key questions are rising from this week’s developments:

  • Will luxury brands pass on tariffs—or use them as pricing power? Hermès has already raised U.S. prices by 10%. Watch how LVMH, Chanel, and others adjust their pricing strategies or positioning by May.

  • Is Italy breaking ranks—or building a bridge? Meloni’s bilateral charm offensive in Washington and Rome could reshape the EU’s internal trade alignment. Monitor for pushback—or quiet support—from other EU member states.

  • Do farmers’ voices reshape trade politics—or get drowned out? US soybean growers aren’t panicking, but they’re preparing. Keep an eye on any new US farm assistance proposals or direct outreach to EU negotiators.

📖 Read Tuesday's edition of Evodince On: EU Trade – Evodince Media (Austria) – 15 April 2025

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Note: Our friends at DeepL are helping us with translation, so you can experience perspectives from non-English news publications in Europe as well.

Von der Leyen: Kein Problem mit Kauf von US-Waffen [ Von der Leyen: No problem with buying US weapons] - Kronen Zeitung (Austria) - 15 April 2025

Despite the change of course of the USA under President Donald Trump, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sees no problem with the purchase of weapons from the United States. Nevertheless, she pleads for more European production.

The EU Commission President answered "yes" to the question of whether one could still buy US weapons that could be technically parked from Washington. "Nevertheless, I personally plead for us to produce more and more Europeanly," she said. (Translated from German by DeepL.)

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