Tronchetti: the West does not split, negotiate with Trump
Tariffs absorbed because declarations have 'landed in sustainable territory'. Same expected outcome on Hormuz: war costs too much
An all-round discussion on the world's intertwined destinies between war and peace in times when every forecast is permeated by great uncertainty and Europe needs to evolve in order to grow and be a protagonist among the great powers. It will be animated by Marco Tronchetti Provera, Pirelli's executive vice-chairman, together with Ferruccio de Bortoli, during the Trento Festival of Economics.
Starting from the observation that from 2022 - with Russia's invasion of Ukraine to continue with the conflicts in the Middle East - the term war is repeated daily, 'to make predictions today is an act of presumption without any real content,' Tronchetti observes. The war is in fact on the borders of Europe and the Middle East is where the main sources of fossil energy are located. So, it is another element that clearly destabilises future predictions.
A scenario that was preceded by another crucial issue: tariffs. Which, however, have now almost faded into the background. 'We absorbed the tariffs because US President Trump's initial statements landed in generally sustainable territory. We have all managed to accelerate the reorganisation and cost-cutting processes,' explains the tyre group's number one.
Even today, with the crisis in the Middle East, 'the markets are betting on a normalised landing', i.e., on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Because this war between the United States and Iran is 'too costly for everyone'. The manager and entrepreneur hopes for 'a path not to split the West, which President Trump tries to split every day'.
This means that Europe must 'find a way, however much we may not like it, to stay in a negotiating phase with the United States, to keep them engaged'. It means 'having the strength to stay together', because 'we Europeans are a happy island and we must fight to stay that way'. Tronchetti cites as an example the focus on social protection, which 'does not exist anywhere else'. But to defend all this, 'we have to defend our borders, in the technical sense of the term, but also by sitting at the tables. We must strengthen our market and find a long path of autonomy and defence, which means first of all governance, which is not there'. The problem is that 'we are not able to give ourselves governance', but this 'can be done', also because 'Europe must be our future, there is no alternative'. But this Europe 'must evolve', because the current model 'is at social risk if the economic perspective is not changed and if governance is not changed'.
