In the age “Art of Business”, fashion learns how to speak – and when you stay calm.
US President Donald Trump decided that he wanted more of the European Union on Friday, and recommended 50 percent tariffs for imports from June 1st.
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While this would be a profit -making delivery at the limit of a vital market for European luxury houses, the reaction of fashion was not as steamed as it does not exist.
The WWD turned to Beiersdorf, Brunello Cucinelli, Ferragamo, Hermès, Kering, Lvmh Moët Hennessy Louis, L’Oréal, Moncler, Prada, Puig, Richemont, Safilo, Unilever and Zegna, and it was not a comment without being a comment.
The C-Suite learns or quite often that a combative Trump teaches-precisely what companies keep away from the fiery world of politics.
When Doug McMillon, President and Chief Executive Officer from Walmart Inc., at the beginning of this month, said that the discount giant could not take up the pressure of the tariffs and suggested that prices would rise, Trump shone back hard.
Last year he pointed to Walmart’s 19.4 billion US dollars and said that Walmart and China should “eat the tariffs” together.
“I’ll watch and your customers too !!!” The president warned.
Brian Cornell, CEO von Target Corp., who reports the winnings in the following week, undoubtedly felt the same pressure, but was careful on the topic of price hikes in connection with tariff-related price increases and only described it as “the very last way”.
That seemed to be sufficient to give the company a pass from Trump.
When fashion spoke, it was not to react directly to an action, but in a more general context that is often favorable for the idea of a wheeling and trade.
Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO of LVMH, asked the European Union to do concessions with the Trump government during a hearing in the French Senate.
“It is very important that Europe has reached an agreement with the United States, and I would say that things seem to have a relatively bad start so far,” he said. “The negotiations must be treated constructively. They have to aim to achieve results and thus with mutual concessions.”
Arnault quoted the example of the United Kingdom, which was the first foreign country to achieve a deal with Trump.
“I hope that I can convince Europe with my limited resources and contacts to take a similarly constructive attitude,” said Arnault, playing his position as a billionaire luxury -titanium who has contacts everywhere. “For France, the risk, especially for cognac and champagne, is important, especially for cognac.”
The workers in some of the champagne houses of LVMH achieved strikes this month after the luxury conglomerate of the Moët Hennessy plans had announced plans to reduce its workforce by 1,200 employees in response to challenging market conditions. The income of the unit fell organic in 2024 by 8 percent.
“I have the feeling that we are not really aware of the problem in France. But today about 80 percent of Cognac sales are made worldwide in China and the United States,” said Arnault. If no agreement is made, 80,000 winemakers in the Charente region could be affected, where Cognac comes from, he warned.
Arnault has known Trump for years, set up a production facility in Texas during his first term in the White House and took part in his second inauguration.
But these connections only go so far in the game of geopolitics.
Trump recommended a 50 percent tariff of 50 percent in the European Union on Friday, which said on Friday in social media on Friday that transatlantic trade talks “go nowhere”.
While imports from the EU were hit with 20 percent tariffs when Trump introduced his reorder of global trade on the “Liberation Day”, the “Liberation Day”, this was reduced to 10 percent pending negotiations.
Washington’s hardball, but the discussions opened with the trade in the trading with countries around the world, but only a few shops were done.
Trump, whose mother was born in Scotland, gave Great Britain a break that set import duties to 10 percent and made an “economic prosperity” contract at the beginning of this month, in which some tariffs are completely wiped out.
But even that will not protect the operation of the British brands in the global fashion industry.
For example, Burberry in London would probably be affected to a certain extent by the tariffs, as it creates most of its collections between Great Britain and Europe.
Trump confirmed that the EU was “trained the main purpose for the trade of the United States” and said that the block was “very difficult to cope with.
“Your mighty trade barriers, VAT, ridiculous company penalties, non -monetary trade barriers, money manipulations, unfair and unjustified lawsuits against American companies and much more have led to a trade deficit with more than 250,000,000 per year, a number that is completely not acceptable,” he said.
This number underestimates the warning deficit with the EU, which the US trade representative’s office in 2024 determined with $ 235.6 billion, an increase of 12.9 percent ($ 26.9 billion) over 2023. “
While Trump recommended a 50 percent tariff for EU goods, these numbers can move lower.
After a few tariff tariff tariffs this spring, China saw tariffs up to 245 percent, which was actually an economic embargo. But these tariffs went back to 30 percent for 90 days to facilitate negotiations.
Richemont also has based and manufactured and manufactured in France and Italy outside the EU, in Switzerland, but many of the companies in their portfolio.
While the company did not comment on the tariffs, his founder and chairman Johann Rupert said at the beginning of this month that he understood what Trump tries.
“I think the United States use the tariffs transactionally, and I think there are people in the United States treasury who have no total attitude of world trade,” said Rupert after the results of Richemont’s 2025.
Rupert added: “There are imbalances that need to be addressed. The United States can no longer hunt their debts, which are almost 37 trillion US dollars, and so President Trump does things that have to be done to tackle the overall situation.”
Richemont, who produces all the watches and part of his jewelry in Switzerland, considers his nerve to be a significant price increases until he sees where the tariffs land. Rupert said he was turning off the prices drastically – everywhere – out of fear of damaging the relationship with local customers.
A few days ago, Rupert traveled to Washington, DC and a delegation of the golf enthusiasts of the country with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. They mainly talked about violence in South Africa and the need for more security and Elon Musk Starlink satellite internet services, but not about tariffs -at least in public.
It is private where the real offers are likely to be met.
– With contributions by Luisa Zargani and Jennifer Weil
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