n.460

E-commerce and US consumers penalised by new regulations launched by Trump


In the US until 2 May, incoming non-food goods below the value of $800 were exempt from customs duties(de minimis exemption). Now they are subject to 30% duties. The elimination of de minimis will cost US consumers between $10.9 billion and $13 billion overall, but the relative cost per person will be higher for low-income Americans. Distributors Shein and Temu have raised their prices but Amazon will have to do so as well because 50% of the 'third party sellers' operating on Amazon's platform are located in China (on 3P- third party sellers read here).

AmazonE-CommerceInflationNon-food
 

n.459

The slowdown in agri-food exports


...In May, the growth in exports to the United States almost came to a standstill, falling from 11% in the first quarter of the year to a modest0.4%, with marked declines for some of the main Made in Italy products: extra virgin olive oil fell by 17%, the same percentage for tomato puree, while cheese lost 4%. Only wine bucked the trend, with a slight recovery (3%) after the drop recorded in April. "Rising duties, inflation in the US and the devaluation of the dollar are making our products less competitive. If it really comes to 30% on food tariffs, the blow to our economy will be very heavy,' said [Ettore] Prandini (President of Coldiretti). Obviously tariffs, even at 15%, will not improve the situation. Drafted 23 July, updated 24 July 2025

ColdirettiInflation
 

n.457

The 25-year drought in the south-west of the USA could continue


A mega-drought has eroded water supplies, devastated farms and ranches, and fuelled fires across the American Southwest for 25 years. Not in 12 centuries has the region been so dry for so long. Now comes worse news: relief may still be decades away. According to new findings published in the journal Nature Geoscience, the dry spell is not just a bout of bad luck, no hard time that could end soon. Instead, it appears to be the result of a Pacific Ocean temperature pattern that is "locked in" due to global warming, said Victoria Todd, a PhD student in paleoclimatology at the University of Texas at Austin who led the new research. That means the drought could continue until 2050, perhaps even 2100 and beyond - in fact, Ms. Todd said, as long as humans continue to warm the planet.... Source It also talks about the conditions in California that we have been following since 2013 Below: Lake Powell in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Arizona, where July water levels are only at a third of capacity. Credit...Rebecca Noble/Getty Images

Climate change
 

n.454

Temu tests food sales in Italy


And we are not talking about Chinese products but Barilla. After Lidl ' s marketplace, Tik Tok's platform, here is the sale of food products by Temu. Amazon, which is testing the food marketplace, has become the company with the best reputation in Italian distribution . From the Italian companies, the only 'big news of the summer' is this: Decò on board, the new service of the Arena Group (VéGé): a galley via telephone, thanks to physical points of sale. A little bit...

AmazonBarillaE-CommerceLidl
 

n.453

US retail: why ICE raids threaten both the food supply chain and the customer


...With 21 per cent of the workforce in the food supply chain performed by immigrants, including nearly half a million grocery shop workers, mass detentions and deportations pose a serious threat to industry and communities. The fear of ICE actions also affects consumers, as the US is home to 47.8 million immigrants. Documented raids have occurred in Pennsylvania and California at grocery shops. Reports of a fruit and vegetable market remaining empty in Los Angeles because shoppers feared a crackdown speak volumes. So what tools do grocery shops have to protect their teams and their customers? It goes beyond politics: illegal ICE raids are a violation of constitutional Fourth Amendment rights (protection from unreasonable searches and seizures). For this reason, the most important thing any business owner can do is to make sure that everyone, both team members and clients, are aware of their rights and the rights of others in the event of ICE actions... Source : Progressive Grocer P.S.: ICE is Trump's 'anti-immigrant militia'

 

n.452

Agriculture (CAP): EU allocates € 87 billion less


"European agriculture will be stronger than before," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during the press conference presenting the new seven-year EU budget 2028-2034. A statement that contrasts with the numbers presented, given that just under EUR 300 billion will be allocated to the CAP, whereas in the previous one (2021-2027) as much as EUR 87 billion more was allocated. A picture that has to be seen in the broader context of a 2000 billion budget, the highest ever allocated in European history... protests by farmers' unions (Coldiretti in the lead).

AgricultureColdiretti