US tariffs and logistics
Opinion Piece by Emiliano Vidal
Note: The following opinion piece by Emiliano Vidal (Managing Director for Spring GDS Southern Europe) on US tariffs was originally published in the Spanish newspaper El Economista on 9 September 2025 at 6:15 am.
For this website, the article has been translated into English.
You can read the original version here.
Is logistics ready for the new tariffs?
Tariffs are just the visible side of a deeper paradigm shift.
The tariff escalation between the United States and the European Union has once again highlighted an undeniable truth: when geopolitics tighten, global trade gets complicated.
The logistics sector has been seeing a sharp rise in inquiries from Spanish companies—especially small and medium-sized exporters—who need to rethink their strategies in an increasingly unstable environment. And the concern is real: Spain exported goods worth over €18 billion to the US in 2024, and key sectors like automotive, food, and e-commerce are already feeling the impact.
In recent months, we’ve seen cases where import duties exceeded not only profit margins but even the cost of the product itself. That’s just one sign of the complexity we’re facing.
The impact is already operational. While political debate dominates headlines, the most immediate and tangible effects are logistical. In practice, we’re seeing new costs at customs and ports, relocations of distribution centers, and longer, less predictable delivery times.
This is forcing many companies to rethink their operations—not just commercially, but logistically. And this is where agility and adaptability become real competitive advantages.
Logistics providers must work closely with local partners in key markets to ensure operational continuity, visibility, and flexibility across the entire supply chain.
A strong strategy includes offering a broad and well-integrated logistics infrastructure—one that gives options to businesses selling via marketplaces or their own shops, helping them reroute shipments to the US or explore new markets in Europe. Or to identify alternative entry points. Without a doubt, the current situation is accelerating a structural transformation in international trade, where logistics is not just operational—it’s strategic.
The key question is no longer if there will be changes, but how we’ll manage them. Tariffs are just one visible layer of a deeper shift. And while we can’t control the political landscape, we can build operations that are more resilient, tech-ready, and customer-focused. That’s why we need logistics that not only move goods—but help businesses navigate uncharted territory. In moments like this, that vision is more essential than ever.