Perspectives : les entreprises wallonnes dans le chaos trumpien | mercredi 25/02/26

·24 min·2 clips

How are Walloon companies navigating Trump's tariff chaos, with threats of 10-15% rates and Supreme Court reversals?

1. Trends-Tendances Perspectives interviews AWEX CEO Pascale Delcomminette on the impact of Trump tariffs and Walloon export and investment performance. 2. Delcomminette leads both AWEX and WBI; the February 2026 recording follows the US Supreme Court's cancellation of Trump surcharges, immediately followed by new 10% tariff announcements. 3. The core question is whether Trump's tariff chaos constitutes a genuine threat to Walloon exporters or is being overstated. 4. An AWEX survey found 70% of Walloon export companies expect the impact to be less significant than feared, echoing a parallel FEB survey, primarily because companies absorb increases through price adjustments or margin compression. 5. Delcomminette reveals that 84% of Walloon exports to the United States consist of pharmaceutical products, which are currently excluded from Trump's tariff measures. 6. She advises Walloon companies to consider US market strategies including partial US-based production, strengthened subsidiaries, new distributor agreements, or joint ventures, while retaining core value creation in Wallonia. 7. She recounts a Walloon technology company that had been failing to reach RATP Paris through normal channels, met the right contact at CES Las Vegas, and signed the RATP contract the following year. 8. A Walloon mission to California's West Coast in October attracted about one-third more companies than the US mission immediately before it, generating approximately 1,900 potential contact opportunities across decision-makers. 9. The diversification message is explicit: latentism — waiting to see how things unfold — is a bad strategy, and companies that have experienced COVID, Russia-Ukraine, and Brexit now accept this more readily. 10. A recent Mexico mission attracted more companies than any previous Mexico mission, with several small first-time participants returning with nearly-signed contracts. 11. On the Mercosur agreement, Delcomminette notes Brazil represents 87% of Walloon Mercosur exports, primarily in biopharma, machines, and agri-food, and the agreement will directly reduce tariffs on these categories. 12. She describes India as a market Wallonia has not yet adequately tapped: 1.5 billion consumers, over 8% GDP growth in 2025, significant aerospace, defence, pharmaceutical, and technology potential. 13. First-half 2025 export data shows Walloon exports up 42% to the US and over 10% overall, but Delcomminette cautions these reflect tariff anticipation and dollar depreciation hedging rather than structural demand growth. 14. The three-year export trend view is more durable: Wallonia outperforms all neighbours across 2023-2025. 15. 2025 was the best year for foreign investment in Wallonia in five years: 1,300 jobs expected and 1.3 billion euros committed, including both new entrants and existing investors extending their Walloon footprint. 16. Delcomminette identifies energy availability, land permitting speed, and the Hénaut electricity loop as the three main barriers foreign investors raise when considering Wallonia. 17. The Walloon government has frozen AWEX's budget allocation for the legislature, but Minister Géollet committed to no further cuts beyond non-indexation, expressing confidence in internationalisation as a growth driver. 18. The interview mixes data-driven Q&A with anecdotal colour, including trade mission stories; the host presses on the risks of optimism bias. 19. Best suited to Walloon export managers, trade policy observers, and business leaders evaluating US market exposure. 20. Listeners outside the Belgian economic context or seeking sector-specific export analysis will find the episode too aggregated.

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