Good morning, nice people. Ramadan has ushered in a quieter news rhythm, so today’s issue is brisk — though not short on significance.

In this morning’s issue: EBRD is cutting a EUR 2.1 mn check for Morocco’s Nador West Med to strengthen industrial development, and we have news on Egypt skipping the showroom and heading to the garage for a USD 297 mn locomotive overhaul. Shall we dive in?

The big logistics story abroad

The European Commission said it expects Washington to stick to the joint trade agreement inked last year. The Commission demanded “full clarity” on Washington’s next steps and insisted the US honor the agreement, indicating that it will accept no increase in US tariffs. This comes after US President Donald Trump announced he is raising global tariffs to 15%.

Speaking of which, Trump’s newest tariff hike was found to benefit China and Brazil most while heralding higher costs for US allies, namely the UK, the EU, and Japan. US allies are thought to suffer most as their exports have a higher proportion of steel, aluminium, and autos, which are covered by some tariffs that remain in place.

Watch this space

TRADE — The Egyptian gov’t is overhauling its export subsidies program, moving away from acquired-rights toward a strictly performance-based model. Investment Minister Mohamed Farid told heads of 13 export councils in a meeting last week that the state will no longer grant subsidies without “measurable and verifiable digital targets,” according to a ministry statement. The new framework — developed in coordination with Industry Minister Khaled Hashem — will link export rebates to specific key performance indicators (KPIs), such as penetrating new markets, increasing production capacity, and hitting job creation targets.

Why this matters: For years, many Egyptian exporters have relied on state rebates as a predictable component of their net income margins. Farid’s message was clear: “No incentives without targets.” This shift potentially ends the era of automatic cost reimbursement, putting immediate operational pressure on firms that have built their business models around state payouts rather than efficiency.

What’s next? The meeting will be followed by individual sessions with each export council to set sector-specific numbers and timelines. We will be watching for the official release of the new executive regulations for the export subsidy program to see exactly how these KPIs will be weighted across different industries.

ENERGY–– Syria’s SPC moves to strengthen its gas supply chain amid port disruptions: The state-owned Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC) acquired its fourth shipment of LNG –– a vessel carrying 2.8 mmt –– at Baniyas Port this week, as part of a push to raise domestic supply banks amid increasing demand. SPC is launching a logistics overhaul to prevent cooking gas shortages after bad weather recently blocked tankers from docking, causing supply spikes across several provinces.

Why it matters: Demand has spiked to 170k cylinders per day. To stabilize the market, SPC is now contracting firms to rehabilitate port terminals to allow for unloading in various weather conditions and is moving to expand strategic storage capacity.

In other news from Syria: The Syrian government took over the management of Qamishli Airport on Saturday — which had been overseen by Kurdish-led forces since the fall of the Assad regime a year ago. The civil aviation and air transport authorities assumed control of the airport and have begun taking steps to restart operations.

Why it matters: Qamishli is the only airport in northeastern Syria and serves as the area’s primary logistical lifeline — the only consistent link between the northeast and Damascus.

AVIATION — Airbus is facing a supplier-related ceiling: European planemaker Airbus has trimmed its A320 production target to 70-75 jetsper monthby the end of 2027 — a shortfall Airbus attributes to ongoing engine supply issues with Pratt & Whitney, including a failure to secure firm delivery commitments, which have resulted in a significant shortage of engines.

On the flip side, the French manufacturer saw a 6% y-o-y rise in its bottom line to EUR 2.6 bn in 4Q 2025, according to a press release. The firm’s top line rose 5% y-o-y to EUR 26 bn — with deliveries doing the heavy lifting.

Full-year picture: Airbus’ net income rose 23% y-o-y to EUR 5.2 bn, while its revenues saw a 6% increase to 73.4 bn in FY 2025. The growth was supported by higher commercial aircraft deliveries — with 793 handed over and targeting around 870 commercial aircraft deliveries in 2026.

Market watch

Oil prices fell 1% this morning as US-Iran talks eased tensions and new tariffs stoked growth worries, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures dipped USD 0.76 to trade at USD 71.00 / bbl as of 03:54 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down USD 0.75 to USD 65.75 / bbl.

The Baltic Index rebounds: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — rose 1.2% to 2,043 points on Friday, supported by the larger vessel segments. The capesize climbed 1.7% to 3,051 points, and the panamax index added 1.2% to 1,838, while the smaller supramax index slipped one point to 1,159.

The Drewry World Container Index decreased by 1% to USD 1,919 per 40-ft container last week, according to the latest index readings. The decline is driven by a drop across the transpacific and Asia-Europe rates, especially the Shanghai-New York (1%), Shanghai-Genoa (2%), and Shanghai-Rotterdam (2%) routes, as demand cooled ahead of Lunar New Year factory shutdowns.

A further decline is expected over the next few weeks, according to Drewry. A decline is in line with forecasts of a supply glut in 2026 and 2027 that could drive a sharp dip in shipping prices, as the potential full return to the Suez Canal meets a record-breaking wave of new ship deliveries, shipowner association Bimco previously said in a report seen by EnterpriseAM.

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