The United States has significantly reduced its proposed tariffs on Italian pasta imports, easing potential financial burdens on American consumers. The US government started out by threatening tariffs of up to 92% on pasta made in Italy. They pointed to claims that these products were being dumped on the American market at “less than normal value.” This decision follows Italian companies’ significant efforts to remediate many of the widespread concerns identified by US authorities.
The US Commerce Department just found Italian pasta producers guilty of ‘dumping’. This allegation resulted in a call for high tariffs on those imports. If these tariffs go through, American importers will pay taxes on pasta that exceed the price of the pasta itself. This will in turn lead to drastically higher costs to US consumers. The proposed tariffs would have resulted in a tax rate on some pasta products surpassing 100% of their actual value.
After high-level discussions between the US and Italian governments, the Italian foreign ministry has reported that the US has dramatically reduced its planned tariffs. As of this writing, the revised proposal has added a lowered tariff rate of 2.26% for La Molisana, one of the brands hit with the tariffs. Other products will be allowed a bit higher rates, but not over 13.98%. Consider that products from the 53 Italian producers impacted represent just a minor fraction of total Italian pasta imported into the US. This is important because it means that the implications of this decision are fairly narrow.
That original plan opened up some political doors to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Most importantly, she has maintained a public relationship with former President Donald Trump, distinguishing her from many of her European counterparts. The cuts in tariffs—most notably through the African Continental Free Trade Area—will go some way toward mitigating many of these pressures.
“Today’s announcement represents an acknowledgement by the US authorities of the constructive co-operation shown by Italian companies,” stated the Italian foreign ministry.
A spokesperson from the US Commerce Department remarked, “[Our] post-preliminary analysis indicates that Italian pasta makers have addressed many of Commerce’s concerns raised in the preliminary determination. Commerce will continue to engage with interested parties to take into account all information before issuing the final determination.”