“Deadly blow”: Italian producers fear the effects of Trump’s “war on pasta” | Trump’s definitions
“I“It’s really unfortunate,” said Antonio Romo, lamenting Donald Trump’s latest target in his evolving tariff war: Italian pasta. Romo is the sixth-generation grandson of Pasta founder Romo, who opened a wheat mill in Benevento in southern Italy in 1846, using the family’s three horses to haul grain from the surrounding Campania and Puglia region to produce fresh pasta.
“The demand for premium pasta in the United States is growing,” Romo says. It is appreciated by consumers for its traditional processing method that ensures it is cooked well Al dente Perfect, Romo’s pasta sales were booming.
“Our brand has grown particularly quickly over the last six years, which surprised us, but we are very proud of it,” he said, but he fears the US president’s tariffs will undo that.
Italian food producers thought the worst was behind them when Trump agreed in August to cut tariffs on imports of EU goods to a flat rate of 15%, and they hoped his cordial relations with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni would protect them from further disruption.
not so. The world of pasta, a staple of Italy’s culinary heritage, is in disarray after Washington threatened to strike another 92% of some of the country’s oldest pasta manufacturers in what Italian media declared “Trump’s war on pasta.”
Romo’s pasta sells for about $4 (£3) a packet, but the price could double if additional tariffs apply, Romo says.
The additional duties, which are scheduled to take effect in January, are the result of a US Commerce Department investigation into dumping practices, where foreign companies export goods at lower prices than the domestic market to gain an advantage over domestic competitors.
The investigation, prompted by US rivals, specifically targeted La Molisana and Garofalo, given their US sales volume, but because of the connection, left 11 other major Italian pasta brands, including family-run Barilla and Pasta Romo, in the line of fire.
Italian pasta exports will be worth more than €4bn (£3.5bn) in 2024, with the US among the top three destinations.
The punitive outcome has proven difficult for the Italian pasta makers, who are all preparing to take legal action, to accept. Giuseppe Ferro, CEO of La Molisana, which has been making pasta since 1912, He told the Italian press The dumping accusations were baseless, and he expressed hope that the Trump government would change its mind because otherwise “it would be impossible for us to operate.”
The tariffs are believed to be aimed at encouraging Italian producers to set up factories in the United States, a strategy that appears to have led to investments in other industries such as pharmaceuticals.
La Molisana denied rumors that it would back down, while Emidio Mansi, Garofalo’s marketing director, said the company had no intention of opening factories in the United States. “We were in Gragnano [a town near Naples] Since 1789, they have not moved.” Gambero Rosso.
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The Meloni government and the European Commission are pressuring Washington to reverse its decision. Italy’s Agriculture Minister, Francesco Lollobrigida, said targeting pasta was “excessive protectionism.” He said: “We see no necessity or justification.”
Ettore Prandini, president of Coldiretti, Italy’s largest agribusiness association, said the tariffs would be a “deadly blow” to Italian pasta.
He said: “It is very harmful and no one could have imagined that such a situation could arise, especially after Europe reached the agreement on 15%.”
Prandini said the tariffs were particularly brutal considering that the United States is full of products that mimic the names of popular Italian food brands.
“This is a real challenge in America,” he said, adding that the country is the biggest culprit when it comes to producing brands with an “Italian flair.” “The market for Italian counterfeit products is worth about 120 billion euros globally, of which 40 billion euros are produced in the United States,” he said. “This affects the entire Italian food industry.”