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The US government has softened its stance on proposed tariffs that would almost double the cost of Italian pasta brands, as Donald Trump’s administration faces political pressure over the high cost of living.
The US had accused 13 Italian pasta companies, including Barilla and premium brands like La Molisana and pasticcio Lucio Garofalo, of unfairly dumping their products in the US and threatened retaliatory tariffs of up to 92 percent in October.
But on New Year’s Day, Italy’s government said the U.S. Commerce Department had cut planned additional tariffs to between 2 percent and 14 percent.
The Commerce Department later cautioned that it had not made a final decision on what tariffs would be imposed on pasta producers.
It said a “preliminary” analysis published on Wednesday showed that Italian pasta makers “have addressed many of commerce’s concerns”.
It said that the final results of the department’s analysis will be announced on March 12 and only after that the import duty will be changed.
The White House has rolled back tariffs imposed by Trump on more than 200 food products, amid voters’ concerns about the cost of living and high consumer prices.
Any additional duties on pasta makers would come on top of the 15 percent tariff imposed by the US President on most imports from the EU.
The Trump administration’s proposals sparked outrage in Rome and Brussels.
The planned duties created a diplomatic problem for Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has had friendly relations with the US president. The European Commission promised to intervene in the dispute if necessary.
Italy’s agribusiness association, Coldiretti, warned that the tariffs would be a “fatal blow” to Italian pasta makers, and said about half the value of Italy’s dry pasta exports to the US would be affected.
The US will import about €671 million worth of pasta from Italy in 2024. The US government has said that 13 companies account for 16 percent of the pasta imported into the country from Italy.
The Italian government said on Thursday the Commerce Department planned to set much lower rates for pasta brands after an initial review.
Rome said the duty for La Molisana would be reduced to 2.26 percent, while the rate for Garofalo would be set at about 14 percent. Italy’s foreign ministry said the remaining 11 pasta producers would face tariffs of 9.09 percent.
The figures roughly match the “weighted-average dumping margin” from the U.S. Commerce Department’s analysis, published later Thursday.
Italy’s Foreign Ministry said: “The recalculation of tariffs is a sign that the US authorities recognize our companies’ constructive willingness to cooperate.”
The change in pasta tariffs came a day after the White House said it was delaying a tariff increase on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities for another year.
On January 1, import duty on kitchen cabinets and vanities was to increase from 25 percent to 50 percent, while duty on upholstered furniture was expected to increase from 25 percent to 30 percent.
But the White House said Wednesday that the US is “engaging in productive negotiations with trading partners” and would delay a planned increase in tariff rates “for an additional year.”
