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Italy’s largest agriculture organisation said additional tariffs on pasta exports to the US would be a “mortal blow” should an anti-dumping penalty go ahead.
According to Coldiretti, Italy exported pasta to the US last year valued at €671m ($782.3m), shipments that would be threatened by a 91.7% duty to be imposed in January on top of the 15% currently applied to EU goods.
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The US Department of Commerce, via its International Trade Commission, completed a review in September and singled out Italian manufacturers Molisana and Pastificio Lucio Garofalo for selling pasta on the US market “at less than normal value” from July 2023 to June 2024.
After a number of delays, the Department of Commerce issued its preliminary findings in September ahead of the planned introduction of the additional tariffs and has invited interested parties to comment.
While Coldiretti said in a statement on Saturday (4 October) that duties of 107% would “have devastating consequences for Made in Italy”, the government said it has intervened as an interested party.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs followed up with a statement the same day, saying it is “working closely with the affected companies and in consultation with the European Commission to ensure that the US Department of Foreign Affairs reviews the provisional duties imposed on our companies”.
It added: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has formally intervened in the proceedings as an ‘interested party’ through its embassy in Washington to assist the companies in asserting their rights.”
Just Food has approached Molisana and Pastificio Lucio Garofalo for comment today (6 October).
Coldiretti warned the extra tariffs would push up prices for US consumers of imported Italian pasta and encourage Made in Italy imitations. Local companies would be “severely” hit as a consequence, the trade body said.
Its president, Ettore Prandini, said in the statement: “We must defend and promote the pasta supply chain, both in the US and in Italy, to avoid selling off one of our flagship products of excellence.
“Just as we demand a fair price for Italian wheat, we believe it is essential to guarantee a fair value for pasta. The American accusations of dumping are unacceptable and instrumental to Trump’s plan to move production to the US.”
Coldiretti added export revenues on pasta from tariffs of that size “would be virtually wiped out, erasing years of growth and investment along the entire supply chain”.
It called on Italy’s government and the EU to “act decisively to protect a product that is not just a food, but a true symbol of the Mediterranean diet and Italy’s agri-food identity”.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “hopes that the American side will recognise the integrity and full willingness of our producers to cooperate in the ongoing investigation”.
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