Trump’s Tariffs Could Wipe Italian Pasta Off US Shelves
"It would be a real shame to have the market snatched from us for no real reason," one pasta company CEO says. (Getty Images/aguadeluna)
American shoppers may soon find fewer Italian pastas on grocery shelves, as Italy’s top pasta producers warn they could suspend exports to the United States over steep new trade duties exceeding 100%.
The tariffs—combining a 92% antidumping duty with a 15% general tariff—target 13 Italian companies, including La Molisana, one of the country’s largest and best-known pasta makers. The Trump administration enacted the measures following a Commerce Department review that determined certain Italian pastas were being sold below fair market value in the U.S., after complaints from domestic producers, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The decision has stunned Italy’s pasta industry. For companies such as La Molisana, which rebuilt itself from bankruptcy in 2011 and now generates roughly $400 million in annual revenue, exports to the American market have been vital to their resurgence. The factory, a key employer in one of Italy’s poorer regions, produces dozens of pasta varieties and relies heavily on U.S. demand.
While antidumping reviews and modest tariffs are not unusual for Italian food exporters, this is the first time so many producers have faced duties so high they could effectively shut them out of the American market. Italian officials and industry leaders argue the process was unusually severe—and possibly influenced by the broader political climate.
“This isn’t about dumping—it’s an excuse to block imports,” said Cosimo Rummo, CEO of Rummo Pasta, in remarks to The Washington Post. “Why don’t they want Italian products to enter America? Italy and America are brothers. It’s an excuse not to let Italian goods in.”
Unless the dispute is resolved, the new 92% duty is set to take effect at the start of next year. Luigi Scordamaglia, CEO of the industry group Filiera Italia, said the policy could impact more than half of all Italian pasta exports to the U.S., including 90% of premium brands.
U.S. officials maintain the penalties resulted from a routine technical review. The Washington Post noted that pasta companies felt “particularly stung” because the tariffs stemmed not from evidence of dumping, but from what the Commerce Department described as “inconsistent and unclear” responses from two Italian pasta firms during a review requested by two American manufacturers.
Italy’s government has begun a diplomatic effort to challenge the tariffs, warning that both national pride and roughly $770 million in annual pasta exports to the United States are on the line.
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