Are there really tariffs on pasta? Trump dreams of spaghetti made in the USA

No product is safe in the age of tariffs, not even pasta. So, if last year we told you about the Italian cheese producers against Trump, today it seems that those getting angry with the U.S. government will be the pasta makers of the Bel Paese. According to American newspapers, however, the issue of the 107% tariffs on pasta has roots far removed from Trump-era policies. Last year, it was the U.S. Department of Commerce that questioned the sales practices of Italian pasta producers. Under pressure from American companies, the department reportedly began imposing taxes to control the final price of Italian products in the United States - to make it fairer, in theory.

Thus, last summer several Italian pasta brands were subjected to inspections by the U.S. Department of Commerce, resulting in requests for clarification addressed to the well-known Garofalo and La Molisana. It was suspected that some Italian companies were engaging in dumping, meaning they were exporting at very low prices to eliminate local competition and gain market share. As early as September, the department had determined that the two companies had not provided sufficient cooperation in the investigation and that both had sold their goods at prices 91% lower than their normal value. Now, while a 15% tax is being applied to all European goods in the United States, new reports suggest that tariffs on pasta could reach an astonishing 107%.

At the moment, the proposed tariff is still under review, so we’ll have to wait to find out what will happen to the packages of Italian pasta bound for America. If approved and enacted, the tariffs would result in a staggering increase in costs for all Italian pasta producers, who would be forced to pay for importation as much as the value of the product itself, which would then reach store shelves at double the previous price. Just as happened during the cheese dispute, Italian associations, along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture, have mobilized to protest the proposal and seek a more favorable solution. But judging by what happened during the negotiations with the European Commission - which ultimately allowed Trump and his administration to impose steep tariffs on all imports - it’s possible that pasta will meet the same fate.