New tariffs could threaten Italian pasta sales in the US
New tariffs in 2026 could impact Italian pasta sales in the U.S., forcing consumers to find an alternative. Numerous Italian pasta exporters are preparing for their products to no longer be available to American consumers because of import and antidumping duties totaling 107%, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. Department of Commerce alleged in September that 13 companies, including La Molisana and Garofalo, were selling their pastas below normal market prices in the United States, also known as dumping. The department investigated pastas made in Italy from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.
The findings led the department to announce that it may impose an additional duty of 91.74% on Italian imports, effective in 2026. The duty is in addition to the 15% U.S. tax on most imports, resulting in a total tariff of nearly 107%.
What Italian pasta exporters are saying
Numerous Italian executives spoke to the Journal about potentially removing their products from U.S. grocery shelves.
“It’s an incredibly important market for us,” Giuseppe Ferro, La Molisana’s chief executive, said. “But no one has those kinds of margins. It would be a real shame to have the market snatched from us for no real reason.”
In response to the findings, La Molisana and other companies impacted are asking the Commerce Department to change its assessment when a final report is released.
However, some Italian companies are continuing to push back. “This isn’t about dumping — it’s an excuse to block imports,” Cosimo Rummo, CEO of Rummo Pasta, told the Journal.
Meanwhile, White House spokesman Kush Desai said Italian pasta is not disappearing, and stressed that the proposed duties are preliminary.
“The pasta makers still have several months to continue participating in this review before this preliminary finding becomes finalized,” Desai said.
What are antidumping duties?
Antidumping duties are tariffs imposed on imported goods that are being sold at a price lower than their value. U.S. Customs and Border Protection says they’re designed to level the playing field and protect domestic industries from unfair competition.
Conducting probes into the Italian pasta market and implementing these types of tariffs, however, is nothing new. The Journal reports the Commerce Department has been inspecting Italian companies since the mid-1990s. Since then, American pasta makers have regularly filed complaints against Italian imports.
While the U.S. has imposed penalties as a result of those complaints, they were typically small. This is the first time that so many companies face potentially trade-killing tariffs.
According to the Journal, the Commerce Department typically determines antidumping duties by comparing the cost of durum-wheat pasta in the U.S. and Italy, while taking transportation and other expenses into account.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
