Italy says US has slashed proposed tariffs on pasta exports

2nd Jan 2026 13:13

(Sharecast News) - The US government has slashed planned tariffs on Italian pasta after fears that consumers would be facing almost double the price on many popular brands for consumers, Italian officials said.

US President Donald Trump threatened to impose levies up to 92% on Italian pasta companies - on top of the 15% tariff on most EU goods - after accusing producers including Barilla, La Molisana and Pastificio Lucio Garofalo of selling their goods at unfairly low prices.

The US Department of Commerce said it had reviewed the proposed tariff regime and cut them to between 2% and 14% but cautioned that the final results of the department's analysis would be announced on March 11 and import duties would only be changed after that.

Trump's administration has been forced to backtrack and cut planned tariffs on more than 200 food products, as concerns grow that his global trade war is fuelling a cost-of-living crisis and higher consumer prices.

The US imported about €671m ($790m) worth of pasta from Italy in 2024. The US government has said the 13 companies account for 16% per cent of Italian pasta imports.

Italian officials said the duty for La Molisana would be slashed to 2.26%, while Garofalo would face 14% and the remaining 11 producers would face tariffs of 9.09%, according to Italy's foreign ministry.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com

Any additional duties on the Italian pasta makers will come on top of the 15% tariff that Trump has placed on most goods imported from the EU into the US.