Italian makers of Parmesan cheese, olive oil and different delicacies are racing to ship their wares to the US earlier than president-elect Donald Trump could make good on his risk to impose new tariffs on imports.
The US imported €4.4bn price of Italian meals, wine and spirits in 2023, however producers in Italy worry American urge for food for his or her merchandise will probably be curbed by the worth hikes that may doubtless observe any new levies.
“Everybody is rushing, putting as much food in their warehouses as they can before [Trump] gets in,” mentioned Michele Buccelletti, whose household enterprise produces olive oil and wine in Tuscany and Umbria.
Nevertheless, such efforts are constrained by a scarcity of cargo house within the run-up to Christmas. “Right now, it’s impossible to find a 20-foot or 40-foot refrigerated container,” Buccelletti mentioned.
Buccelletti mentioned he often sends 20,000-30,000 litres of additional virgin olive oil to the US two or thrice a yr. However since Trump’s victory, his US importer has been urgent him to extend shipments shortly, and he now goals to have 50,000 litres en route this month.
Filippo Marchi, basic supervisor of Granarolo — a Bologna-based dairy, mentioned the corporate is scrambling to dispatch extra Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano cheese to its personal US subsidiary.
Nevertheless, Marchi expressed concern that manufacturing “bottlenecks” — by way of lengthy maturation time for the cheeses — and scarce delivery capability posed critical constraints. “It is not possible to produce a lot in a short period,” he mentioned.
“Until December, it is quite difficult to find extra cargo space,” Marchi mentioned. “Everyone is trying to do the same thing.”
Granarolo is trying to safe further warehouse house to carry the additional inventory by late February, when it expects tariffs may very well be imposed. But Marchi nonetheless hopes Trump might rethink his tariff plan, particularly on meals.
“You have to think about the availability of products on supermarket shelves,” he mentioned.
Luigi Pio Scordamaglia, director of worldwide affairs at Coldiretti — Italy’s influential farming affiliation, mentioned some stockpiling might have begun even earlier than Trump’s win, as producers have been hedging for this end result.
Italy’s meals and wine exports to the US have been 19.5 per cent greater within the first half of 2024 than over the identical interval final yr. In complete, Italian agrifood exports to the US — Rome’s most vital market exterior Europe — are forecast to achieve €7.8bn for the yr.
Although Scordamaglia mentioned new tariffs are anticipated to dampen future progress, he expects the market to stay strong given “strong demand for Italian food in the US”.
Some Italians hope Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — who has cast a sturdy friendship with Elon Musk, Trump’s highly effective backer and nominee to move a deregulation division — could possibly safe beneficial therapy for Italy.
International minister Antonio Tajani mentioned this month that Trump had proven a “special regard for Italy, different from other countries” in his first time period, which may assist protect the nation from the tariff blow.
Nevertheless, Meloni admitted this week that “we are all worried about tariffs — this is a fact”. She mentioned that her authorities would have interaction in talks with the Trump administration whereas additionally looking for to spice up Europe’s competitiveness.
Throughout his first time period, Trump levied 25 per cent import duties on numerous European items, together with French wines and Italian cheese, as punishment for European subsidies to aerospace large Airbus.
Although Italian wines have been spared from direct tariffs, Albiera Antinori, president of winemaker Marchesi Antinori, mentioned wineries suffered anyway as US wine merchants hiked costs throughout. “It damaged the whole sector,” she mentioned. “It unsettles the consumer and it unsettles the supply chain.”
Not all Italian winemakers have been dashing to front-load exports, she mentioned, given massive volumes of pink wine already within the US. “Each one is going to be looking at their own stocks and their own availability of wine,” Antinori mentioned.
Francesco Mutti, chief govt of Mutti — the most important Italian tomato merchandise maker within the US market, additionally warned that front-loading exports may be dangerous, given the price of capital and further storage, which can not repay if Trump’s tariff risk doesn’t materialise — or if charges find yourself decrease than predicted.
Massimiliano Giansanti, president of Confagricoltura — which represents Italy’s largest agribusinesses, mentioned any export surge would doubtless be adopted by a slowdown. Many producers additionally worry that if the costs of genuine Italian merchandise rise, some American shoppers will swap to cheaper home substitutes.
“The big risk of duties is that fake products restart on the market: Italian-sounding, not Italian, he said. “Some American consumers are going to choose the products that cost less.”
