Tariffs on Italian pasta: the United States changes course by lowering them from 91% to 2%, Rome welcomes a "first reduction"

It is a breath of fresh air for Italy: while the United States had been threatening, since this summer, to impose a 91% tax on Italian pasta in January 2026, U.S. customs duties should ultimately be less significant than expected for this type of product. Indeed, on Thursday, January 1, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed that the anti-dumping surcharge that the United States plans to apply on imports of Italian pasta has been revised downward for certain brands, according to a preliminary assessment by the U.S. Department of Commerce. At the beginning of September 2025, the latter had announced that it planned to impose, starting in January 2026, provisional anti-dumping duties of more than 91% on pasta, in addition to the 15% currently applied. This decision is part of an investigation into alleged unfair trade practices by certain brands involving exports to the United States at prices below market value ("dumping"). "The U.S. Department of Commerce published in ...