"We must share the burden of the additional costs and avoid passing them on to consumers," Lamberto Frescobaldi, President of the Italian Wine Union (UIV), had appealed to US importers of Italian wine. Apparently in vain for now, as the UIV now reports.
"The first distributors from the United States are writing that they are not prepared to accept a surcharge on our wines. Currently, there is wrangling over who must bear the burden of lower revenues to ensure consumer price stability. Italian companies must not give in but must assert their commercial strength for a product that primarily enriches the US trade chain," Frescobaldi now explains. However, for the UIV, it remains clear that every part of the supply chain would need to sacrifice a portion of its revenue to avoid price increases in the US market. The organization trusts that "the Italian government will be able to represent the sector's rationale at the European level and promote the path of dialogue and negotiation."
A scenario like the one France experienced in 2020 must be avoided, when French exports to the US plummeted by 28% in value following the 25% tariffs imposed at that time.
he UIV also reports that Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, has spoken in favor of removing American whiskey from the potential list of products that could be subject to retaliatory EU tariffs. On March 18th, the Italian Wine Union met with the Minister to point out the risks and dangers of a counterproductive spiral, noting that European spirits – including wine – account for €8bn in exports, while imports of the same products total €1.3bn.
