President Donald Trump’s administration has dramatically reduced proposed tariffs on Italian pasta companies, marking the latest reversal in the president’s sweeping tariff regime.
In September, the Department of Commerce announced that 13 Italian pasta makers would face a tariff rate of 92 percent on top of the 15 percent rate placed on all products from the European Union, according to a January 1 news release from the Italian Foreign Ministry.
The department accused the brands of unfair trade practices — specifically “dumping” products into the U.S. at below market rates. In particular, U.S. officials accused two companies, La Molisana and Garofalo, of failing to cooperate with their pricing investigation.
The companies contested these allegations, and the Italian government supported their arguments in a memo filed through its embassy in Washington, D.C.
After a review, the Commerce Department slashed the proposed tariffs for La Molisana to 2 percent, while the rate for Garofalo was set to 14 percent. The other 11 pasta makers will now face a rate of 9 percent.
“The recalculation of the duties is a sign that U.S. authorities recognize our companies’ constructive willingness to cooperate,” the foreign ministry said, according to Reuters.
The Commerce department’s full review is expected to be released in March.
Italy’s pasta exports were worth roughly $4.7 billion in 2024, with sales to the U.S. accounting for about $800 million of that total, according to Italy’s National Institute of Statistics.
The Trump administration’s proposed tariffs were a source of embarrassment for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who believed her close relationship with Trump would spare Italian companies from high rates, according to Reuters.
The sharp cut in duties for pasta makers is just the latest in a string of tariff rollbacks and delays by the Trump administration — a pattern critics have derided using the phrase “Trump Always Chickens Out,” or “TACO.”
On New Year’s Eve, the White House announced that rate increases scheduled to impact furniture, vanities and kitchen cabinets would be delayed by one year.
In November, Trump signed an executive order removing tariffs from more than 200 agricultural staples, including beef, coffee, orange juice and bananas.
And earlier this year, the administration announced a 90-day pause on its so-called reciprocal tariffs which were set to impact dozens of countries, including Canada and Mexico.
The White House has maintained that the series of rollbacks does not mean the president’s tariff strategy is failing.
“This is nothing new," National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told CNBC in November when he was asked whether the U-turns represent an acknowledgement that the administration’s policies have led to higher costs. A day earlier, Hassett told ABC News that price increases seen in some sectors weren't solely attributable to tariffs.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Independent.
Polls show that many Americans are feeling constrained by prices. More than one-third of Trump’s own voters believe the cost of living in the U.S. is the worst they’ve ever seen, according to a Politico survey conducted in November.
In September, the consumer price index (CPI) rose by 0.3 percent month-over-month and by 3 percent year-over-year, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Gas and food prices also crept up, though the results were better than economists expected, according to CNN.
The latest rollback also comes as the Supreme Court is considering whether to strike down Trump’s claim of emergency powers to levy tariffs by executive fiat. In November, Trump warned the court of “serving hostile foreign interests” ahead of its ruling.
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