Meloni Protects “Italian Pasta” from the Threat of US Tariffs.

The British newspaper “The Times” revealed that US President Donald Trump has agreed to a significant reduction in customs duties imposed on imported Italian pasta, in response to a direct request from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

The newspaper stated that customs duties have decreased from 91.74% to only 2.26%, a move that saved pasta exports from rising prices and protected this important Italian product from losing its position in the American market, which is considered the second largest export market for Italy.

Lorenzo Castellani, professor of political science at LUISS University in Rome, described this decision as a “political victory” for Meloni, explaining that pasta is not just food, but an economic and cultural symbol of Italy.

It is noteworthy that the Trump administration imposed additional duties last September on 13 Italian companies, in addition to the basic 15% duties on imports from the European Union, on the grounds of price dumping, which threatened exports worth 671 million euros during 2024.

This decision constituted strong support for Meloni, who adopts a “food nationalism” policy, and who succeeded last month in obtaining recognition from UNESCO of Italian cuisine as a cultural heritage.

According to the newspaper, the fees for the Moliseana company were reduced to 2.26%, for Garofalo to 13.98%, while the percentage for other companies ranged between 9.09%.

For his part, the Italian Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida, stated that “the positive development proves that quiet and direct work with Washington achieves tangible results,” and indicated that he is following up on the matter in coordination with the Italian Ambassador to the United States.

In contrast, the CEO of “Sonar,” which specializes in political risks, Francesco Galietti, believes that the negotiations were not limited to Italy only, stressing that the European Commission played a fundamental role in managing the file on behalf of the European Union, and that preserving the Italian food identity is done within collective frameworks and not through bilateral tracks only.