Carbonara Day, Trump's duties ruin the dispute over the preferred pasta format: spaghetti or rigatoni?

6 April marks Carbonara Day, an event that has now reached its ninth edition and that over the years is becoming increasingly important for the promotion of Italian-made products in the world, not only pasta, but Italian spirit in general, thanks to the recipe's international renown, extensive social media coverage (on Instagram alone there are over 2 million contents with the hashtag #Carbonara) and the participation of chefs and celebrities.

This year the event conceived by the pasta makers of Unione Italiana Food arrives at a crucial moment for Italian agri-food, in view of Trump's 20% tariffs that naturally also loom over pasta. And we know, by the way, how much the carbonara is loved by Americans, who can't wait to order it as soon as they arrive in Italy (perhaps together with a good cappuccino). It is therefore all the more important to reaffirm the importance of the origins of the ingredients and the continuous work on quality and innovation carried out by pasta makers.

According to data from Unione Italiana Food, Italy exports more than 60% of its production and in 2024 the value relating to the USA came to 671 million euro (+14.5% compared to 2023) compared to total exports of around 2.4 billion (+4.8% on 2023). In other words, pasta is worth about 16% of cross-border sales. With duties at 20%, a slice of this business could be at risk. In the long term a consequence could also be that of leading Italian companies to delocalise their production overseas.
"This could be an extreme and unfortunate consequence that we obviously do not hope for, and then such a decision would only be practicable by a few - comments Cristiano Laurenza, secretary of the Uif pasta makers -. What is certain is that producers are worried, as is happening to varying degrees throughout the Italian agri-food industry. Americans eat 9 kilos of pasta per head per year, a figure far removed from our 23, but to be multiplied by a much larger population. Moreover, exports to the US have grown faster than average in recent years'.

'In addition to the effect on US consumption,' Laurenza adds, 'there could also be indirect effects, both on the consumption of other countries, such as Germany, which is very important for us, and a possible generalised effect of an increase in raw materials. The 'counter-duties' from the EU could then make imports from the US more expensive. In Texas and Arizona, high-quality durum wheat is produced and it is well known that Italian wheat is only sufficient for 60-70% of Italian pasta production'.

Pasta, guanciale, egg, pecorino romano and black pepper, five key ingredients for one of the most loved, discussed and replicated (imitated?) dishes in the world (among the most clicked according to Google reports and with almost a million monthly searches according to BonusFinder's ranking). But putting aside (perhaps) the disputes over the (most) original recipe (cream or no cream, pancetta or guanciale, if not with garlic and gruviera, which as revealed last year was part of the first carbonara recipe for which there is written documentation), Italians also seem to be in love with variations, whether it is 'only' bacon and parmesan or vegetarian or seafood versions.