US duties, 5 questions and 5 answers on what Italy can do
The Italian government seeks solutions to counter US duties and protect affected sectors. The proposals and ongoing actions.
3' min read
3' min read
The Italian government is considering measures to protect companies affected by the US duties. It is talking to companies and production categories to find effective solutions. Sectors such as wine production, motorbikes and jewellery are particularly at risk. But what can the Italian government do to react to the US duties? Does it have margins of autonomy to deal with Trump? Which sectors will be most affected? These are some of the questions we try to answer here.
can Italy negotiate with the US?
.Italy 'cannot negotiate' on duties directly with Washington, because trade policy is the competence of the European Commission, recalled Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. "You cannot negotiate with the United States," replied the former European Commissioner and former President of the Eurochamber, "because the competence of international trade lies with the European Commission, so it is Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, who listens to us and deals with us. Then, we can do other things,' he adds.
What can the government do autonomously?
At the moment, the Italian government can do little on its own. "We are waiting to see how the confrontation with the US goes, without taking anything for granted,' said the Minister for Business and Italian Adolfo Urso, interviewed by Il Sole24Ore. 'Possible measures can only be assessed in the light of real data that we do not yet have today and will have to take into account the equally and perhaps even more serious consequences of any European countermeasures. In any case, on Tuesday we will begin discussions with the companies', to hear their proposals as well, to define what can be put in place to be truly effective. But I would like to stress,' he specified, 'that any compensatory measures in favour of the sectors most affected must be European because, otherwise, to the division of the West threatened by the duties we would end up responding with the division of Europe'.
What can the government demand from the EU?
Foreign Minister Tajani handed Commissioner Sefcovic 'a list of Italian products on which action must be taken so that they can be protected' in the negotiations that will take place within the European Union ahead of Monday's Council decision in Luxembourg. Tajani mentioned, among others, wine production, motorbikes, jewellery and precious stones sectors
Which sectors of Italian manufacturing are most affected?
The Study Centre of Confindustria presented the report on economic forecasts for 2025 and 2026. The analysis sees the expectation for growth in Italy slowing to +0.6% of GDP in 2025 and accelerating to +1% in 2026, but warns that it could be even worse: with an escalation of the war on duties it would stop at +0.2% this year and +0.6% next.
