Proposed tariffs on Italian pasta brands could double their prices

A Commerce Department proposal would add a nearly 92% “antidumping duty” on some pasta imports from Italy after, the government says, pasta products were sold at below-market prices.

An investigation contends that some Italian pasta brands were selling their products at a lower-than-usual price to undercut American-based companies.

The Commerce Department in turn proposed a nearly 92% tariff on certain brands, including Agritalia, Aldino, Antiche Tradizioni Di Gragnano, Barilla, Gruppo Milo, La Molisana, Pasta Garofalo, Pastificio Artigiano Cav. Giuseppe Cocco, Pastificio Chiavenna, Pastificio Liguori, Pastificio Sgambaro, Pastificio Tamma and Rummo, according to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

The duty would add up to a 107% tariff on affected pasta products when including an existing 15% U.S. tariff imposed on goods imported from European Union member states, according to Scripps News.

“This will be devastating to all the Italian pasta companies, not just Rummo,” Rummo USA Chief Commercial Officer Jim Donnelly told the New York Post, adding that if Rummo passed on the costs of the proposed tariffs, its prices would go up from about $4 to as high as $8.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai told the Post that “Italian pasta makers repeatedly screwed up a simple data request for a routine review of an anti-dumping probe that has been ongoing since 1996 during the Clinton presidency. The pasta makers still have several months to continue participating in this review before this preliminary finding becomes finalized.”

Representatives of Italy’s agriculture industry say that the antidumping claims are a fig leaf to try and get companies to relocate their pasta production stateside.

“We must defend and promote the pasta supply chain, both in the U.S. and in Italy, to avoid selling off one of our flagship products of excellence,” said Ettore Prandini, president of Italian agriculture trade association Coldiretti, as translated from Italian. “Just as we demand a fair price for Italian wheat, we believe it is essential to guarantee a fair value for pasta. The American accusations of dumping are unacceptable and instrumental to Trump’s plan to move production to the United States.”

Pasta imports to the U.S. were worth about $780 million in 2024, according to Coldiretti.

Last month while visiting the U.S., Italian Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida said that the nation’s government is “closely monitoring the dossiers related to the alleged anti-dumping action,” and working with its U.S. counterparts on pasta and other food imports including extra virgin olive oil, wine and Pecorino Romano cheese, according to Corriere della Sera.