"The confirmation that US tariffs will hit Made in Italy agri-food products by 15% is certainly not good news, and even less so because the island's top-quality products, including wine and, especially, Pecorino Romano cheese, will also suffer the consequences . These are sectors that, taken together, generate a turnover of approximately €200 million in Sardinia to the United States."
Thus the president of Confagricoltura Sardegna, Stefano Taras , commenting on the news released by the national president of Confagricoltura, Massimiliano Giansanti, on the first economic agreement reached between Washington and Brussels .
"Pecorino Romano and regional wine," Taras continued, "are solid sectors that, in recent years, have managed to secure and consolidate important market positions in North America and have all the energy necessary to address emergencies such as the new tariffs . What is certain is that we must work, among private and institutional stakeholders, to ensure that fears and speculation are not fueled that could make this transition even more burdensome and dangerous. At the same time, as often happens in trade negotiations, all possibilities for new renegotiations are open. And this is where we insist the government intervene to protect our economies within the EU ," concluded the president of Confagricoltura Sardegna.
Agri-food is one of the sectors where industry professionals are most concerned . Reassurances regarding protections and compensatory measures for the sector have recently arrived from Adolfo Urso, Minister for Made in Italy : "The result achieved so far," he said, commenting on the US-EU agreement on tariffs, "is commendable because it finally provides a framework of certainty for businesses, averting a trade war that would have been devastating. The results for pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and automotive, which were the sectors most at risk, are positive. Now we need to work towards other possible exemptions, for example in the agri-food sector, and prepare any compensatory measures at the EU level where necessary, to which further specific national interventions may be added. At the same time, we have implemented a promotional plan to seize opportunities in other markets, and the results are already evident, as demonstrated by the growth in exports to non-European markets."
(Unioneonline/lf)