US importers Prosecco Panic – Wyoming Public Media

Rome, Italy – President of Donald Trump’s threats to impose new tariffs on European goods made Americans suddenly stock up their favorite Italian wines – especially sparkling wine, Prosecco.

The American import of Italian wine – 90% of this proseco – jumped 41% in November after the Trump election, according to the Union of the Italian Commercial Association of Guilt.

Lamberto Frescobaldi, the president of the Commercial Association says the data is clear: “Americans are not ready to give up our guilt.” This peak in the orders is unprecedented in the history of Italian exports of sparkling wine in November, the association said.

President Trump says the European Union will be next in order, after his decision to impose solid rates on Mexico, Canada and China.

“It will definitely happen to the European Union. I can tell you that since they really took advantage of us,” Trump told reporters on Sunday.

He complained that the EU was not importing enough goods from the United States. “They don’t take our cars; they don’t take our agricultural products. They take almost nothing and we accept all of them.”

Almost a quarter of his Italian wine exports are for the United States, according to the Commercial Federation. Last year, Italian wine exports to the United States amounted to 1.9 billion euros ($ 1.97 billion) according to FRESCOBALDI.

Andrew Medichini / AP

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AP

Italian wine producers are not the only ones concerned about the possible new tariff regime. The head of the Italian Fashion Chamber appeals to the Italian government to do everything possible to protect the second largest industry in the country.

Fashion generates 5% of GDP in Italy and employs 1.2 million people. Italy was exporting luxury fashion worth 4.6 billion euros – clothing, leather goods, jewelry, glasses and shoes – in the United States in the first 10 months of last year.

“If Trump sanctioned the second industry in Italy, it is a pretty hostile statement,” said Carlo Capasa, president of the Italian National Fashion Chamber this week.

Fresco -Baldi of the Union of Italian wines is also worried. In a statement published on the Website of the Commercial Association, he appealed to the Italian authorities to pay “maximum attention” to the threat of US import tariffs, warning that this issue could be “decisive for the commercial future of wine.”

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