Emilia-Romagna, what do US tariffs mean for exports? De Pascale: "A €10 billion blow."

Bologna, July 12, 2025 – Donald Trump's tariffs from the United States will arrive on August 1, and Italy is raising its eyebrows, starting with Emilia-Romagna and the heart of the Food Valley, Motor Valley, and packaging industry. The alarm was raised by the main trade associations of Italian supply chains on the day they announced a 30% tax on European products . €1,636 million in exports in Emilia-Romagna are at risk, especially in food (52.9%) and fashion (21.5%) . Coldiretti, Confartigianato, and Confcommercio are expressing great concern, but Confindustria Emilia had already raised the alarm.

Tariffs: Here's how much the Italian agri-food industry could lose.

According to Coldiretti , "the tariffs announced by Trump on European products could cost American families and the Italian agri-food industry over €2.3 billion ." This is based on an estimate based on the impact on national supply chains already experienced by the additional tariffs imposed by the tycoon during his first term, which led to a double-digit drop in sales for the affected products. The impact in terms of higher prices for American consumers would inevitably translate into repercussions for Italian companies as well, given the demand for "discounts" from importers observed in recent weeks.

The possible disappearance of many Italian products from the shelves would represent a boost to the already thriving Italian-sounding industry (i.e., counterfeit products that evoke Italian identity, such as ' Parmesan ' for example), estimated to be worth €40 billion . With tariffs at 30%, additional tariffs for some iconic Made in Italy products would reach 45% for cheeses, 35% for wines , 42% for processed tomatoes , 36% for stuffed pasta , and 42% for homogenized jams and preserves , according to a Coldiretti projection.

The Grana Padano Protection Consortium on duties

Stefano Berni, general manager of the Grana Padano Protection Consortium, offered a clear and forceful comment on the issue of American tariffs: "It's important to remind everyone that Grana Padano has been subject to a historic 15% tariff on exports to the United States for many years," Berni emphasized. "This tax rose to 25% after the first few months of Trump's presidency, which now amounts to nearly $6 per kilo."

“The duty would now rise to around 10 dollars per kilogram of Grana Padano,” Berni continues. “But American importers and distributors are selling Grana Padano to consumers by doubling the starting price and all the logistical costs they incur in the US. This means that today they are selling it for just under 40 euros per kg, but with a further 30% duty, which would bring the total to 45% , the consumer price would well exceed 50 dollars per kg. Such a duty would obviously reduce our consumption in the United States, and this dramatic mistake would also be detrimental to the American consumer.”

Tariffs: Exports at Risk: Confartigianato Sounds Alarm

But it's not just the agri-food sector, because for Confartigianato , Trump's move "risks dealing a severe blow to Italian exports to the US, particularly to micro and small businesses." The association highlights "the value of our sales in the US: in the twelve months to the end of April 2025, it amounted to €66.6 billion . Of these, a full € 17.87 billion came from small businesses." And it warns: "The announcement of the new tariffs comes in an already fragile context: in the first four months of 2025, while overall exports to the US grew by 8.2% , the manufacturing sector (excluding pharmaceuticals) recorded a contraction of 2.6% .

Small businesses have held up thanks to the good performance of the food sector ( +9.3% ) and fashion ( +3.6% ), but exports of eyewear and jewellery ( -9.7% ), metal products ( -6.8% ) and furniture ( -2% ) are down. For Emilia-Romagna, exports are estimated to be at risk of “1,636 million, dominated by food (52.9%) and fashion (21.5%)”.

Among the Italian regions "most exposed to the effect of tariffs due to the large share of exports of small businesses to the United States", Confartigianato calculates, there are "Lombardy with 4,419 million, with fashion at 45.5%, Veneto with 3,094 million euros, with jewellery and eyewear at 56% and Tuscany with 2,943 million between fashion (51.6%) and food (21.8%)", in addition to Emilia-Romagna , as mentioned.

Duties, Confcommercio's requests

"The first response to the news of a 30 percent US tariff on imports from European Union member states can only be a call to the Commission and our government to strenuously explore every further negotiation option. In short, negotiate, negotiate, negotiate ." This is what a statement from Confcommercio on the tariffs reads.

Duties: The words of regional president Michele de Pascale

"The letter in which President Trump, with a provocative tone and a good dose of untrue statements, announces for the umpteenth time extremely heavy tariffs on European exports, primarily affecting Italy and in particular Emilia-Romagna , the region in our country with the highest per capita exports to the United States, exceeding 10 billion euros ," said Michele de Pascale , President of the Emilia-Romagna Region. "Obviously, a cohesive and effective response at the European and national levels is urgently needed," the governor continued, "but it is clear that so far the reactions of von der Leyen and Meloni have been totally insufficient."

"If the European Commission has a strategy," de Pascale continues, "no one has yet understood it, and frankly, even our government seems more interested in not damaging political relations with Trump, sacrificing the commercial interests of our companies. During her recent mission to New York, Minister Lollobrigida, like us, once again heard the concerns of Italian exhibitors and spoke much more concernedly than usual. It's time for all of Europe to abandon political tactics and take a concrete action."