Good news, a good start: the wine industry’s comment on the suspension of US taxes

Good news for today and, hopefully, for tomorrow where trade relations between Europe and the US will be even more relaxed: this is the sentiment that can be read in the reactions of the organizations of the wine chain to the suspension for the next 4 months of US duties on many Italian European products, including the excellence of Made in Italy food products (from which wine has always been saved until now), as announced yesterday by the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen.
“The suspension of duties for 4 months resulting from the disputes concerning Airbus-Boeing communicated by the president of the EU commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, goes in the direction often desired by the Unione Italiana Vini. This is a renewed transatlantic cooperation essential for the Italian economy and for wine companies, which depend on the US market for 1.6 billion euros”, says Paolo Castelletti, secretary general of Unione Italiana Vini – Uiv.
According to which “the breath of fresh air”, as defined by the president, represents the willingness of Europe and the USA to collaborate on several fields, primarily on the pandemic and the production and distribution of vaccines, the only way to restart the economy, businesses and therefore also the activities of the world of wine. Airbus duties have been in force for 18 months: a very long period of time for European wine and for the Italian food industry that has suffered additional taxes and the sword of Damocles of the carousel that, every six months, threatened to fall like an axe on Italian wine”.
Positive comments also come from Federvini, which, in addiction to wine, also represents the producers of Italian vinegards and spirits: “finally, good news – says Micaela Pallini, president of Gruppo Spiriti of Federvini – and of course this is a first step. We really hope that this 4-month temporary truce can be transformed into an agreement that will overcome the Airbus-Boeing dispute, in which our country has absolutely nothing to do with it”. During the application of duties on Italian liqueurs and cordials, Italian exports to the United States, which in recent years had seen a growing success in terms of sales and consensus, fell by 40%, a terrible blow for the sector that represents dozens of historical Italian brands.
The duties also came almost simultaneously with the outbreak of the pandemic that severely depressed domestic consumption. “The collapse of out-of-home consumption, the restrictions on social interaction in all its dimensions, the arrival of US duties and the trade backlash caused by the entry into force of Brexit have been a hard blow for dozens of medium and small Italian companies in the sector – continues Pallini – which represents one of the historic and iconic brands of Italian liquor. We hope that this first signal represents the beginning of the recovery and that the new climate will also involve the dossier on aluminum and steel, even that managed with the application of duties. It is important that the Italian government continues the intense work done to facilitate the agreement between the European Union and the United States, while for the domestic market we ask for a commitment to support exports, the abrogation of the marker and at least a temporary relief from excise duties on our products. Measures that,while waiting for a possible resumption of the activities for next summer, would represent a concrete help to a fundamental sector for the Italian economy. “On the domestic front, we believe that measures to support the resumption of what we like to call the hospitality and sociality supply chain, linked to the culture of food and drink that represents our best Mediterranean tradition, are essential”, concludes Micaela Pallini.