Tariffs, first effects: US importers ask us to lower the prices of our wines

Just days after the additional 20% tariffs announced by President Donald Trump went into effect, the first effects are already being recorded for Italian wine producers, with U.S. importers being asked to lower prices to help them offset the tariff increase and avoid having to give up their acquired market share. This was noted by Coldiretti, according to which the requests to Italian companies to “come to terms” would reduce the profit margins of our wine growers, already strained by increases in production costs linked to the difficult international situation. From the world record for exported volumes to the production record, from export records to biodiversity records, Italian wine confirms itself as an unparalleled heritage of the country, offering consumers all over the world tradition, culture, history, as well as a consumption model that fits fully into the Mediterranean Diet. This is why it must be defended, to avoid losing even a small part of this immense wealth.
According to Coldiretti, applying the average 20% drop rate recorded with the 2019 tariffs to wine, a potential loss of up to 390 million euros can be estimated, but if we consider the precedent of French wine, which lost about 45% of its value due to the 2019 tariffs, the scenarios can be multiple. However, it must be said that transalpine bottles were the only ones affected by the additional tariffs decided in Trump’s first term, which today instead unite everyone, albeit with varying percentages. To the decline in sales should then be added the lack of growth, which had seen an increase in value this year. But the danger for Italian wine is also that of losing not only sales but also market share and shelf positioning, won with years of effort, perhaps to the advantage of Argentine or Chilean products or those from countries less affected by Trump’s choices. Indeed, also of concern are the effects of price increases for American consumers. A bottle of Prosecco Docg, for example, would rise from the current average 16 euros to nearly 20 euros per bottle, according to an estimate by Coldiretti producers. In this perspective, worrying phenomena are already being reported, such as the spread in the U.S. of a new type of sparkling wine that recalls precisely our best-selling wine. This is the case of the market launch of “Calsecco”, a sparkling wine with a registered trademark produced in California by Rack&Riddle, a leading company in the sector that presents it on its website as “made according to the Venetian tradition”.
Issues that will be at the center of the meetings scheduled at Vinitaly tomorrow, Monday, April 7, between Coldiretti President Ettore Prandini and Secretary General Vincenzo Gesmundo with European Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi, and Agriculture Commissioner Cristophe Hansen, also attended by Filiera Italia CEO Luigi Scordamaglia. “At this stage”, says Coldiretti President Ettore Prandini, “it is important for Europe to play differently, without falling into provocations, but taking the path of dialogue and diplomacy, the only way to defend our interests, but also those of the Americans themselves”. “An escalation of duties and counter-duties would have the effect of causing damage to the economies on both sides of the Atlantic”, adds Coldiretti Secretary General Vincenzo Gesmundo, ””we need to understand that we are in a geopolitical scenario profoundly different from the one of a few years ago and act accordingly”.
But from Vinitaly Coldiretti also emphasizes the records of wine made in Italy: our wine sector represents one of the pillars of the national agrifood economy, with a total turnover that has reached 14.5 billion euros. Managing this heritage are 241,000 wineries, spread over an area of 681,000 hectares, with Veneto, Sicily and Apulia leading the way in terms of extension. Seventy-eight percent of the area - corresponding to about 532,000 hectares - is devoted to IG (65% PDO and 14% PGI). Wine is also the leading item in Italian agrifood exports, with a value that reached 8.1 billion euros in 2024, up 6% from 2023. Exports touched nearly 22 million hectoliters (+3%). The United States, with 1.94 billion euros (+10%), remained the main market, followed by Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada. Driving sales are mainly sparkling wines, which account for 29% of the total value exported. Italy is first in the world by volume exported and second by value, behind only France.
In 2024, according to estimates by Centro Studi Divulga, Italian wine production reached 44 million hectoliters, marking a 15% increase over the previous year, but still remaining below the average of recent years. Despite difficulties related to climate change, Italy regained world leadership, overtaking France. At the global level, however, the picture is more critical: according to the OIV, world production has fallen to its lowest level since 1961, down 13% from the decade’s average.
Per capita wine consumption in Italy is around 37 liters per year. The sector, Coldiretti explains, also has a significant impact in terms of employment, with 1.3 million people involved directly and indirectly in the supply chain: from the fields to the wineries and commercial distribution.
Italy boasts unparalleled wine biodiversity, with 635 grape varieties on the national register, twice as many as France. Seventy percent of Italian bottles fall into the Docg, Doc and Igt categories, with 529 recognized geographical indication wines, while the remaining 30% are table wines. A heritage that must also be sustained through the digitization of our vineyards, supporting the many companies that have already started digitization processes. New technologies make it possible to optimize the use of resources, such as water, thanks to weather stations connected to satellites, and to improve the efficiency of operations through the use of precision farming equipment. Another important step toward more sustainable viticulture is then Tea (Assisted Evolution Technologies), which allow plant varieties to be selected that are more resilient to climate change and have a lower environmental impact.