L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 6 FRANCESCA BEZZONE J ust like the rest of the world, Italy has been following the POTUS' work, both at home and on the international arena, with interest.. Curiosity turned into fully fledged concern in the last couple of weeks, after hearing of the potential imple- mentation of higher import tar- iffs for steel and aluminium, a move he has been thinking of for quite a while, according to those informed, but that his entourage had so far managed to postpone. The reaction of the EU and China, in particular, was imme- diate and warnings against the measure rose from both areas of the world. M o r e t h a n a n y t h i n g r i g h t now, it is the fear of retaliation to worry Americans , and that of p o t e n t i a l l y w e a k e n i n g a n extremely lucrative and well functioning commercial liaison to keep Italians awake at night. T r u t h i s t h a t , a c c o r d i n g t o experts, no one will come out a winner if the President's new policies are applied: they'd risk to put a damper on the world's s l o w y e t o n g o i n g e c o n o m i c r e c o v e r y a n d c r e a t e a t r a g i c chain reaction made of similar financial impositions towards the US. And no one, Italy in primis, wants that. Yes, because the r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n I l B e l Paese and the United States is not only made of mutual respect and never-hidden admiration - in part also build on the shoul- ders and hearts of the many Ital- i a n s o f A m e r i c a , w h o k e e p strong ties with their ancestors' country - but also on a florid a n d w e l l o i l e d c o m m e r c i a l exchange. Italy, we all know it, made of commerce and of the popularity of its excellences in the world the spearhead of its financial recovery, with the US represent- ing the third larger importer of Italian goods among all nations; on their side, Americans buy from Italians with pleasure, and m a d e o f t h e p e n i n s u l a t h e i r eighth most important import m a r k e t . J u s t t o g i v e y o u a n example, in 2017 one tenth of Italy's export revenue came from the US, with an increase of 137% since 2009. Even when only applied to steel and aluminum, Trump's tariffs could affect the Italian market immensely: we export a b o u t 5 0 0 t h o u s a n d t o n s o f semi-finished products to the US, for a total income of around 700 million USD and the indus- try is bound to be affected if the new measures do not include a special status for the EU. But the situation could truly turn tragic, Italians have been think- ing, if it escalates: what if the same were to be applied to other sectors of the Made in Italy, like the fashion and food and wine i n d u s t r i e s ? A n d w h a t a b o u t means of transport (worth more than 8 billion euro), machinery (6.75 billion euro), or pharma- ceutical products (almost 3 bil- lion euro)? The question has been worrying Italy immensely, yet there are no certain answers. Let's take a more detailed look, though, to how much trade with the US is truly worth to us Italians. We said transports: this is, in fact, the number one Italian export to the US. America does- n't only buy cars from us, but also ships and specialized vehi- cles for a total of almost 11 bil- lion euro each year. Pharmaceu- t i c a l p r o d u c t s , a s s a i d , a l s o weight heavily on our American- based revenue, even though this i s t h e o n l y s e c t o r w h e r e w e import from the States more than what we export. But let's finally talk about what we've been all really think- ing about since the tariffs news came out: what could happen to America's access to Italy's most loved: food, wine and fashion or art items? Food and wine exports to the US are worth 4 billion euro each year and this is one of the fastest growing commercial sectors for our country: 10% of what we sell abroad, goes to America. But for some of our most famous and traditional products - think of cheese and wine, for instance - the US is the first country of e x p o r t : I t a l i a n w i n e i s w h a t Americans buy the most, fol- lowed by Italian cheeses, spend- ing about 1.2 billion euro for the first and 285 millions euro for the seconds, every year. And we're not talking about low level grub, but of our DOP (Denomi- n a z i o n e d i O r i g i n e P r o t e t t a ) products, the true heart and soul of Italy's agri-food sector. And fashion? Well, even if the US is not our first interna- tional market, they get a very important bronze medal after Germany and France. What's more important is that the Italian fashion imports in the US have been steadily growing in the past few years, especially when it comes to leather products - think of shoes, bags and accessories. Surely, if tariffs such as those proposed for metals were to be applied to other Italian products, the loss wouldn't hit only Italy, but the US, too. Italian products, those very things Americans learned to love and that for so many represent a very strong, meaningful bond to their past and family history, may become rarer and more expensive, they may become "élite." And that shouldn't happen, especially in a c o u n t r y w h e r e s o m a n y c a l l t h e m s e l v e s p r o u d l y I t a l i a n Americans, the beautiful result of two great cultures meeting. If, pragmatically speaking, t h e e c o n o m i c l o s s w o u l d b e enormous for Italy and for many retailers in the US, I feel the emotional and cultural loss, the breaking of this beautiful, ideal bridge between one side of the Atlantic and the other, made of delicacies, beauty and memories, could possibly be even more tragic: because being able to access small things that remind you of a holiday, of home, of your father or grandmother are more precious than anything. Because being able to bring into y o u r h o u s e , o r w e a r o n y o u everyday a little piece of your own identity and heritage is a great gift to ideally make to all those generations who could not afford to do just that and who, in s p i t e o f h o m e s i c k n e s s f o r a country they were no longer to see, decided to make of the US their own place. There, they were welcomed and there, they thrived. And many of you reading just now are their grandchildren and great-grandchildren: to you, and to us here in Italy, who think of our "cugini d'oltre oceano" with endless affection, import tariffs could be more than an economi- cal problem, they could end up making us feel a bit more lonely and more distant from a place and from people we love. The fear of many Italians is the extension of tariffs on other Italian products, such as food, wine, clothes and accessories Trump's import tariffs: what does Italy risk? NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS

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