Meloni added that the government would meet business leaders next week to gauge a response to the controversial measures.
“I think the choice of the United States is a bad choice, which does not favour either the European or American economy,” Meloni told Italian TV after a government huddle on the unprecedented tariffs.
“But I also think that we should not fuel the alarmism that I am hearing in these hours.
“The United States market is an important market for Italian exports, it is worth 10 per cent of our total exports and we will not stop exporting to the United States.
“It means that obviously we have another problem that we must solve, but it is not the catastrophe that some are talking about,” she said in an interview with the state broadcaster’s Tg1.
“We are doing and must do a study on the real impact that this choice of American duties has on each sector,” she continued.
“Next week we will meet with the representatives of the production sector to compare the estimates they’ve made, to look for the best solutions.”
Meanwhile, the consortium of producers of Italy’s Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano) cheese said Thursday that US President Donald Trump’s 20 per cent tariffs on EU goods were “absurd”.
“We are not in competition with local (US) cheeses at all,” said Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium President Nicola Bertinelli.
“They are different products that have different positioning [in the market], different production standards, quality and costs.
“So it’s absurd to target a niche product like Parmigiano Reggiano to protect the American economy.
“The tariffs on our product have, therefore, gone from 15 per cent to 35 per cent.
“This news certainly does not make us happy, but Parmigiano Reggiano is a premium product and the increase in price does not automatically lead to a reduction in consumption.
“We will work to try to make people understand why it makes no sense to apply duties to a product like ours that is not in real competition with American parmesans.
“We will roll up our sleeves to support demand in what is our top foreign market, and which today represents 22.5 per cent of the total exports.
“Parmigiano Reggiano covers about 7 per cent of the hard-cheese market in the US and it’s sold at a price more than double that of local parmesan.
“Imposing tariffs on a product like ours only increases the price for American consumers without truly protecting local producers.
“It’s a decision that hurts everyone.”
ANSA
