In 2018, the World Trade Organization sided with the United States in a dispute over aircraft manufacturing. The WTO concluded that four European countries were unlawfully subsidizing Airbus, one of the largest aircraft makers in the world. As a result, and rightfully so, the WTO allowed the U.S. to place retaliatory tariffs on specific countries involved with Airbus.
Italy is not one of the four consortium countries involved in that Airbus dispute. But unfortunately, some uniquely Italian products were nonetheless placed on an initial potential target list of European Union goods by the U.S. government. In fact, as a whole, that list would have disproportionately affected Italy, targeting more of its goods than those of the actual Airbus consortium countries of France, Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
As chairman of the American Italian Food Coalition, I believe that this unwarranted targeting of Italian products puts at needless risk a long-standing and mutually productive economic relationship between our two countries and the continued growth and investment of Italian companies in the U.S. Tariffs on Italian goods raise consumer prices and threaten U.S. jobs like importers, distributors, retailers, and more.
This past October, the U.S. imposed 10% and 25% tariffs on a list of EU goods. Fortunately, after an outpouring of bipartisan support from members of Congress and the Italian American community, President Trump made the right decision and left off the retaliatory tariff list many uniquely Italian products like wafers, biscuits, coffee, and pasta. This was a win for the U.S. economy, U.S. workers, and all our dinner plates. The final tariff list also placed the principal burden on products coming from consortium countries — an appropriate balance given the subject of the trade dispute.
This month, the United States Trade Representative is expected to release still another revision to the list of EU goods subject to tariffs in connection to this dispute over aircraft manufacturers. Italy, which has no role in that aircraft quarrel, is a longtime U.S. ally and has stood with us time and again. It shouldn’t be punished for the illegal behavior of France and other European countries.
It’s really simple: Italy isn’t part of the Airbus consortium. It shouldn’t be treated as such. The U.S. Trade Representative should heed Trump’s correct earlier decision and maintain the appropriate balance in its tariff list.
With the stock market soaring, unemployment plummeting, and wages rising, especially here in Pennsylvania, tariffs seek to put all of that at risk. As an Italian American who stood with Trump in 2016 and will proudly do so again in 2020, I am asking him once again make the right call and exclude uniquely Italian food products from this month’s list of tariffed goods. In doing so, Trump would once again put American businesses, American workers, and American consumers first.
Lou Barletta is chairman of the American Italian Food Coalition, a former U.S. congressman from Pennsylvania, and a former mayor of Hazleton, Pennsylvania.
