The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, has established a dedicated Task Force at the Ministry’s headquarters to address the issue of US tariffs. The Task Force aims to provide timely information and assistance to businesses and economic operators, supporting them in navigating this complex transitional phase.
The Italian Government is at the forefront of efforts to promote agreements that best protect the interests of Italian companies, working in close coordination with its partners and supporting the European Commission’s negotiating efforts.
The agreement reached on 27 July between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump marked the end of a period of considerable uncertainty and set new guidelines for transatlantic trade relations. However, the negotiating process is still ongoing and is expected to further define certain key aspects of EU-US trade through sector-specific agreements.
It is essential that companies and trade associations are regularly updated.
To facilitate the use of the table:
- Horizontal tariff refers to the customs tariff applied by the United States of America to all goods imported from a given country or international organisation.
- The acronym MFN stands for Most Favoured Nation, that is, the customs tariff granted and consolidated by a country in favour of its trading partners within the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO), without any discrimination.
- The USMCA (United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement) is the Free Trade Agreement between the United States of America, Canada and Mexico, which allows the import and export of certain goods among the three countries at preferential or zero customs duties.
- The FTA (Free Trade Agreement) is an international agreement enabling two or more countries to liberalise the import and export of their respective goods and services through preferential or zero customs duties.
- Section 232 of the United States Trade Expansion Act of 1962 is the U.S. law that authorises the incumbent U.S. Administration to impose tariffs on other countries on grounds of national security.
- The current estimated average tariff represents the calculated average tariff level faced by each country with respect to the United States of America. This average tariff level is determined by taking into account, for each country, the various customs duties applied to each category of goods, weighted according to the actual volume of goods exported.
This document should therefore be considered open to possible future updates.
The Task Force will convene periodic information meetings, which businesses and trade associations may request to attend by contacting the following:
Tel. +39 329360 5184
Email: dgue-taskforcedazi@esteri.it