Many hope the Americans will reconsider recent import duties, however most believe it all depends on the negotiations with the EU to find a solution to the Boeing/Airbus dispute. In the meantime, since last October 18 Italian cold cuts ended up in the US administration black list. The result is an additional import duty of +25% on the products value – a major burden that will most likely hurt Italian businesses.

The ax fell on salami and mortadella, while speck (South-Tyrolese ham) and both cured and cooked ham are safe. According to estimates by Italy’s cured meats industry association Assica, the losses could amount to a total of about 7.8 million euro, as these products, until a couple of weeks ago, enjoyed fairly low US import taxation: 0.8 cents per Kg.