A potential 107% tariff on Italian pasta imports could cause companies to withdraw from US market – and for US producers to raise their prices
O
n Monday night, Kelly planned to make dinner and spend the night inside with her family. Instead, she told her husband to put the kids to bed so she could get in the car, drive to Wegman’s and “panic buy” $100 worth of Rummo pasta.
Kelly, a 42-year-old product manager who lives outside Philadelphia, has celiac disease, which means that eating gluten triggers an immune response that leads to digestive issues. She saw fellow gluten-free people on Reddit and TikTok freaking out over the fact that the US is mulling a 107% tariff on Italian pasta imports. According to the Wall Street Journal, the hike could lead to those companies withdrawing from the US market as early as January.
That means American shoppers might not see their favorite brands in the Italian aisle come January – including Rummo, which Kelly and other celiacs claim makes the “best” gluten-free spaghetti, out of a corn and brown rice mixture. (Kelly did not want her last name used for fear of retaliation from Donald Trump supporters. Representatives for Rummo did not respond to a request for comment.)
