White House agrees to lower tariffs on imported pastas

CHICAGO, January 5, 2026 — New Year's Day brought good news to U.S. food-away-from-home establishments that use major brands of pasta sourced from Italy: The White House has backed away from a plan to levy tariffs of more than 100% on the imports. 

The Italian Foreign Ministry said the Trump Administration learned from new evidence that 13 major Italian pasta producers were not dumping their specialties on the American market at prices set to undercut American competitors.  

Suspicions about the Italians’ pricing policies had prompted the White House to announce in September that the U.S. would impose a surcharge of up to 91.74% on imports from 13 producers, including such well-known companies as Barilla and Rummo. The duties were set to go into effect on March 11.

With a basic rate of 15% already set on imports from Italy, the wholesale price of imported pastas would have spiked by as much as 107%. 

Italian trade officials said the 13 brands provided detailed information that disproved the U.S. Department of Commerce’s suspicions about product dumping. The information convinced the department to roll back the planned 91.74% duty to 9.09% for 11 of the 13 imported brands in question. 

One, La Molisana, will be charged just 2.26% on top of the 15% basic rate, and another will face a surcharge of 13.98%. No reason was given for the different rates on products from those two suppliers.

The Italian government’s assertions were confirmed by Commerce in a statement issued to the media. 

The Ministry noted, however, that the rate revisions will not be official until the target imposition date of March 11. 

Commerce and the Ministry have indicated that the pricing practices of the 13 Italian producers will continue to be investigated until then.

The tariff reset is the latest change in the duties President Trump said in April he would impose on imports as a way of protecting U.S. manufacturers. His initial plan called for levying tariffs on virtually all foods and beverages imported into the U.S., including supplies that can’t be sourced domestically, like coffee and cocoa. But, at the behest of industry trade groups, the President agreed to exempt in November to exempt any product that can’t be grown in the U.S.

FAFH operators have complained as much about the uncertainty swirling around the tariffs as they have about the surcharges themselves. 

Another change in tariff policy was announced a day before Italian trade officials revealed the White House’s backtracking on imported pasta duties. Trump issued an executive order that delayed the imposition of a 30% tariffs on imported lumber and a 50% duty on upholstered furniture until Jan. 1, 2027. The surcharges were originally slated to begin on New Year’s Day of 2026.

The U.S. Supreme Court is currently deliberating over the legality of Trump’s tariffs. Opponents of the duties say the President does not have the legal authority to set the surcharges. Two lower courts have agreed with those assessments. 

Legal experts say the Supreme Court’s ruling could come anytime between today and the end of June.

Media reports have indicated that the White House is ready to re-impose tariffs through other actions if the President’s unilateral declarations of the duties are ruled to be unconstitutional.