It is too early to assess the impact
of Donald Trump's tariffs on Italian business categories and the
possible consequences for Italian GDP, Premier Giorgia Melini
told the leaders of those categories at Palazzo Chigi in Rome
Tuesday.
Meloi told the meeting at the office that she had to say thanks
to companies that don't fuel panic on the impact of the tariffs,
since alarmism doesn't help the situation.
"I consider it essential before anything else not to further
amplify the real impact that the American decision can have.
Italian exports to the United States are worth about 10% of our
total exports. The introduction of tariffs can, clearly, reduce
this share of exports but does not eliminate it and it is
objectively too early to quantify the effect and to understand
how much our products will actually be penalized".
Meloni added: "upstream for us it is very difficult to assess
precisely what the actual consequences will be produced by this
new situation on our GDP and therefore we must also reason
taking these elements into account. However, I am certain that
the panic and alarmism that are being generated risk doing much
more damage than the measure itself".
"I say this - she explained - because what we have seen in
recent days is that they have also affected companies that are
not even minimally connected to exports to the United States. I
also say this because I have to thank you for also expressing
the need not to fuel panic and on this we really need a common
alliance because the greatest impact can paradoxically come from
this instinctive action rather than from real measures".
The prime minister recalled that "a 20% border duty does not
translate into a 20% cost for the American consumer, because you
know better than me that there are various intermediaries that
can absorb that percentage.
"In addition to the fact that we know that for a good part of
Italian exports the strength of our exports is not given so much
by the competitiveness of the price, but by the quality of the
product itself".
"On the other hand - added Meloni speaking to the business
representatives - we must take into account that a general
American protectionist policy can impact Italy also indirectly,
probably even more than the impact of the duties.
"Let's think, for example, of the export of German cars to the
United States, which are largely produced thanks to Italian
components. And therefore we must not only evaluate the weight
that the direct duty burdens but also the triangulations that
the duties imposed in general will produce".
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