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What\u2019s the latest in the will-they-won\u2019t-they world of global food tariffs? Last week, The Wall Street Journal sent<\/a> fusilli freaks scrambling with its claim that \u201cItalian pasta is poised to disappear\u201d due to some complicated and punitive potential tariffs. The Department of Commerce has reportedly proposed the 92 percent tariff against 13 major brands accused of selling products in the United States below market value. (If you\u2019ve ever wondered how Rummo spaghetti can be so cheap, you\u2019re not alone.) The brands include the big blue giant Barilla and Rummo, as well as Pasta Garofalo, Giuseppe Cocco, and others. In response, the producers are reportedly threatening to simply pull their products, The Atlantic notes<\/a>, and the whole situation could be generally dire news for New York\u2019s Italian grocers. A White House spokesperson told<\/a> CBS News that the companies in question still have \u201cseveral months to continue participating in this review,\u201d but that hasn\u2019t stopped New York operators from worrying and brainstorming solutions now.<\/p>\n Joe\u2019s Deli<\/a>, a couple blocks away from Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, carries several of the named brands, including La Molisana. But the management is more concerned with what happens to prepared foods where the effects of any increased costs would be amplified. \u201cIf we\u2019ve been charging 50 or 55 bucks for a baked ziti and now we have to charge $75 \u2014 it\u2019s just not something we\u2019re willing to do to our customers,\u201d second-generation owner Anthony Ruscigno says. They\u2019d have no choice, he says, but to find another producer. \u201cWe can\u2019t stop serving the baked ziti \u2014 it\u2019s almost like telling a pizza place you can\u2019t do pizza.\u201d<\/p>\n Ruscigno isn\u2019t the only one fretting. Downtown, on the corner of Grand and Mott, Lou Di Palo says his family store<\/a> has already been feeling the squeeze from the 15 percent tariff levied on E.U. imports, as well as the depreciation of the dollar, increased electricity costs, and other factors. \u201cIt\u2019s creating a tremendous challenge for us. It means that I\u2019m gonna be working here for nothing,\u201d he says. Any pasta tariff would compound the pain. \u201cIt\u2019s really \u2014 it\u2019s really not fair. Maybe it should be limited to certain companies, or maybe they should negotiate with the companies,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I don\u2019t see how the Italian pasta costs that much less than American pastas.\u201d<\/p>\n As my colleague Rachel Handler first reported<\/a> in 2020, the world of pasta importation is surprisingly complicated and filled with scheming. At the heart of these newly proposed tariffs is the act of dumping, selling products below market value to gain a competitive edge over local goods. The Times reports<\/a>:<\/p>\n The United States first imposed anti-dumping tariffs on Italian pasta producers about 30 years ago. At the behest of American companies, the Department of Commerce routinely investigates Italian producers for cheaply selling pasta.<\/p>\n This year, an investigation was requested by two American companies, 8th Avenue Food & Provisions, which owns Ronzoni pasta, and Winland Foods, which makes pasta under several brands, including San Giorgio and Prince.\u00a0<\/p>\n [\u2026]<\/p>\n The Commerce Department looked at the sales of Garofalo and La Molisana, another large Italian pasta producer, from July 2023 to June 2024. The department said that the companies had failed to provide the requested information and that, therefore, a penalty tariff would be imposed.<\/p>\n But at a store like Di Palo\u2019s \u2014 a spot with a reputation as a destination for quality Italian ingredients \u2014 switching to an American-made competitor wouldn\u2019t be good for business. \u201cI\u2019m not gonna sacrifice the product that I sell \u2014 it\u2019s what we specialize in,\u201d Di Palo says. \u201cIf I become like everyone else, start selling a lot of the American \u2018Italian\u2019 products, or if I start substituting a lesser quality, then those people for sure are not gonna come.\u201d Di Palo says he isn\u2019t political, but he does wonder if there\u2019s some unspoken motivation behind the tariffs threat: Does someone want more of these companies producing in the States? Are they willing to sacrifice the consumer, on a limited budget, who just wants some decent orecchiette?<\/p>\n If the pasta tariff goes through, Cathy Coluccio Fazzolari of Borough Park\u2019s D. Coluccio & Sons<\/a> says customers won\u2019t only be impacted by higher prices. \u201cThe other problem is that all the duty has to be paid in advance or when the shipment arrives,\u201d she explains. \u201cA lot of small players are not going to be able to pay in advance for these large quantities of pasta.\u201d For customers who just want to make some authentic cacio e pepe at home, that means paying $10 or $11 for a box of spaghetti wouldn\u2019t even be an option since the spaghetti wouldn\u2019t get to the shelves at all.<\/p>\n EAT LIKE THE EXPERTS.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Grub Street newsletter.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n