Lollobrigida: “Zero duties on wines and cheeses to the US are essential for us. But the EU is negotiating”

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“ This very intense three-day meeting in the United States is a sign that the relationship with Washington is excellent. I was the first Agriculture Minister of an EU country to be received at the White House. And the first trip of the American Secretary of Agriculture, my friend Brooke Rollins, was to Rome on June 2nd .” Francesco Lollobrigida is returning from a trip to the US, which was particularly significant because it took place in the midst of negotiations on tariffs between the European Union and the United States. “The negotiations are being carried out by European commissioners, and not on a bilateral model,” the Agriculture Minister begins. “Nevertheless, both in the meeting at the beginning of June and in this one in Washington, we have explained our reasons for why we think that tariff policies are not a good solution.” At the negotiating table between Brussels and Washington, a more realistic position is emerging that considers tariffs of 10 percent on European exports to the US to be acceptable. “It is clear that for an exporting country like ours it would be better if there were no duties at all, which can be a problem,” argues Lollobrigida speaking to Il Foglio. “But while we started from hypotheses of duties of 200 percent that would have been unacceptable, a 10 percent even according to the various operators that operate in the market could be more easily spread over the entire export chain. What I took care to explain to my American colleagues is that some products have an effect of multiplying their value that represents a wealth for them too. For this reason, on some goods like Parmigiano or our wines, we are paying maximum attention to avoiding the imposition of duties. But it is something that, I repeat, is being carried forward as a dialogue at a European level. We can more than anything act as a bridge to bring the different positions closer together .” Even on the possibility of reaching an extension beyond July 9, feared by the Trump Administration itself, Lollobrigida recognizes that "it is as if there had been a change of phase. Trump himself said he was available to find a solution, in the face of seriousness on the part of the EU, something that the American president also recognized. I have the impression that someone at the beginning was more aiming to divide the European front in the dialogue with the US, and instead then there was the great work carried out by Meloni and von der Leyen to really avoid the outbreak of a trade war".

Speaking of trade war, in recent weeks the positions of France and Italy seem to have aligned in their opposition to Mercosur. But wouldn't that also be a way to expand markets and reduce duties? "The joint statement signed with the French Minister of Agriculture Annie Genevard is the result of crossed priorities: they are strongly opposed to Mercosur, as are countries like Ireland or Poland, which fear repercussions for some specific sectors. For us, however, the priority, in this scheme, is to avoid risks for farmers that could derive from the establishment of a single European fund that could in the future give fewer resources to the agri-food sector ", says Lollobrigida. "I believe that Mercosur could represent an opportunity. But a downward competition on prices must be avoided. Knowing that in some sectors such as rice and meat, there are major critical issues that risk putting us at a disadvantage with respect to the opening of those markets".

Still dealing with duties, the organization that brings together more than 500 companies and 900 brands of the agri-food sector, Union Food, a few weeks ago lashed out against what it considers self-duties , or the limits imposed by the bill that introduces new crimes and increases sanctions in order to combat food fraud, currently being discussed in Parliament. How does it respond to these critical issues? “That text brings together a series of transversal proposals presented by the political forces. But also the work brought by the Caselli commission in 2015. Obviously they will be heard and we expect them to make us proposals for improvement”, concludes Minister Lollobrigida. “Our objective is to avoid fraud by safeguarding the consumer, who deserves to know where the products they are buying come from. But we have no ideological preclusions and we are ready to listen to everyone”.

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