During the first Trump administration, Italian wines were exempt from tariffs, and as of right now, no duties have been declared against European allies. However, to safeguard the market, Prosecco importers and distributors say they are taking preventative action.
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00:00Wine industry data shows American importers have been stockpiling Italian
00:05bubbly prosecco as a hedge against the possible impact of tariffs threatened by
00:11Donald Trump. According to the Union of Italian Wines Trade Association, US
00:16imports of Italian sparkling wine skyrocketed by 41% in November after
00:21Trump's election, far exceeding consumer demand. Do we survive without a glass of
00:27wine? Yes, we may survive. So wine is a pleasure, but everything has a
00:34price. So if the price would rise up, we do not know what percentage he is
00:41thinking about taxing our products. So it was quite natural for at the end of the
00:49year to do extra shipments. Italian wines were not hit by tariffs during the first
00:54Trump presidency, and no tariffs have been announced to date against European
00:59partners. Still, prosecco importers and distributors are taking precautionary
01:04measures. Prosecco became the top-selling Italian wine in the United States last
01:08year, representing nearly 40% of all sales. Technical terms of what happened
01:13is front-loading, and this is something that is happening. We've seen it before
01:19during the first administration when they announced extra duty
01:27rates, and we see it now. So importers are front-loading their orders in order to
01:35bypass the threat of additional duty rates on imports. Italy exports nearly one
01:43quarter of its wine to the United States, leaving the sector more heavily exposed
01:48to possible tariffs than any other Italian export, according to the Trade
01:52Federation. Last year, Italy's wine exports to the US totaled 1.9 billion
01:57euros.