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.
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