The Real Cost: Italian Business Leader Says US Surcharge Nears 30%, Not 15%

An Italian business leader is warning that the real cost of the new US-EU trade deal for his country’s exporters will be nearly double the stated tariff rate. Dario Costantini, president of a major small business confederation, has argued that when currency effects are included, the effective surcharge on Italian goods will be closer to 30%.
His calculation is based on two factors: the new 15% US baseline tariff and a projected 13.5% devaluation of the dollar against the euro. This combination makes Italian products significantly more expensive for American buyers, threatening to decimate sales in a crucial market. “This is an unfair and disproportionate tax,” Costantini stated.
This perspective challenges the official narrative of the deal, which focuses on the reduction of the auto tariff. For Italy, with its diverse export base of high-quality consumer and industrial goods, the establishment of a new 15% tariff is a major blow, and the currency issue acts as a painful multiplier.
The warning from Italy’s business community underscores the complex, real-world impacts of trade policy that go beyond the negotiated tariff numbers. It highlights a growing fear in Rome that Italy is set to pay a heavy price for a deal primarily designed to solve a German problem, potentially facing a €22.6 billion decline in exports as a result.