UIV (Unione Italiana Vini) took center stage during the National Council of the leading association for Italian wine businesses. The first point of reflection came from President Lamberto Frescobaldi, addressing the performance of the U.S. market in light of tariffs introduced by Donald Trump’s administration.
U.S. Tariffs: Analysis by President Lamberto Frescobaldi
“The tariff issue must be managed because—barring unlikely and sudden policy reversals—we will unfortunately have to live with these duties. What cannot last is the self-imposed taxation by Italian and European wine companies to remain competitive in the market. In the third quarter, the price of Italian wine shipped to the U.S. fell by an average of 15%, while French wine dropped by as much as 26%. At the same time, the average retail price of these wines in U.S. distribution rose by about 4–5 points in October, and Thanksgiving orders at retail outlets have yet to rebound.”
The situation is tense, as nearly €110 million was lost in the last quarter compared to U.S. exports during the same period last year.
“The wine industry must avoid both catastrophism and easy optimism and instead focus on crisis management. The allocation of €100 million for promotion included in the Budget Bill is therefore a positive and concrete signal from the government—provided that our sector is at the top of the list of Made in Italy products to support,” emphasized the UIV president.
Finally, a message to U.S. trade: at this stage, no player in the supply chain should seek profit at the expense of partners. Frescobaldi added: “Today the imperative is to reactivate consumption by stabilizing prices, because if until a few months ago every dollar invested in European wine generated 4.5 in the U.S. market, today the multiplier could reverse, risking a loss for the American market 4.5 times greater than ours.”
UIV: Third-Country Promotions and Dealcoholized Wine Decree
UIV also focused on both market trends and the ongoing Trilogue negotiations on the Wine Package. According to the UIV Observatory, exports to non-EU countries are showing a progressive decline, with a 14% drop in value in the third quarter and a cumulative decrease of -5.7% over the first nine months of the year. This makes additional funding for ICE Agency promotions even more crucial, to support market diversification—a growth path whose effects will inevitably be long-term.
For this reason, the UIV Council, ahead of the Brussels Trilogue on the Wine Package, hopes to extend the time limits of the OCM Promotion measure from the current 3 years to 10 consecutive years for activities in individual target countries. On the Wine Package, UIV also reiterated its opposition to 100% funding—without additional resources—for vineyard uprooting.
“The European Parliament,” stated UIV Secretary General Paolo Castelletti, “has proposed a possible defensive measure already adopted unsuccessfully in 2009, with a €1 billion EU outlay. The risk is diverting funds traditionally allocated to development, promotion, investment, and restructuring.”
On dealcoholized wines, the UIV Council expressed hope that the interministerial decree (Masaf–Mef), pending at the State General Accounting Office for about two months, will finally be completed, enabling Italian companies to compete on equal terms with other European producers, who have enjoyed a four-year advantage since the EU Regulation was published (December 2021).
