A worrying 26% decline for one of the flagships of the US market. Sandro Bottega, wine entrepreneur and head of the historic Bottega S.p.A. company in Bibano (Treviso), is sounding the alarm, announcing that, due to US tariffs, Prosecco has lost a significant portion of its exports to the United States in just three months.
US Tariffs: Prosecco Export Sales Down in the United States, but Duty-Free Sales Expand
“Less than three months after the 25% tariff on Italian wines went into effect in the US (currently 15%, ed.), imports to the domestic market appear to be declining, as also indicated by customs data (-26%). For our part, in addition to confirming a decline in exports to the domestic market, we are seeing an increase in sales in the duty-free channel, which obviously benefits from the exemption from tariffs.”
This is according to Sandro Bottega, wine entrepreneur and head of the historic company Bottega S.p.A., one of Italy’s leading Prosecco producers.
“In general, I believe it’s too early to despair or to draw conclusions and predict a catastrophic situation. The most likely hypothesis,” continues Sandro Bottega, “is this: we hope the temporary decrease is due to the behavior of importers who, given the uncertainty of percentages and the market, wanted to sell off their stocks and waited a while before replenishing them. Rumors tell us, however, that negotiations are not over, and we hope there will be good news in the future.”
The owner of Bottega S.p.A. tries to remain optimistic:
“I believe it’s right to read these data with justified concern, but also with the optimism of a company that must ensure that every difficulty becomes a new opportunity. This isn’t easy, but it’s certainly a stimulus. Therefore, we maintain a fundamental optimism, supported by the positive image of Italian wine and its excellent quality-price ratio, and for now, we believe it’s right to wait and see how things unfold.”
“What we’re seeing and what’s most concerning to us,” Bottega concludes, “is the general tendency among operators to pass on the increased costs due to tariffs to suppliers and consumers. While this may happen initially and for a certain period, it’s obviously not sustainable in the long run. We must therefore work on promoting our wines in other markets and maintaining the image of our wines in the United States so that consumers don’t forget our product.”
