The Trump administration made headlines on Wednesday with the announcement of easing and postponing tariffs on specific imports. This decision comes as a significant development in the ongoing trade discussions.

Reports from Marketplace highlight that in 2024, Italy exported pasta worth over $700 million to the United States. However, Italian pasta manufacturers have been accused of lowering the quality of their imports by flooding the market with excessively cheap products. This led the Department of Commerce to plan for increased tariffs on these goods by 2026.

In a recent turn of events, a deal was reached with the Italian pasta producers to address these concerns, indicating a potential shift in trade relations between the two nations.

Further adding to the trade adjustments, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on New Year’s Eve to delay the tariff hikes on items such as upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets, and vanities for an additional year. This move aims to provide some relief to importers and maintain economic stability in these sectors.

Amidst these tariff negotiations, a separate economic narrative unfolds as the unexpected third-quarter GDP numbers challenge the Left’s claims of economic stagnation.

The pasta-makers previously faced a potential 92 percent duty after the agency determined they were selling their pasta at unfairly low prices. Proposed tariffs on Garofalo were cut down to 13.89 percent, while those on La Molisana were reduced to 2.26 percent. The other 11 companies now face a 9.09 percent tariff. 

“This post-preliminary analysis indicates that Italian pasta makers have addressed many of Commerce’s concerns raised in the preliminary determination, and reflects Commerce’s commitment to a fair, transparent process,” a Commerce Department spokesperson said in a statement.  

“Commerce will continue to engage with interested parties to take into account all information before issuing the final determination,” they continued. 

President Donald Trump also signed a New Year’s Eve proclamation to delay the increase of tariffs on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets, and vanities for one year.

Trump’s order signed Wednesday keeps in place a 25% tariff he imposed in September on those goods, but delays for another year a 30% tariff on upholstered furniture and 50% tariff on kitchen cabinets and vanities.

The increases, which were set to take effect Jan. 1, come as the Republican president instituted a broad swath of taxes on imported goods to address trade imbalances and other issues.

The president has said the tariffs on furniture are needed to “bolster American industry and protect national security.”

The Left’s ‘Economic Malaise’ Narrative Blown Apart by ‘Unexpected’ 3rd Quarter GDP Numbers

The White House proclamation invoked Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (Act) in order to accomplish this.

The United States will therefore delay the increase in tariff rates for upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets, and vanities that was set to take place on January 1, 2026, under the September 29, 2025 Proclamation for an additional year.

The current 25% tariff on certain upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets, and vanities, as imposed under the September 25, 2025 Proclamation, will remain in effect.

ADDRESSING THE THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY: Earlier this year, President Trump imposed tariffs on imports of timber, lumber, and their derivative products (wood products) to bolster American industry and protect national security.

• This followed the Secretary of Commerce’s completion of a Section 232 investigation under the Act, which found that the present quantities and circumstances of the imports of wood products threatened to impair national security.
• President Trump recognizes that an overreliance on foreign timber, lumber, and their derivative products could jeopardize the United States’ defense capabilities, construction industry, and economic strength.
• America’s reliance on imported lumber is exacerbated by foreign government subsidies and predatory trade practices that undermine the competitiveness of the U.S. wood products industry.
• Given the ongoing productive negotiations regarding the imports of wood products, the President is delaying the tariff increase to allow for further negotiations to occur with other countries. 

“It’s Affordability, stupid,” appears to be the watchword for the use and adjustment of Trump’s tariff policies and the economy headed into 2026. 

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