Your Parmesan Just Got More Expensive. You Can Thank Trump For That
Tax hikes take effect today
You hear a lot about brie and Gouda, but what Americans really like is Italian cheese — mozzarella on pizza, Parmigiano Reggiano on pasta, Pecorino Romano on crackers.
That’s what makes the tariffs the Trump administration imposed at midnight on Italian cheese, amid a menu of duties on other popular European foods and drinks, so pazzo.
In the dark of comfort-food season, the duties are sure to increase prices on your provolone, fontina, and Asiago, according to Ralph Hoffman, executive vice president of family-owned Schuman Cheese, which claims to be America’s biggest importer of Italian hard cheeses.
Based in Fairfield, New Jersey, Schuman has been importing cheese from Italy since 1945. They don’t shop around. “We’ve been working with some of the same suppliers since the 1940s,” Hoffman said. “Every day, we have 40-foot containers on the ocean, each packed with 40,000 pounds of cheese coming to the U.S. We have a Delta flight out of Rome every Monday with mozzarella on it, so it can be on shelves in New York and San Francisco by Wednesday.” (Mozzarella is not among cheeses included in the tariffs.)
The tariffs and subsequent price increases could reduce overall demand by 15 to 20…
