No exemption for wines and spirits, and a heavy 50% tariff remains on steel and aluminum. Yet, in an interview with Il Sole 24 Ore paper, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani tries to see the glass as half full: “It is positive that a general 15% has been set, avoiding a trade war. For drugs and cars, the result is good compared to the start of the negotiations. This is not a point of arrival but a starting point”. The text of the agreement includes a clause that will allow further discussions on sectors that have been excluded. “We will fight,” adds Tajani, “to obtain exemptions for wines and spirits and improvements for steel and aluminum, where an EU-US alliance against Chinese overcapacity has emerged”. On the industrial front, the minister emphasises that the agreement does not involve additional duties on automotive components and that the 15% could open up market opportunities for Italy compared to non-European competitors. Tajani also announced a technical meeting at the Farnesina with trade associations and the continuation of the export diversification plan with ICE, Simest, and SACE, reiterating the target of €700 billion in exports by the end of the legislature. Finally, an appeal to the ECB: “With inflation at 2%, the conditions are in place to reduce rates to 1% or zero and to consider a new quantitative easing. Businesses also need support in terms of credit”.