Italy
USA trade laneA container of Italian food is rarely one product. A specialty importer's box might carry extra virgin olive oil, Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino, dry pasta, canned tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, coffee, panettone and cured meats — and each of those lines meets a different part of the US system. The FDA governs most of it; USDA licenses cheese that enters under quota; USDA's meat inspectors and animal-health service decide on prosciutto and salami; and the Commerce Department administers antidumping and countervailing duty orders on Italian dry pasta. A container is held for its weakest line, so the compliance check happens line by line before booking.
We work through WCA partner agents in Italy; AGF has no office there. Our partner consolidates pallets from producers across the country, checks documents and loads to the right temperature, and AGF runs the US side from Glendale: the ISF, prior notice, the entry filed by our licensed customs brokers, and delivery to your warehouse or distributor.
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Shipping Olive Oil & Gourmet Food from Italy to USA
Oil, pasta, tomatoes and vinegar ship dry most of the year, with temperature protection in summer because heat degrades olive oil. Hard cheeses and cured meats travel in a reefer at the producer's set point — and a reefer set for cheese can carry oil, pasta and tomatoes in the same box, while the reverse is not true, so mixed containers are usually planned around the most demanding product. Bulk oil for US bottlers moves in flexitanks of roughly 20,000+ liters per 20ft container. Vado Ligure, Genoa and La Spezia are the usual ports.
Transit from Genoa or La Spezia to New York is 9-22 days depending on whether the service calls direct, Savannah about 21-25 days and Los Angeles about 35 days through the Panama Canal. The calendar matters as much as the route: new-season oil ships from November, Christmas products such as panettone move in September and October, and Italian suppliers slow down around Ferragosto in August.
- Reefer for cheese and cured meats — one set point per container
- Flexitanks for bulk olive oil to US bottlers
- Mixed pallets from several producers consolidated by our partner agent
- Heat protection for oil from June to September
What Drives the Cost
- Reefer or dry, and whether one container can carry every product at one set point
- Number of producers to collect from, and consolidation in Italy
- Cheese duty: in-quota under a USDA licence, or the much higher over-quota rate
- Pasta: the producer's antidumping and countervailing duty deposit rates, which vary by company
- Duty on other lines: EU goods at 10% all-in under the Section 301 measure — confirmed per HTS line at quoting
- FDA examination or sampling holds, and FSIS re-inspection for meat
HS Codes and Duty Notes
Classification guidance only — duty rates change and depend on your exact product. Our licensed customs brokers verify every code before you commit to an order.
| HS Code | Products | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1509 | Olive oil — extra virgin, virgin and other grades, bottled or bulk | A specific duty per kilogram that varies with packing; EU goods at 10% all-in under the Section 301 measure. Origin marking must reflect where the olives were grown and pressed — see the regulations below. |
| 0406 | Cheese — Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano, Pecorino, Gorgonzola, mozzarella | Many cheeses fall under US tariff-rate quotas: entry at the in-quota rate needs a USDA dairy import licence; without one the higher over-quota rate applies. Some cheeses sit outside the quota system — the 10-digit line decides. |
| 1902.19 | Dry pasta not containing eggs | Non-egg dry pasta in packages of 5 lb 4 oz or less is within the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on certain pasta from Italy, with producer-specific rates. Egg pasta, larger bulk packs and certified organic pasta are outside the scope. |
| 0210 / 1601 / 1602.49 | Cured hams, salami, mortadella and other pork products | Admissible only from FSIS-eligible Italian plants, with veterinary certification and APHIS animal-health conditions tied to African swine fever zones. |
| 2002 / 2209 | Canned tomatoes and passata; vegetables in oil; balsamic and wine vinegar | Standard FDA framework. Acidified or low-acid canned products — some tomato products and most vegetables in oil — also need the plant's FDA canning registration and process filing; naturally acid products do not. |
Regulations and Compliance
FDA framework
Every producer must be registered with the FDA — registrations must be renewed between 1 October and 31 December 2026 — and prior notice is filed for every shipment. The US importer needs a Foreign Supplier Verification Program for each supplier, and labels need US Nutrition Facts and allergen statements in English. Shelf-stable acidified or low-acid canned foods — some tomato products, artichokes and other vegetables in oil — also need the plant's food canning establishment registration and a process filing with the FDA; naturally acid products are outside that rule, and we confirm the category with the supplier.
The 60-day rule for raw-milk cheese
Cheese made from unpasteurized milk may be imported only if it has been aged at least 60 days at no less than 35°F (1.7 °C). Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano are aged far longer and qualify; young raw-milk cheeses do not, and pasteurized-milk cheeses are outside the rule. The FDA can also detain products from specific producers on import alert.
USDA cheese licences and quotas
Much imported cheese enters under tariff-rate quotas administered by USDA's Dairy Import Licensing Program. The in-quota rate applies only to an importer holding a licence for that cheese and origin; otherwise the over-quota rate applies, which can change the economics of a shipment. Check the licence position and the HTS line before ordering.
Cured pork, African swine fever and FSIS
African swine fever has been present in parts of northern Italy since 2022, and APHIS restricts pork products from affected zones; dry-cured hams from restricted regions are admissible only when made in an APHIS-approved establishment under its curing rules — at least 400 days for Italian-type hams. The plant must also be eligible to export to the US under USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, the shipment needs Italian veterinary certification, and meat is re-inspected at an FSIS import establishment before release. The zone map moves with outbreaks, so we check the plant and region before every booking.
Antidumping and countervailing duties on dry pasta
Certain dry pasta from Italy has been under US antidumping and countervailing duty orders since the 1990s. Rates are set per producer in annual reviews, and they swung sharply in 2025-2026 before final results lowered them for the reviewed producers. The importer pays a cash deposit at the producer's current rate at entry, and the final amount is set later, so ask your supplier for its rate and check scope before you order.
Olive oil origin marking
Bottling or blending in Italy does not change an oil's origin under US marking rules, so an Italian-bottled blend of Spanish, Greek or Tunisian oil must be marked with those countries, not as a product of Italy. We check the label and the supplier's origin statement against the product before shipment.
Door-to-Door Import Service
We start with the product list. Each line is checked against its regulator — FDA registration and labels, cheese licence and quota line, FSIS and APHIS status for meat, pasta scope and deposit rate — and anything that would hold the container is fixed before booking. Our partner agent in Italy then collects from the producers, consolidates pallets and loads to the agreed temperature, with the ISF filed before loading.
After the crossing to New York, Savannah or Los Angeles, our licensed customs brokers file the entry with prior notice; meat goes to an FSIS import establishment for re-inspection, and the rest is delivered to your warehouse or distributor, by reefer truck where the product needs it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I import Italian cheese into the USA?
Can you import prosciutto and salami from Italy?
Is there a tariff on Italian pasta?
How is olive oil shipped from Italy to the USA?
Olive Oil & Gourmet Food is just one example. AGF ships whatever your business moves — on this lane and beyond. If your commodity isn't covered by one of our guides, tell us what you ship and we'll build the logistics around it.
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