Preliminary results in the 2024-2025 review of pasta from Italy antidumping duties create new financial and compliance considerations for importers, distributors, and customs brokers. Although the announced margins are not final, affected companies should evaluate entry-level exposure now rather than wait for liquidation instructions.
Preliminary Margins and Scope of the Review
The U.S. Department of Commerce published preliminary results on October 15, 2026, covering entries of certain pasta from Italy made from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025. The proceeding concerns antidumping duty order A-475-818 and evaluates whether reviewed producers or exporters sold subject merchandise in the United States below normal value during that period.
Commerce calculated a preliminary weighted-average dumping margin of 3.62 percent for La Molisana, S.p.A. Pastificio Lucio Garofalo S.p.A. received a preliminary margin of 6.47 percent. These companies served as the mandatory respondents selected for individual examination.
Companies included in the review but not selected for individual examination received a preliminary rate of 5.05 percent. That group includes Gruppo Milo SpA and the listed Rummo-related entities, including Rummo S.p.A., Pasta Castiglioni S.r.l., Molino e Pastifico, and Rummo Lenta Lavorazione S.p.A.
Preliminary Rates Are Not Yet Final
The announced margins do not immediately replace existing cash deposit requirements. Commerce intends to conduct verification, consider case and rebuttal briefs, address hearing requests, and issue final results. The final margins could increase, decrease, or remain unchanged.
Case briefs are due no later than seven days after the final verification report, with rebuttal briefs due five days later. Hearing requests generally must be submitted through Commerce's ACCESS system within 30 days after publication.
Once final results are published, the final rates will generally establish assessment rates for covered review-period entries and prospective cash deposit rates for applicable future entries. The existing all-others rate remains 15.45 percent unless the relevant producer and exporter combination qualifies for another rate under the established cash deposit hierarchy.
How the Results Affect Importers and Brokers
Importers should distinguish between the cash deposit collected at entry and the final antidumping duty liability established through the administrative review. A deposit is security, not necessarily the final amount owed. When the final assessment rate differs from the deposited rate, liquidation can produce an additional duty bill or a refund, subject to applicable procedures and court orders.
For importers of La Molisana and Garofalo pasta, the 3.62 percent and 6.47 percent preliminary margins provide an initial basis for estimating review-period exposure. Importers associated with the nonselected companies can perform the same analysis using the preliminary 5.05 percent rate. These estimates should be treated as provisional because Commerce can revise its calculations before issuing final results.
Partial Rescission Changes the Assessment Path
Commerce rescinded the review for 15 companies after the applicable review requests were withdrawn on time. The rescinded group includes Barilla G. e R. Fratelli, La Doria Pasta PL S.r.l., Pastificio Di Martino Gaetano e Flli S.p.A., Marchesi Frescobaldi Soc. Agricola S.r.l., Andriani S.p.A., and George DeLallo Company, Inc.
For entries associated with rescinded companies, CBP will generally assess antidumping duties at the cash deposit rate required when the merchandise entered. Assessment instructions are expected no earlier than 35 days after publication of the preliminary results and partial rescission.
Importers and brokers should confirm that each entry is linked to the correct producer and exporter. Similar company names, related entities, and invoicing through intermediaries can complicate rate assignment. Entry summaries, commercial invoices, manufacturer identification data, purchase orders, and deposit records should be reviewed together. An incorrect producer or exporter association can distort financial accruals and create problems when CBP applies liquidation instructions.
Companies should also monitor liquidation status. Once an entry liquidates, the available options for correcting an assessment become significantly narrower and are subject to strict deadlines.
Compliance Priorities Before Final Results
A disciplined entry-level review is the most practical response to preliminary antidumping duty results. Importers should identify all covered entries from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, then compare the deposited amount with the estimated liability under the applicable preliminary margin. The analysis should account for entered value, producer, exporter, entry date, deposit rate, and current liquidation status.
Customs brokers can support this work by reconciling entry data against client purchasing and supplier records. Trade compliance teams should separately document entries involving individually examined respondents, nonselected companies, and companies removed from the review.
Reimbursement Certificates Require Immediate Attention
Importers must generally file the reimbursement certificate required by 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) before liquidation. The certificate addresses whether the importer was reimbursed for antidumping duties by the exporter or producer. If the required certification is not filed, Commerce may presume reimbursement and direct CBP to assess double antidumping duties.
This requirement deserves specific ownership within the importer's compliance process. Companies should verify that certificates are accurate, timely, supported by commercial records, and available for each relevant importer of record. Contract terms concerning duty responsibility should also be examined for potential reimbursement implications.
Separate Antidumping Duties From Drawback-Eligible Duties
Antidumping and countervailing duties are not eligible for drawback under 19 U.S.C. 1677h. Importers and drawback filers should therefore exclude AD/CVD amounts from drawback calculations, even when the associated merchandise is later exported or destroyed.
Ordinary customs duties paid on the same entries may still qualify for drawback when the exportation or destruction and all other statutory requirements are satisfied. Accounting records should clearly separate ordinary customs duties from antidumping duties, merchandise processing fees, and other charges. This segregation reduces the risk of overstating a claim and gives brokers a defensible audit trail linking eligible duty to the underlying import and export activity.
- On October 15, 2026, the U.S. Department of Commerce published preliminary results of the 2024-2025 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain pasta from Italy (A-475-818, 91 FR 65525). The period of review ran from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025. Mandatory respondents La Molisana, S.p.A. received a preliminary weighted-average dumping margin of 3.62 percent and Pastificio Lucio Garofalo S.p.A. received 6.47 percent. Companies not selected for individual review received 5.05 percent. Commerce rescinded the review for 15 companies following timely withdrawals of requests. Interested parties may comment on the preliminary results. These rates are preliminary and subject to change in the final determination.
- On the same day, Trade Law Daily reported that Pastificio Lucio Garofalo and La Molisana filed an October 8, 2026, brief at the U.S. Court of International Trade (Pastificio Lucio Garofalo v. United States, CIT No. 26-02686) challenging Commerce's use of differential pricing analysis in the prior 2023-2024 review. The companies argued the methodology is not authorized for administrative reviews and sought changes to test thresholds. That earlier review assigned Garofalo a 7 percent margin and La Molisana a 2.65 percent margin.
- Pasta Garofalo announced on October 15, 2026, the start of two new production lines plus construction of an automated warehouse, representing an 80 million euro investment (partly PNRR-funded). The expansion is expected to raise output by about 20 percent to meet growing export demand. The company reported 247 million euro revenue in 2025, up 4 percent year over year.
- Public discussion of the new 2024-2025 preliminary rates remains limited in the days immediately following publication. Earlier 2025-2026 coverage focused on a prior review cycle that initially proposed rates near 92 percent before later reductions. No significant practitioner commentary on X about the October 15, 2026, results was identified in recent posts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the 3.62 Percent and 6.47 Percent Margins Effective Immediately?
No. The margins for La Molisana and Garofalo are preliminary. Existing cash deposit instructions generally remain in effect until Commerce publishes final results and issues updated instructions. The final margins may differ after verification, briefing, and consideration of interested-party comments.
What Rate Applies to Companies Not Individually Reviewed?
The preliminary rate for the companies included in the review but not selected for individual examination is 5.05 percent. This rate applies to the identified nonselected companies for purposes of the preliminary results, but it remains subject to change in the final determination.
What Happens to Entries From the 15 Rescinded Companies?
Review-period entries associated with rescinded companies will generally be liquidated at the cash deposit rate required at entry. Importers should confirm the original deposit rate, producer and exporter pairing, and liquidation status rather than assuming that one of the newly calculated preliminary margins applies.
Can Antidumping Duties on Italian Pasta Be Recovered Through Drawback?
No. Antidumping and countervailing duties are not eligible for drawback. However, ordinary customs duties paid on the same imported merchandise may qualify if the merchandise is subsequently exported or destroyed and the claim satisfies the applicable drawback requirements.
Why Is the Reimbursement Certificate Important?
The certificate establishes whether the importer was reimbursed for antidumping duties by the foreign producer or exporter. Failure to provide the required certificate before liquidation can result in a presumption of reimbursement and the assessment of double antidumping duties.
How Stable Software Can Help
Customs brokers handling imported pasta and other merchandise subject to AD/CVD measures must keep ineligible trade remedies separate from ordinary duties that may qualify for drawback. A broker-controlled process can help preserve accurate claim calculations while maintaining clear responsibility for filing and client service.
A Broker-Controlled Drawback Model
DrawbackAI is flat-license duty drawback software that U.S. customs brokers can white-label for importer clients and use to file under their own filer codes. Stable Software charges a flat software license and never takes a percentage of the refund. Brokers evaluating drawback opportunities for eligible ordinary customs duties can explore whether this model fits their existing compliance and client-service operations.
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