Made in Italy Protected by Law

The Italian Parliament has passed the Reguzzoni-Versace-Calearo bill, which responds to the pressing calls coming from Made in Italy manufacturers to obtain protection for high-quality goods manufactured in Italy. Producers are exposed to low-cost competition from developing countries, not to mention the threat of counterfeiting. The request was thus to introduce the compulsory labeling of imported goods to signal their origin to the consumer. This what many other advanced countries, including the US, require by law. It is however a matter of EU competence, and major economies such as the UK and Germany are resolutely opposed to such a move. Only an intervention of MEPs, recently empowered on the issue by the Lisbon Treaty, could break the stalemate.
This is why Rome has taken a different route to compulsory labeling. On the one hand, the new law introduces a system of labeling for finished products in textile, leather and shoes, highlighting their origin at each stage of production and ensuring their traceability, according to modalities to be specified by implementation decrees. On the other hand, in a more precise and innovative way, the law reserves the "Made in Italy" label for those shoes, suits, dresses, belts, purses, couches etc., where at least two major stages of production have taken place in Italy.
After so much discussion, Made in Italy is now finally protected. The objective is to enable consumers to distinguish between domestic and imported products; fake labeling will be severely punished. The implicit idea is that a higher price corresponds to higher "Italian quality", which can then be advertised and marketed, in Italy and abroad.

There are however two reasons for caution. The law will come into effect on October 1st, in order to give the European Commission the time to express its opinion on the compatibility of the new Italian legislation with EU legislation. Although the Italian Parliament has steered clear of imported products, its traceability requirements could go against European constraints. Also, there is the risk the that the Made in Italy label turns out to be either a boomerang or a flop, because of the complexity of managing the scheme or for market reasons. Products made by our companies abroad are not protected by the label and will thus be discriminated against.

Furthermore, sporting a Made in Italy label is not tantamount to a guarantee of quality! Why should the consumer be wary a priori of products that are Made in China or Made in Peru? The idea that only a domestic product is worthy of purchase and that prices are secondary variables signals a protectionist frame of mind, which ends up losing in the long term. And the new legislation is introduced at the very time when many Italian producers are outsourcing and complaining of the trade barriers that many emergent economies are erecting against Italian exports in various sectors, including many not listed by the law.