Italy's foreign undersecretary Ivan Scalfarotto on Wednesday praised a vote by European Union member states against duties on imports of Polyvinyl Alchol - a key semifinished material for Italian firms, particularly in the paper sector.
"Once again the excellent teamwork by the foreign ministry and our Permanent Representation in Brussels has made it possible to protect our companies and their workers," Scalfarotto said in a statement.
"Over the last few weeks we have managed to overturn a situation that seemed to have been compromised, thanks to intensive diplomatic work at various levels as well as collaboration with my European colleagues who are responsible for commercial policy dossiers," he added.
PVA tariffs would have "a very negative impact on our production capacity with obvious risks to employment levels," Scalfarotto said.
"We will have to continue to monitor this and other dossiers in the coming months (also in view of the possible new proposal on appeal by the Commission on PVA) in order to protect our companies from initiatives that risk compromising post-COVID production recovery".
