Italy escaped higher U.S. trade tariffs on some exported goods after directly lobbying administration officials in Washington, according to the country’s foreign minister. “Italy today emerges undamaged from the revision of the list of products subjected to tariffs imposed by the U.S. last October,” Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio boasted in a statement on Saturday. 

For example, the 25% tariff set last October on one of Italy’s most famous food products -- Parmesan cheese -- won’t be increased. In a sign of the delicate economic environment facing European nations, Italy reached out directly to the U.S. Ivan Scalfarotto, undersecretary at the foreign ministry, told Bloomberg in an interview that Italy deserves special treatment because it’s not part of the Airbus SE consortium at the heart of a long-running trade dispute between Europe and the U.S. He discussed the issue with U.S. officials last month.