The Senate is grappling with a collective trademark, owned by the Italian State, registered and voluntary, which Italian companies will be able to acquire. It is the so-called "Italian Quality", foreseen by a bill with the first signature of the vice president of the Senate, Valeria Fedeli (Pd), and signed by over 30 senators from various groups, including Fi-Pdl and Lega. The objectives are: the relaunch of exports, the protection of Italian products and consumers.
The design will be assigned to the Industry commission which will proceed with a consultation method and will, as explained by Fedeli, also carry out "an impact study to understand the added value that the brand can give to the manufacturing system". The management of the brand, in the proposal, will be entrusted to the Ministry of Economic Development.
To take advantage of the 'Italian Quality' will be professionals, artisans and companies that will respect a series of production characteristics in Italy defined in specific sector regulations. Furthermore, as specified by Fedeli, they have "tax domicile in Italy". There is also a system of controls and sanctions.
The co-signatory and president of the Industry commission of Palazzo Madama, Massimo Mucchetti (Pd), assured “the Commission's commitment to proceed quickly but really listening to everyone. The bill constitutes the reasoning basis of the final measure”. The implementation of the provision should arrive by the end of 2014, according to what was stated by the vice president of the Industry commission and co-signatory of the bill, Paola Pelino (Fi-Pdl).
"This is an extremely challenging project, but the risk lies in its implementation," warned the Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Carlo Calenda. Again according to Calenda, the widest consultation and the widest evaluation are necessary.
A thought also expressed by the president of Confindustria's Technical Committee for the protection of 'Made in' products, Lisa Ferrarini, who highlighted the risk of costs and the burden of bureaucratic burdens on businesses. Ferrarini then warned that many resources are needed, above all to promote communication on the brand over time and invited to make an assessment of the "risk of impact, in depth and at 360 degrees".
The spokesman of Rete Imprese Italia, Luca Marco Rinfreschi, also underlined the need for a "fairly studied path" to arrive at a quality mark that can serve above all the supply chain of small and medium-sized enterprises and invited to include among the requirements also those relating to the world of work to bring out the "healthy businesses of this country".
