Tony Loeb

📌 The International Driving Permit 'Geneva Convention 1949' is often required for driving in many non-EU countries, including Japan and Thailand. In the USA, it's not needed with a regular Italian license unless for long stays or non-tourist situations. Before traveling, checking the destination country's requirements on viaggiaresicuri.it is advised. Applications for the permit can be made at the Provincial Office of Motor Vehicles or via an auto practice agency, with necessary documentation including the TT 746 form, PagoPA payment, authenticated photo, and photocopies of the Italian license, tax code, and ID card. The permit is valid for one year.

🍷 Italian wine exports to non-EU countries remained positive in the first half of 2024 with nearly 4.7 million hectoliters shipped from January to June, totaling 2.1 billion euros in value. Despite a slowdown and a challenging June, with sparkling and still/frizzante wines seeing a -10% volume and -7% value year-over-year change, and a -13.5% decrease for the latter category, the overall growth for the semester was recorded at +6.3% in volume and +4.7% in value. The top 12 non-EU countries, except for South Korea, Mexico, and Australia, showed declining orders in the last month, with still and frizzante wines closing the semester at +4.4% in volume compared to +8.5% just 30 days prior, and values dropping from +6% to +3.5%. Sparkling wines experienced a less pronounced contraction, from +18% to +14.5% in volume and from +12.3% to +9.3% in value. The average price saw a -1.5% trend for the semester. Notable decreases came from Russia (-25%) and Japan (-10%), while the US showed fatigue with -4.8% in volume but a +1% increase in value.