The Farnesina, Italy's analog to America's State Department, is downplaying 
the possibility, expressing a preference to address the issue quietly, while 
Italian American media, are not so convinced,  citing the loss of  clout it had in 
Washington under the Clinton administration, partially underscored by the 
unsuccessful lobbying for an Italian American as Ambassador to Italy.
=======================================
Italian-Americans Irked by State Department 
NCM Online, Paolo Pontoniere, May 14, 2002

Italian-Americans are indignant over a US State Department proposal to 
rescind Italy's most favored and friendly nation status, reports the 
periodical La Gente d'Italia in its online edition. Under the most favored 
nation provision, Italian citizens are currently able to visit the US without 
having first to apply for a tourist visa at a US consular agency abroad, 
explains La Gente d'Italia. 

The State Department proposal grows from an INS investigation launched after 
September 11 into the status of millions of undocumented foreigners living in 
the US. That investigation revealed that, of the 29 countries enjoying the 
most favored nation status, visitors coming from Argentina, Belgium, Italy, 
Portugal, Slovenia, and Uruguay showed the highest rate of failure to comply 
with the terms of the bilateral agreements that had made their tourist visits 
possible. More specifically, the INS found that many visitors coming from 
those six countries failed to leave the US when they were supposed to, or 
violated the labor regulations seeking employment. 

The Farnesina, Italy's analog to America's State Department, is eager to 
avoid any confrontation with the US State Department on this matter. The 
Farnesina has downplayed the whole matter, stressing that even though the US 
has declared its intention to restrict Italians' access to the US, American 
authorities have yet to act on their threat. 

Contrary to Italian-American advocates, the Farnesina is confident that 
there's little chance that the US-Italy agreement may be revised. In private 
conversations, Italian diplomats in the US have  with their American 
counterparts. Italian-American media, however, are not so convinced that the 
threat will not soon be followed up by action. To make their point, they cite 
the example of Argentina, which was recently denied a renewal of its most 
favored and friendly status. 

To make matters worse: Since the arrival of President Bush at the White 
House, the Italian-American community feels that it has lost the clout it had 
in Washington under the Clinton administration. In addition, 
Italian-Americans lobbied heavily for an Italian-American to be appointed 
ambassador to Italy, but President Bush named Tampa Bay developer Melvin F. 
Sembler to the post in Rome. 

La Gente d'Italia believes that a denial of Italy's special ties with the US 
and a reinstitution of the visa requirement may negatively affect the current 
collaborative climate between US and Italian intelligence agencies since 
September 11. In addition, Italian-Americans feel that the US may share 
responsibility for the Italian rate of failure to comply with tourist 
regulations. The super-hot economy of the last few years, and the American 
labor market's huge appetite for skilled professionals, may have created 
conditions conducive for Italians to seek employment in the US without 
arranging first from Italy for interviews with prospective American 
employers. 

http://www.ncmonline.com/content/ncm/2002/may/0514italian.html