Rusty Italian Scooters

2 fiat 500s, an Ape, a Dyane and a Renault 12?

I read a fascinating article in a magazine recently that talked about the reputation of Italian vehicles of a decade or so ago being total “rust-buckets”.  In the late ’70’s / early ’80’s - when I was buying my first car, i was advised to steer well away from any Fiat as they would invariably be riddled with rust - so I bought a 1967 Renault 4 for £60..... which was itself riddled with rust! but thats a story for another time.
Anyway, this article;  Apparently, at the end of the cold war, Russia had very difficult trading restrictions forced upon them, and one consequence of this was that there was some sharp dealing going on between countries and Italy did a ‘great deal’ on a shed load of steel.  Everyone was happy.
Turns out that this cheap steel - thousands of tons of it, tens of thousands of cars, hundreds of thousands of scooters? (millions of washing machines?????) - had a nickel content that was just perfect for cultivating rust!
And so for the sake of a good deal, Italy suffered decades of reputation of poor quality vehicles.
As I think back on the rust I chopped out of my own scooter I wonder now if it is made from  imported Russian steel