International trade has always been the lifeblood of the Italian economy. In a country with a production base strongly oriented towards exports, export health translates into growth, investments, employment. It is therefore not surprising that the slowdown recorded in the second quarter of 2025 is arousing more than one concern.
The data Istat from the Note on the trend of the Italian economypublished on 10 September 2025 and relating to the period of July and August 2025, they deliver us a contrasting framework: if on the one hand the labor market continues to keep and industrial production gives signals of recovery, on the other the dynamics of international exchanges shows signs of weakness that risk conditioning the entire growth path of the country.
Foreign trade and drop in exports
The Italian GDP has marked a slight 0.1% decline in the second quarter on an economic basis. An apparently contained variation, but which photographs the fragility of the country’s economic recovery well. The exports, while private consumption remains stable and investments, albeit in slowing down, continue to grow.
Trying to translate the data Istatthese suggest that families and businesses have maintained a certain stability, but what is missing is the push from abroad, historically decisive for a manufacturing country like Italy.
The commercial exchange between April and June has in fact shown a clear deceleration, driven by the drop in exports to non -EU markets.
Where Italy is losing ground
The slowdown is not generalized, but has precise geographies that deserve attention. Italian exports have undergone a braking towards the United States, for some time now a very important market for exports.
The international competition weighs and, in some sectors, the protectionist push of American commercial policies. To this drop, strong decline were also added to:
- United Kingdom;
- China;
- Russia;
- Türkiye.
In the United Kingdom, the consequences of Brexit continue to be felt. Italy serves not only duties and bureaucracy, but also a less lively British internal market.
China, in which the difficulties are more structural. The contraction of demand and the search for technological self -sufficiency limit the opportunities for Italian exports, especially in consumer goods and machinery.
Russia, a country where international sanctions and geopolitical tensions make commercial relations more complicated.
Türkiye, due to the evaluation instability and politicals that translate into a collapse of imports.
These markets are not marginal, together they represent a significant share of Italian exports and their contraction weighs on the overall scale.
The challenges for the future
The slowdown of Italian foreign trade is not an isolated accident, but the reflection of global tendencies and internal fragility.
Italy has to face some crucial challenges and, for example, aim for the diversification of markets to reduce dependence on a few non-EU countries and strengthen the presence in emerging areas with greater dynamism, such as Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America.
In addition, highly added, technological and sustainable products are needed to compete on the markets. And therefore more incisive investments and policies are needed.
Italy alone has limited margins; It is necessary to push the European Union towards a common commercial policy capable of balanced the effects of global protectionism and supporting exports.
Many small and medium -sized enterprises struggle to face complex markets, therefore we must strengthen credit tools for exports and internationalization services.
