Italian exports to countries outside the EU grew by 5.9% in September, contrasting the sudden drop that occurred in August. The protagonists of this growth are the United States, which imported 34% more from our country compared to September 2024. A figure greatly influenced by the shipbuilding industry, without which, however, an increase of 12% would still have been recorded.
However, imports are also growing significantly, especially those from the USA and China. The increase exceeds that of exports and marks a sharp reduction in the trade surplus, by over 10 billion euros, compared to last year.
Italian exports to the US beat tariffs
Exports to the United States grew cyclically in September by 34.4%. An important figure, which however is influenced by a sudden peak in maritime navigation vehicles, with some large orders making up a good part of the increase. Net of this sector, however, last month Made in Italy in the USA grew by 12%.
The result, although excellent on a trend level, compensates for the 21% collapse that occurred in August. Despite this, the fact that Italian exports managed to recover means that the reduction two months ago was mostly due to the effect of frontloading and not that of tariffs.
In fact, in August the trade agreement between the EU and the USA came into force, which provides for taxes of 15% on entry for those who import goods from Europe to the United States. Aware of this prospect, many American companies had stockpiled goods before the tariffs went into effect, a practice called frontloading. In August, full warehouses discouraged imports, which then resumed in September.
The growth of Italian exports in the world
The USA is not the only country to which Italian exports grew in September. In general, Made in Italy in the world recorded an increase of 5.9% compared to September 2024. In the first 9 months of the year, exports grew in total by 2.6% compared to the same period in 2024.
The countries where Italian exports grew the most in September are:
- the USA (+34.4%);
- the OPEC countries (+23.8%);
- Japan (+15.6%);
- Switzerland (+10.0%);
- the ASEAN countries (+4.5%);
- China (+3.3%).
The goods experiencing the greatest growth are capital goods (+14.7%), a figure also in this case influenced by shipbuilding. Non-durable (+6.3%) and durable (+0.6%) consumer goods also contribute.
Are imports eating up Made in Italy?
A surprising fact detected by Istat in September is a sudden increase in imports, especially of non-durable goods (+22.2%) and intermediate goods (+8.3%). There are two states of origin of these imports:
- USA, +76.8% on September 2024 (1.9 billion euros);
- China, +32.3% on September 2024 (1.8 billion euros).
The result is that global import growth reached 6.1%, exceeding that of exports. The Italian trade balance has therefore changed significantly. The trade surplus, the extra value exported compared to imported, fell by 10.4 billion euros in one year. A potentially worrying figure for a country like Italy, which depends on exports to support its economy, given low internal demand and salaries that are not growing.
