Despite the tariffs and a strengthening of the euro, exports to the United States boomed in September compared to last year, better than France (+8%) and Germany (+11%). Confipreneurs: «The risks do not come from Washington but from short-sighted European policies».
There are macumbas and then there is reality. In September, Italian exports to the United States reached a record 34.4% year on year (Istat data). Yet there were duties Donald Trumpand yet there was the immense commercial freeze upon us, and yet “the White House strangles Made in Italy” as a very alarmed tape repeated Lilli Gruber. The scenario was one of great depression, Maurizio Landini he imagined escapes from Lombardy and Triveneto with household goods on carts. Summary of the apocalypse: in the last nine months, since The Donald began his tariff ballets, Italian exports to the States have reached +9.5%, the second best non-EU performance after Switzerland (+11.7%). Not exactly a disaster.
Just as there was no point in despairing yesterday, there would be no sense in Cartizze today since the economy is subjected to constant stress. And the recovery in September has not yet managed to fill the gap in August (-21%). The trend is certainly positive. It should be added that pushing it in this direction is the success of the shipbuilding industry (cruise ships and luxury yachts) for a share of around 22%. But beyond Fincantieri’s exploits, the remaining +12% constitutes a marked growth trend. Two other factors indicate the good state of health of Italian exports to the USA: the increase obtained in a period of unfavorable exchange rates (with the dollar also at 1.17 against the euro) and the comparison with the major European competitors. While Made in Italy recorded +34.4% also driven by the food, fashion and furniture sectors, Germany recorded a total +11% and France +8%. Sales to OPEC countries (Arabia, Emirates, Nigeria +23.8%) and to Japan (+15.6%) also increased. There was a contraction only towards Turkey (-33.9%), especially due to the economic crisis in Ankara.
There are the macumbes and then there are the numbers, despite Washington’s tariffs. In the summer quarter alone – the one characterized by Trumpian announcements and then repositioning – Italian exports to the USA exceeded 9 billion euros. The fear of a slowdown was justifiable (without exaggerating), which is why the reaction to the Istat photograph reassured Italian business. The president of Confimprenditori confirms this, Stefano Ruvolo: «It is proof that Made in Italy, when it is authentic and of quality, continues to be requested and appreciated all over the world».
Then a polemical addition: «The real risk of our businesses does not come from Washington but from Brussels». The fear is legitimate and President Ruvolo puts it in black and white: «Current European industrial policies are penalizing Italian SMEs, allowing the indiscriminate entry of low-cost products from China and other Asian countries. In just one year, Chinese car imports grew by 37%, while clothing imports increased by 29%, breaking the ceiling of 27 billion. It is the internal EU market that is distorted, not the external one.” A cry of alarm that curiously remains outside the media channels, even in economics conditioned by the ideology of single progressive thought.
Italian imports also grow on both a monthly and annual basis, albeit with a lower balance than last year. The statistics institute explains: «A contributing factor is above all the increase in purchases of non-durable consumer goods (food, drinks, detergents). In the first 9 months of 2025 the import trend trend is very strong, +9% and the trade surplus with non-EU countries is equal to 35.1 billion, however decreasing compared to the same period of 2024, when it was +45.4 billion”.
Returning to the exploit with the United States, it should be added that the percentages could also be affected by inventories; it is possible that American retailers (especially in furniture and fashion) have decided to fill their warehouses precisely to immediately bypass new hypothetical tariff tantrums. But it is also well established that quality continues to pay off and that Italian entrepreneurs can count on competitiveness, on the value of the product, on the favorable wind determined by the country’s newfound structural stability to trigger the winning flywheel despite the owls.
All this reveals two other little truths. American consumers of quality products continue to buy them even at a higher cost, considering the Italian qualitative surplus as an added value compared to the rubbish of Chinese and Asian competitors. And Trump’s duties have managed to remedy pre-existing imbalances: until now, Europe applied a 10% duty to every car imported from the United States, while the Americans were satisfied with 2%. Already Abraham Lincoln he said: “Give us tariffs on imports and we will become the greatest nation in the world.” Istat numbers tell us that Italian products, for those who know how to appreciate them, are stronger than any barrier. And of each vulture to 55 inches.
