Extra-EU exports are on the rise
Made in Italy – In March 2025, Italian exports to non-EU countries registered a significant growth of 7.5%, reaching 28.3 billion euros, an increase of about 2 billion compared to the same month of 2024. This jump is mainly attributable to the United States, where exports have increased significantly, driving the overall trend.
The increase towards Washington, equal to a surprising +41,2% on an annual basis, is largely due to one-off orders of ships, which alone contribute about 1,2 billion euros. Without these exceptional orders, exports would still have registered a growth, but much more modest, falling to +3%. In addition to these contracts, the effect of duties imposed by the former Trump administration has prompted many Italian companies to anticipate shipments, trying to avoid the imposition of high tariffs. This factor has had a significant, albeit temporary, impact on Italian exports.
Looking at the overall figures, exports to the US have led to an increase of about 2.3 billion euros, with the maritime sector playing a crucial role. However, there is also no lack of significant progress in other sectors, which have seen an average growth of 20%, showing a solid recovery for the Italian industry.
March also saw an increase in exports of capital goods (+9.9%) and consumer non-durables (+1.7%), while the sectors of durable goods and energy showed a decline compared to the previous month, with -11.5% for durable goods and -6.4% for energy. On the one hand, imports were down due to a contraction in energy purchases (-19.8%).
In the first quarter of 2025, exports grew 4.8 percent, driven by sales of capital goods (+7.9 percent), consumer non-durable goods (+7.2 percent) and intermediate goods (+4.5 percent). In contrast, imports grew by 5.3 percent, especially imports of consumer durables and non-durable consumer goods.
At the trend level, exports to non-EU countries saw a strong increase in March 2025, mainly due to sales of consumer non-durable goods (+20.7 percent) and capital goods (+10.4 percent). However, energy exports dropped significantly (-34.4 percent).
On the trade front, the surplus with non-EU countries reached 5.96 billion euros, up slightly from March 2024. Despite the energy deficit of 3.86 billion euros, the interchange of non-energy products showed positive results, with the surplus reaching 9.83 billion.
Finally, on the import front, March saw strong increases from MERCOSUR countries (+71.2%), China (+44.9%) and ASEAN countries (+25.6%). In contrast, there were declines from imports from OPEC countries (-25.4%), India (-17.8%), the United States (-9.5%) and the United Kingdom (-9.2%).
In summary, the month of March 2025 saw a further recovery for Italian exports, driven by a strong increase to the United States and strategic management of shipments, which was able to respond promptly to the effects of tariffs. Although some sectors have shown signs of difficulty, Made in Italy continues to be a growing force in international markets.
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