Italian exports to markets outside the European Union rose 16.1% year-on-year in August 2026, driven by strong demand from China, the United States and Switzerland, according to new figures released by Italy’s national statistics agency ISTAT and highlighted by the Italian Trade Agency (ITA).
Why it matters: The figures suggest that Italian exporters are maintaining their international competitiveness despite an increasingly complex global trade environment, with growth extending across several industrial sectors and major markets.
- Exports to China increased by 32.3% compared with August 2025, while shipments to the United States rose by 31.1%.
- Switzerland recorded an even stronger increase of 57%, emerging as one of the fastest-growing destinations for Italian goods.
- Exports to the United Kingdom, by contrast, declined by 2.1%.
By the numbers: The expansion was particularly pronounced in energy and industrial goods, although growth was recorded across most major product categories.
- Energy exports surged 70.4% year-on-year, while intermediate goods increased by 22.1%.
- Capital goods, a key component of Italy’s manufacturing sector, grew by 12.4%.
- Non-durable consumer goods rose by 10.3%, while durable consumer goods contracted by 2.6%.
The bigger picture: Italy maintained a positive trade balance with non-EU countries, recording a surplus of €2 billion in August, up from €1.88 billion in the same month last year.
- Imports increased by 17.2% year-on-year, with particularly strong growth in purchases from India (+116.5%), OPEC countries (+54.6%), Mercosur economies (+39.2%) and China (+16%).
- Meanwhile, imports from the United States fell by 11.1%, pointing to a widening gap between the growth of Italian exports to the American market and purchases of US goods.
Between the lines: The strong annual performance comes with an important qualification. On a monthly basis, Italian exports to non-EU markets declined by 2.1% in August, while imports remained broadly unchanged (-0.1%).
- The divergence suggests that the year-on-year expansion should not necessarily be interpreted as evidence of accelerating trade momentum.
- The particularly strong performance in China and the United States nevertheless underscores the continued importance of the world’s two largest economies for Italian exporters, even as geopolitical tensions and trade policy uncertainty complicate international commercial relationships.
Zoom out: Looking beyond the monthly figures, Italian exports to non-EU countries increased by 5.8% in the first eight months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. Imports grew by 6.4%.
- The cumulative figures indicate a more moderate expansion than August’s annual comparison suggests, providing a broader measure of Italy’s external trade performance.
The bottom line: Italy’s export sector continues to demonstrate resilience across major international markets, with China and the United States contributing significantly to August’s growth.
- The challenge will be translating that performance into sustained momentum as global trade conditions remain uncertain.
