Italy: Trade Profile

Foreign Trade in Figures

Italy has an export-oriented economy and is the 8th largest exporter and 12th largest importer worldwide, with trade making up 63% of its GDP (World Bank, latest data available). According to the latest figures by ISTAT for 2021, Italy's market share of world exports of goods stood at 2.71%. Large exporting companies (1,961 units with at least 250 employees) accounted for 48.8% of national exports, medium-sized companies (50-249 employees) for 31.3% and small companies (less than 50 employees) for 19.9%. The country’s main exports include medicaments, cars and vehicle parts, refined petroleum, trunks, suitcases, and vanity cases. Italy is also the second-largest wine exporter in the world. The country is dependent on imports for its energy needs, hence petroleum and gas products are among the main items in Italy’s import bills, together with motor vehicles and medicaments (data Comtrade 2021).

Italy’s main trading partners are Germany (13.1%), France (10.3%), the U.S. (9.5%), Switzerland (5.4%), and Spain (5%), whereas imports come chiefly from Germany (16.1%), France (8.3%), China (8.5%), the Netherlands (5.9%) and Spain (5.1% - data Comtrade). Overall, the EU accounted for 52% of total exports.

Since the sovereign debt crisis in 2010 and after several years of registering a trade deficit, Italy has changed direction and has recorded positive trade balances in recent years. According to WTO data, in 2021 the country exported goods worth USD 610.2 billion (+23%% year-on-year), while imports increased at a faster pace (+31.8%), totalling USD 557.5 billion, also due to the rise in energy bills. In the same year, Italy exported services for a total value of USD 102.4 billion, while its imports amounted to USD 113.5 billion (+18.3% and +23.8% year-on-year, respectively). Already at the end of 2021, Italian exports had exceeded pre-pandemic levels by 7.5% (ISTAT). In the same year, overall trade surplus for goods and services stood at around 2.4% of GDP (from 3.6% one year earlier - World Bank). Looking at the first semester of 2022, data from ISTAT shows that exports went up 22.4% compared to the same period in 2020, while imports increased by 44.2% (at EUR 306.2 and 302.6 billion, respectively).

Main Partner Countries

Source: UN Comtrade Database, Latest data available.

Main Products

Source: UN Comtrade Database, Latest data available.

To go further, check out our service Import/Export Flows.

Main Services

Source: United Nations Statistics Division, Latest data available.

Source: World Bank, Latest data available.

Find out all the exchange rates daily on our service Currency Converter.

Trade Compliance

International Conventions

Member of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
Member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Party to the Kyoto Protocol
Party to the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
Party to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal
Party to the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer
Party to the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls For Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies
Party to the International Coffee Agreement

International Economic Cooperation

Italy is a member of the following international economic organisations: IMF, European Union, ICC, European Economic Area, WTO, Central European Initiative (CEI), G-7, G-8, G-10, G-20, OECD, among others. For the full list of economic and other international organisations in which participates Italy click here. International organisation membership of Italy is also outlined here.

Free Trade Agreements

The complete and up-to-date list of Free Trade Agreements signed by Italy can be consulted here.

Party of the ATA Convention on Temporary Admissions and Use of the Carnets

Yes

As a Reminder, the ATA is a System Allowing the Free Movement of Goods Across Frontiers and Their Temporary Admission Into a Customs Territory With Relief From Duties and Taxes. The Goods Are Covered By a Single Document Known as the ATA Carnet That is Secured By an International Guarantee System.

Party of the TIR Convention

Yes

As a Reminder, the TIR Convention and its Transit Regime Contribute to the Facilitation of International Transport, Especially International Road Transport, Not Only in Europe and the Middle East, But Also in Other Parts of the World, Such as Africa and Latin America.

Accompanying Documents For Imports

Goods coming into one of the 27 countries of the European Union from another country in the Community are exempt from Customs duties and Customs formalities.
The documents which must accompany goods moving between EU countries are the following: :
- the commercial invoice
- the certificate of origin
- the health certificate (only necessary, in the case of trade inside the Community, for live animals)
- the single administrative document (SAD) (required for trade with overseas Departments, the Channel Islands and the Canaries).

For a transaction outside the Community, you must add:
- Import licenses
- Certifications
- Single Customs Document (SAD)

To go further, check out our service Shipping Documents.

Free-trade zones

Italy has two free-trade ports: Trieste and Venice.

Trieste is the main free trade zone in Italy. Here, goods can stay 180 days without customs duties. Venice is another free trade zone but is restructuring. There is legislation to create free trade zones in Naples and Genoa but it has not been implemented yet.

For Further Information

Italian Customs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of the Economy

Non Tariff Barriers

As it is a member of the European Union, Italy applies any and all Community regulations which are valid throughout the Union.

If the EU has quite a liberal foreign trade policy, there are a certain number of restrictions, especially at the level of agricultural products, ensuing from the implementation of the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy): applying compensations when importing and exporting agricultural products to favor the development of agriculture within the EU implies a certain number of systems to control and regulate goods entering EU territory.
Moreover, for sanitary reasons, with regards to Genetically Modified Organisms, if they are allowed in Europe, their presence must, for example, be systematically specified on packaging. Importing beef fed on hormones is also prohibited.
The principle of precaution is now more widely favored: in case of doubt, import is prohibited until the non- noxiousness of the goods is proved.

Goods containing animal products require a certificate from a competent authority in the country of origin. Fishery products need to show a catch certificate.

Sectors or Products For Which Commercial Disagreements Have Been Registered With the WTO

Wine, pasta, vegetables and fruit, fresh or processed.

Assessment of Commercial Policy

Webpages of the WTO on Italy
Barriers to exchanges, inventoried by the United States
Information on agricultural trade barriers
Customs and Taxation Union Directorate (TAXUD), Site of the European Commission about the Customs and Taxation Union Directorate
Electronic Customs Initiative, Site of the European Commission about the Electronic Customs Initiative

Standards

National Standards Organisations

Italian Standardisation Organisation (Ente Nazionale Italiano di Unificazione, UNI)
Italian Electrotechnical Committee (CEI)

Integration in the International Standards Network

International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
European Committee for Standardisation (CEN)
European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (CENELEC)

Obligation to Use Standards

Yes

Classification of Standards

Italian standards are called UNI, but those of the electrotechnical sector are called CEI.

Assessment of the System of Standardization

The standardization system is respected and guarantees better sales. Consumers have more and more regard for standards.

Regarding EU regulation, manufactures must fulfill conformity assessment conditions.

Online Consultation of Standards

The UNI catalog
The CEI catalog
The ISO catalog

Certification Organisations

Association of Independent Test and Certification Laboratories (ALPI)
Italian Accreditation Body (Accredia)

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