Bettini: 'The damage of tariffs for mechanics is unimaginable'

The highest price is likely to be paid by the industrial machinery sector, which accounts for the largest share of exports from Italy to the United States. President Trump's letter to Europe raises alarm among industrial metalworkers. For the new president of Federmeccanica, Simone Bettini, 'tariffs at 30% are a devastating hypothesis for many of our companies. The damage for Italy and the metalworking industry is unimaginable: it is unimaginable both for those that export directly to the US and for the entire component supply chain, which has its reference market in the EU and which will certainly be hit by indirect repercussions'.

For the industry, Bettini summarises, exports are a decisive lever, contributing around 50 per cent of our country's total exports. "The United States is the second largest market after Germany, with a share of over 11 per cent, and this already shows the size of the problem," he adds. Metal-mechanical-mechatronic companies are also producers of 100% of the capital goods for the other sectors of Italian industry such as food and textiles, "which in turn will be significantly affected by this situation. We expect,' Bettini concludes, 'that Europe will very quickly take action to prevent and, if necessary, compensate for the effects.

The president of Federmacchine, Bruno Bettelli, makes a reasoning that tries to take a lucid snapshot of the potential negative repercussions of a sector that exports between 6 and 7 billion to the United States and that could see a 10% contraction. "American customers buy Italian technology not for the low price, but for the innovative solutions. Moreover, the American industry,' he adds, 'has not developed expertise in the different sectors that Italian manufacturers serve.

This will lead to a series of mechanisms to offset the risks associated with US trade policy. Starting with the willingness of American customers, Bettelli reasons, "to bear the higher cost of incoming tariffs linked to a capital good that is difficult to replace". Generally speaking, adds Bettelli, "Italian companies are called upon to accelerate a process of servitisation of supplies, designed to shift the focus from the machinery itself to the technological platform it represents, moving value from the material asset to the service. With an eye on the fact that the potential price increase will have to be spread over a long depreciation plan'.

All mechanisms, says Bettelli, that could mitigate the negative impact on exports and prevent Made in Italy machinery from going out of business.