Fashion leads the way for the Italia-France Pact: ‘We must protect businesses’

Whilst Europe was founded in 1957 as a common market to promote trade between its member states, almost 70 years later it faces the challenge of rethinking itself as a system that must protect its companies – seen as integral parts of a manufacturing, economic and cultural system. It is this vision that brought together the Fashion Roundtable yesterday in Rome, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, for one of its two annual plenary sessions, chaired on this occasion by Minister Adolfo Urso alongside his French counterpart, Sébastien Martin.

It is precisely the fashion industry – which has historically fostered close ties between Italian and French businesses – that has been identified as the driving force behind an Italia-France Pact, a renewed plan for collaboration between two kindred nations based on the promotion and protection of know-how, particularly in the face of the challenges posed by global markets, and which is also intended to serve as a pioneering model for other industrial sectors, from the automotive industry to the space sector. This pact is the result of numerous meetings between ministers over recent months, including the 36th Italy–France Intergovernmental Summit held on 25 June in Antibes, during which a memorandum of understanding was signed between the National Chamber of Italian Fashion and its French counterpart, the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode.

A first measure resulting from cooperation between the two countries has already been implemented and concerns “the most serious threat to the European fashion industry, namely fast fashion,” said Urso. “Europe is being flooded with parcels arriving without any checks, containing garments produced in breach of European rules on environmental sustainability and health. From 1 July, a customs tariff of 3 euros has come into force across Europe on parcels worth less than 150 euros originating from non-EU countries.”

France will gradually increase the tax until 2030, but from 1 January 2027 it will also ban advertising for fast-fashion brands: “‘Europe cannot ask manufacturers to make further efforts whilst there are products on the market that do not meet European standards, which they are obliged to comply with,’ said Martin. ‘The European market must remain open, of course, but those entering it must abide by our rules. This is a change of mindset: defending ourselves in order to protect ourselves.’

Whilst low-value parcels have only a marginal impact on large, high-end companies, they have a very negative impact on SMEs, which, moreover, make up the majority of Italian manufacturing sector: ‘Today, we need to move beyond a vision focused exclusively on luxury and promote the wealth of businesses, skills and expertise that makes Italian manufacturing unique,’ noted Luca Sburlati, president of Confindustria Moda, who took part in the round-table discussion. “It is within our supply chains that the beauty and craftsmanship recognised worldwide are born: an industrial, human, social and cultural asset that must be protected and placed at the heart of development policies.”