In July +7.3%.

Drugs and ships boost exports

Anti-tariffs sales boom to the US. Purchases of drugs and preparations from China multiplied by ten

15 September 2025

2' min read

The umpteenth surge in pharmaceuticals, particularly in the US, together with increased shipbuilding orders, boosted export averages in July, with our foreign sales up 7.3% (+1.2% over the previous month), bringing the balance for the first seven months of the year to +2.9%.

Larger progress in non-EU markets (+9.9%) but also visible in Europe, where purchases from both Germany (+1.5%) and France (+4.7%) grew.

Decisive for the month's result, however, is the figure for the United States (+24.1%), where pharmaceuticals almost doubled (+89%), a growth that has been occurring for many months now, resulting in sales of this segment to Washington amounting to EUR 10 billion from January to July.

A choice adopted by many pharmaceutical companies to store goods in the USA in anticipation of possible tariffs penalties, an action that could result in a substantial reduction in shipments in the coming months. Meanwhile, as evidence of the anomaly, in July a quarter of the drugs exported from Italy made their way to Washington, a clear increase from last year's average of 19%, which had already seen an initial surge in volumes.

Also positively influencing the average result for the month of our foreign sales," Istat explains, "are the one-off orders related to shipbuilding in July, net of which there is an estimated economic increase of 0.8% and a trend growth of 6.1%.

Noteworthy among the sectors is the growth of more than six points for food, while the pharmaceutical sector as a whole grew by 28.5 per cent, accounting for 10 per cent of our total exports in July.

In contrast, foreign car sales were down (-5.3%), as was domestic production itself. Of note is the double-digit growth in imports from China, a progress already visible in registrations and now perceptible in foreign trade figures: in July there was a more than doubling, with 208 million imported from Beijing, in the first seven months we are at 1.1 billion, 55% above the 2024 values.

Beijing is also relevant for purchases of pharmaceutical material, a surge that multiplies purchases by ten to 731 million and brings our trade balance in the sector into balance. Whereas in 2024, purchases of drugs and preparations from China had amounted to 748 million, in the first seven months of 2025 we are already at 5.5 billion.

Luca Orlandoinviato-caporedattore
- @lucaorlando66
Luogo: Milano
Lingue parlate: Inglese
Argomenti: Imprese, meccanica, innovazione, export, macchinari, Industria 4.0, robot
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