In January 2022, Italy registered a trade deficit with the European Union amounting to about 890 million euros. In general, Italy profits greatly from the exchange of goods and services with the EU partners. When looking at the global scale, Italy is once again a winner in this trading system. In March 2019, Italy registered a trade surplus of 4.6 billion euros.
Trade buddies
Italian products are very popular abroad, and exports are vital for many sectors of the country’s industry. Italy exports most of its products to its partners in the European Union. In fact, among the leading importers of Italian products, four out of six belong to the EU. Germany is Italy’s leading export partner, with 12.5 percent of the total Italian exports headed to the EU’s biggest economy. The other way around is also true. In 2017, 16.5 percent of the total imports to Italy came from Germany.
The Northwest looks abroad
When looking at the trade balance of the Italian regions, it becomes evident that some areas of the country are more internationalized than others, also due to the higher level of industrialization. The Northwest of the country, which includes the regions of Lombardy, Piedmont, Liguria and Aosta Valley, exported almost 48 billion euros worth of goods and services in the last quarter of 2018. In comparison, exports from the Northeast, the second microregion in the country in terms of exports, reached a value of 39 billion euros.
Value of the Italian balance of trade with the European Union from January 2017 to January 2022
(in million euros)
Characteristic
Trade balance value in million euros
Jan 2022
-890
Dec 2021
-3,800
Nov 2021
-44
Oct 2021
294
Sep 2021
753
Aug 2021
-279
Jul 2021
1,932
Jun 2021
871
May 2021
850
Apr 2021
1,013
Mar 2021
384
Feb 2021
601
Jan 2021
-191
Dec 2020
-1,182
Nov 2020
238
Oct 2020
591
Sep 2020
784
Aug 2020
343
Jul 2020
2,937
Jun 2020
1,629
May 2020
1,692
Apr 2020
-968
Mar 2020
683
Feb 2020
558
Jan 2020
-398
Dec 2019
-1,737
Nov 2019
-234
Oct 2019
922
Sep 2019
186
Aug 2019
-291
Jul 2019
2,434
Jun 2019
890
May 2019
1,333
Apr 2019
204
Mar 2019
161
Feb 2019
57
Jan 2019
-149
Dec 2018
-2,153
Nov 2018
-540
Oct 2018
-166
Sep 2018
209
Aug 2018
-11
Jul 2018
1,477
Jun 2018
652
May 2018
181
Apr 2018
348
Mar 2018
-27
Feb 2018
414
Jan 2018
-554
Dec 2017
-1,756
Nov 2017
-995
Oct 2017
-417
Sep 2017
-277
Aug 2017
-391
Jul 2017
678
Jun 2017
21
May 2017
563
Apr 2017
343
Mar 2017
-30
Feb 2017
-510
Jan 2017
-142
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Istat. (March 22, 2022). Value of the Italian balance of trade with the European Union from January 2017 to January 2022 (in million euros) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved June 06, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/679536/value-of-italian-balance-of-trade-with-eu-partners/
Istat. "Value of the Italian balance of trade with the European Union from January 2017 to January 2022 (in million euros)." Chart. March 22, 2022. Statista. Accessed June 06, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/679536/value-of-italian-balance-of-trade-with-eu-partners/
Istat. (2022). Value of the Italian balance of trade with the European Union from January 2017 to January 2022 (in million euros). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: June 06, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/679536/value-of-italian-balance-of-trade-with-eu-partners/
Istat. "Value of The Italian Balance of Trade with The European Union from January 2017 to January 2022 (in Million Euros)." Statista, Statista Inc., 22 Mar 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/679536/value-of-italian-balance-of-trade-with-eu-partners/
Istat, Value of the Italian balance of trade with the European Union from January 2017 to January 2022 (in million euros) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/679536/value-of-italian-balance-of-trade-with-eu-partners/ (last visited June 06, 2025)
Value of the Italian balance of trade with the European Union from January 2017 to January 2022 (in million euros) [Graph], Istat, March 22, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/679536/value-of-italian-balance-of-trade-with-eu-partners/