April 9, 2025 15:22

The 20% punitive tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on the European Union are shaking financial markets, but the repercussions could be even more severe for the industrial sector.
Given Italy’s strong manufacturing base, these tariffs risk hitting exports to North America hard — a challenge that extends to all European machinery manufacturers.

To understand the potential impact of this trade war on the plastics and rubber machinery industry, we spoke with Mario Maggiani (pictured), Managing director of the Italian trade association Amaplast.

How did your members react to the news of the 20% tariffs on all U.S. imports?
Not well overall, although the reaction depends greatly on how much of each company’s revenue comes from overseas. Some may be heavily impacted, while others may hardly feel the effects at all.

Roughly how much are Italian machinery and mold exports to the U.S. worth?
The United States is the second-largest destination for Italian sector exports, just after Germany. We're talking about nearly 10% of total exports — around €350 million, which is significant.
The leading technologies include extrusion, worth approximately €52 million; molds, at €50 million; and blow molding, at almost €23 million. Parts and components alone account for another €80 million.

That’s a sizeable figure. What impact might the tariffs have on U.S. market sales?
Together with the three other member associations of the Confindustria Machinery Federation — Acimac, Acimall and Ucima — we conducted a survey 10 days ago to assess the potential impact of tariffs on transatlantic sales.
Half of respondents expect sales to drop by more than 5%. A quarter foresee a decrease of between 5% and 10%, while 16% fear losses of 20% or more.
Some members are already experiencing order cancellations or abrupt halts in advanced negotiations. Amaplast is providing legal guidance to help companies address the current situation and protect themselves contractually against tariff-related risks.
In a world that seemed to be moving steadily toward globalization and market openness, this is an unprecedented scenario — one that our entrepreneurs were simply not prepared for.

Roughly speaking, how much could this new U.S. trade policy cost Italian manufacturers?
It’s hard to give a precise figure, partly due to supply and demand dynamics. There are relatively few North American suppliers of plastics and rubber machinery, so processors still need to rely on European and Asian manufacturers.
It remains to be seen whether our companies can shift their focus to other markets and offset lost U.S. sales — though that won’t happen overnight.
In the short term, these tariffs could cost the Italian sector roughly €50 million to €60 million per year.
There’s always hope for a more favorable deal — perhaps tariffs closer to 10% instead of 20%. But I think we’ll need to wait a bit longer to understand the true direction of the U.S. administration.

Can manufacturers absorb the tariffs without passing the cost on to customers?
I don’t believe so. International competition has already squeezed margins to the limit, leaving very little room for maneuver — especially not with 20% tariffs.

Is there a risk that Italian companies will relocate production to the U.S.?
Not in our sector. Our companies generally aren’t large or structured enough to invest in building new plants overseas — especially not for complex machinery and systems. It might be more feasible in the case of auxiliary equipment and molds.
But it’s hard to imagine an extrusion line manufacturer setting up shop in Texas or Connecticut just to avoid losing four or five annual orders in the U.S.
It makes far more sense to explore other regional markets — say, Mexico or Brazil — while continuing to produce in Italy.

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