Italian machine tool sector wants tougher EU trade rules on China

By Giselda Vagnoni

ROME, July 27 (Reuters) – The European Union must strengthen trade defense measures against aggressive competition from Chinese machine tool makers or risk further erosion of Europe’s position in the strategic sector, an Italian industry association said on Monday.

Brussels is exploring ways to protect European industry against what many manufacturers say is the negative impact of China’s industrial overcapacity and subsidized exports.

Nicoletta Pigozzi, head of economic research at the Italian machine tool industry association UCIMU, said Chinese manufacturers have largely met domestic demand and are now rapidly expanding abroad.

To level the playing field, UCIMU said it wants imported machines to be subject to the same technical and safety standards required by European manufacturers.

“Europe needs common rules that apply to everyone,” Pigozzi told Reuters. “For example, machinery safety standards have a direct impact on production costs and ultimately the final price of a product.”

Meanwhile, he added, moving production to China is not an option for most Italian companies to compete on equal terms with Chinese manufacturers.

UCIMU represents approximately 250 manufacturers of machine tools, robots, automation systems and components, with total revenues of approximately 8 billion euros ($9.1 billion) and employing approximately 30,000 workers.

CHINA’S SHARE IN GLOBAL EXPORTS IS GROWING, ITALY IS LOSING GROUND

Used in the production of components for a variety of sectors, from automotive and aerospace to energy and defense, machine tools are widely seen as the vanguard of industrial competitiveness.

“Last year, the alarm bell rang when China overtook Germany to become the world’s largest exporter of metalworking machine tools,” Pigozzi said.

China’s share of global metalworking machine tool exports rose from 8% in 2016 to 23% in 2025, while Europe’s fell from 52% to 46% over the same period, according to data compiled by UCIMU from national industry associations and Italy’s trade agency ‌ICE.

Italy, the world’s fourth largest exporter of machine tools, also lost ground during this period. Its share in global exports fell from 8.4% in 2016 to 7.8% in 2025, while Italy’s exports to China fell from 316 million Euros to 110 million Euros.

Italian manufacturers’ concerns reflect a broader debate within the EU about how to respond to China’s growing industrial might.

Earlier this year, Italy joined France, Spain and two other countries in calling on Brussels to strengthen trade defense tools to protect European industry from unfair competition.

($1 = 0.8788 euros)

(Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni; Editing by Joe Bavier)