Italian machine tool sector wants tougher EU trade rules on China

By Giselda Vagnoni

ROME, July 27 (Reuters) - The European Union must bolster trade defence measures against aggressive competition from Chinese machine tool manufacturers or risk a further erosion of Europe's position in the strategic sector, an Italian industry association said on Monday. 

Brussels has been examining ways to shield European industry from what many manufacturers say is the negative fallout from China's industrial overcapacity and subsidised exports.

Nicoletta Pigozzi, head of economic studies at Italian machine tool industry association UCIMU, said Chinese manufacturers had largely satisfied domestic demand and are now rapidly expanding overseas.

UCIMU said it wants imported machinery to be subject to the same technical and safety standards required of European manufacturers in order to level the playing field.

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

For most Italian companies, meanwhile, moving production to China to compete against Chinese manufacturers on equal terms is not an option, she added.

UCIMU represents about 250 producers of machine tools, robots, automation systems and components with combined revenue of roughly €8 billion ($9.1 billion) and employing some 30,000 workers.

CHINA GROWING SHARE OF GLOBAL EXPORTS, ITALY LOSING GROUND

Used to manufacture components for sectors ranging from automotive and aerospace to energy and defence, machine tools are widely seen as a bellwether of industrial competitiveness.

"The alarm bell rang last year when China became the world's largest exporter of metalworking machine tools, overtaking Germany," Pigozzi said.

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

Italy, the world's fourth-largest machine tool exporter, also lost ground over the period. Its share of global exports slipped to 7.8% in 2025 from 8.4% in 2016, while Italian exports to China plunged to €110 million from €316 million.

The concerns of Italian manufacturers echo a broader debate within the EU over how to respond to China's growing industrial strength. 

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

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(Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni; Editing by Joe Bavier)