Beyond Tariffs: Made in Italy is Strategy, Not Nostalgia

Made in Italy doesn’t need rhetoric - it needs vision. We celebrate it today, April 15, but we must learn to relaunch it every day. The Mediterranean Diet, a global symbol of our balanced lifestyle, is a strategic asset for Italy.  

Even in the face of challenges like tariffs - which pose economic threats - they can become opportunities to strengthen the value of our products.  

We need more education, more entrepreneurial freedom, more technology. Less bureaucracy. Because Made in Italy is made by people - curious, creative, and enterprising - not by slogans.

WHAT’S HAPPENING   Today we celebrate Made in Italy. Not just as a symbol of excellence and creativity, but as a concrete expression of our know-how: unique, original, and hard-to-replicate products.

Behind every "Made in Italy" label, there are:  

• artisanal roots,  
• family-based entrepreneurship,  
• a sense of beauty,  
• attention to quality,  
• problem solving,  
• and balance as a lifestyle (the true Mediterranean Diet).

Made in Italy isn’t just the "3 Fs" (Fashion, Food, Furniture). It also includes:  

• the land and its harvests,  
• industrial components,  
• and the SMEs that continue to resist change and a burdensome, inefficient state (the same one that celebrates Made in Italy today, after years of draining it), while still managing to innovate.

It’s a system built by people, combining curiosity, creativity, entrepreneurship, quality, and identity. But to remain competitive, it must evolve.

THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET   Among the undisputed pillars of Made in Italy is the agri-food supply chain, increasingly central to the national economy.  

Today it generates nearly €335 billion in added value, equal to 19% of Italy’s GDP, with total revenue reaching €586.9 billion: +8.4% over 2021 and +29% since 2015.  

In a context shaped by health crises and international tensions, it was the quality of Made in Italy agri-food products that drove growth.

WHY IT MATTERS   Let’s not fall into self-congratulation. Made in Italy must be protected and promoted.

Defend its value: it’s worth more only if we position it as such. This means protecting intellectual property, industrial know-how, and brands, and combating Italian sounding practices.

Educate for quality and balance: we don’t need schools that produce executors, but institutions that develop curious, creative, problem-solvers. We need more Mavericks, fewer Yes Men, and strong entrepreneurial, managerial, and financial skills.

Invest to grow: foreign investors can own Italian companies, but the minds and hands must remain Italian. SMEs must scale up without losing their identity.

Integrate technology: it doesn’t dilute Made in Italy, it helps it evolve.  

It must be part of production, design, and organization to improve efficiency and competitiveness.

Create the right conditions: the State is not Made in Italy. But it can support those who create it - with fewer, clearer rules, targeted incentives, and the courage to innovate.

TARIFFS: FROM THREAT TO OPPORTUNITY   Tariffs on high-quality Italian goods - often linked to the Mediterranean Diet - are an economic threat, but also a strategic opportunity.  

These products, thanks to their perceived value and strong cultural identity, face less elastic demand.

That’s why, alongside efforts to remove tariffs, Italy should use this moment to strengthen its product positioning - investing in branding, storytelling, and links to a healthy, desirable lifestyle.

• Turning a price increase into a symbol of quality and authenticity can reinforce demand resilience, safeguard the value of Italian exports, and promote the Mediterranean Diet worldwide as a symbol of well-being and identity.

WHAT TO DO   Made in Italy isn’t nostalgia - it’s a strategy. We must innovate it, protect it, and pass it on to a new generation ready to carry it forward globally.