(Adnkronos) – Italy’s “flagship” pharmaceutical sector is key driver for Italy’s exports, whose performance is “extraordinary” despite US president Donald Trump’s tariffs and the Ukraine-Russia war and conflict in the Middle East, foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on Tuesday.
“The pharmaceutical sector is a flagship of Italian industry, but it is also a key driver of exports. We are achieving extraordinary, unexpected results, despite tariffs and despite two wars,” Tajani said in an address to the Farmindustria Assembly in Rome.
“We are growing steadily. Last year, we grew by 3.3%. And in the first few months of 2026, we’ve also seen encouraging results, thanks also to the pharmaceutical industry’s extraordinary performance,” he said.
Italy’s government must support the pharmaceutical sector, which “is achieving world-class results,” he said.
Exports account for nearly 40% of economic output (GDP) and are crucial to Italy’s economy, Tajani underlined.
“It is right for the pharmaceutical sector to reduce its bureaucratic burden and to address the payback period,” Tajani continued.
“We want to support research; I strongly believe in private-sector involvement,” Tajani added.
Italy’s pharmaceutical exports to the US soared 54.1% last year according to figures from central statistics agency Istat, making it the only major European Union country whose exports to the US grew last year despite Trump’s tariffs.
