Italy‑UK exports held at €27 bn in 2025, showing Brexit has not halted bilateral trade despite transport, labour and bureaucratic hurdles
Executive summary: Italian exports to the United Kingdom amounted to about €27 billion in 2025, according to trade statistics highlighted in the report. The figure demonstrates that post‑Brexit trade flows between Italy and the UK remain sizable, preserving an important revenue stream for Italian manufacturers and service providers.
Who is involved: Italian exporters, UK importers, logistics operators, customs authorities and policymakers in both Rome and London.
Likely next: Stakeholders are expected to monitor customs procedures closely and consider investments in automation or infrastructure to mitigate transport costs, labour shortages and administrative burdens.
The Il Sole 24 Ore report, based on official customs data, shows that Italian exports to the United Kingdom amounted to about €27 billion in 2025, a level unchanged from the previous year. This indicates that, despite the new post‑Brexit regulatory environment, the overall volume of bilateral trade has remained resilient. The same sources note that Italian firms continue to confront higher transport costs, a shortage of roughly sixty thousand skilled workers, and additional customs formalities. These frictions can compress profit margins and may encourage companies to invest in logistics improvements, seek alternative routing options, or adjust supply‑chain configurations. While the headline figure suggests stability, the underlying cost pressures could shape near‑term business decisions regarding UK‑bound shipments. The continued stability of export values suggests that Italian exporters are absorbing the extra costs rather than reducing shipments to the UK. However, if transport, labour and bureaucratic hurdles persist, firms may reassess the cost‑benefit balance of UK‑directed sales and explore complementary markets or efficiency measures. The near‑term outlook will likely hinge on how quickly these operational challenges are mitigated.
What's next — scenarios
Resilient Status Quo (Base Case) (55%)
Italian exporters continue to absorb non-tariff barriers, maintaining market share but facing margin compression.
- Export volumes remain flat despite rising logistics costs
- Italian manufacturing output stays stable
Margin Collapse & Diversification (Downside) (30%)
Sustained labor shortages and customs friction force Italian SMEs to pivot toward EU-only markets.
- Significant decline in export volumes to the UK
- Reported surge in logistics and administrative overheads
Logistics Optimization Breakthrough (Upside) (15%)
Investment in digital customs and automated logistics offsets Brexit-related frictions, restoring profit margins.
- Decrease in average transit times for Italy-UK routes
- Increased investment in UK-focused supply chain technologies
What to watch
- Italian Bureau of Statistics (ISTAT) quarterly trade report (next 90 days)
- UK/Italy bilateral labor market data regarding skilled sector vacancies (next 60 days)
- Transports sector index for Mediterranean-UK shipping rates (next 30 days)
Timeline
- — La Brexit non ha fermato gli scambi tra Italia e Uk. Export 2025 a 27 miliardi (Il Sole 24 Ore — Economia)
Key entities
Sources
- La Brexit non ha fermato gli scambi tra Italia e Uk. Export 2025 a 27 miliardi — Il Sole 24 Ore — Economia
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