The U.S. market is strategic for Italian SMEs and start-ups. Synergo believes that supporting SMEs and innovative start-ups with the right mix of capital and operational support will be fundamental to bring them to their full growth potential both in Italy and the U.S..
Trade Relations between Italy and U.S.
The United States hosts the most developed, liquid, flexible and efficient business and financial markets in the world and offers the largest consumer market on earth with a GDP of $ 20 trillion and 330 million people. A business-friendly environment and leading technology, supply chain, infrastructure and workforce are factors that allow businesses from all countries and industries to thrive in the United States.
U.S. represents the third market for Italian exports, with a value of $ 57 billion in 2019 (9,2% on total). Italy also runs a substantial trade surplus with respect to the U.S., amounting to € 33 billlion.
This strong trade is also accompanied by the substantial increase of Italian FDI in the U.S. (+373% between 2003 and 2019), a sign of the international growth of the Italian companies in the U.S., thanks to a political and economic stability, a friendly business environment, a mature and high-demand market, very well-positioned to meet the Italian companies’ offer.
US and Italian FDI (ref: Bureau of Economic Analysis)
Nevertheless, we believe that the full capacity of Italian FDI in the U.S. is not yet fully expressed.
Despite the excellence characterizing Italian manufacturing companies, many of them approach a mature and complex market, such as the U.S:, underestimating its difficulties, without a strategic growth plan consistent with the financial and human resources, necessary to establish a structured and stable presence andto create long-term value.
In the overall European FDI rankings in the U.S., Italy ranks lower than other European countries, highlighting a great room for improvement.
Europe in U.S. investment radar (source: Bureau of Economic Analysis)
According to the Italian Trade Agency, there are around 3,000 Italian companies operating in the US.
Italian companies in the U.S. market by sector (source: Italian Trade Agency 2019)
Italian investments in the U.S. market by deal type (source: Italian Trade Agency 2019)