MILAN (ITALPRESS) – Between real and commercial wars, duties, industrial crisis and commodity hunting, the world is a stormy sea. But Italy has the strength to face the waves of the end of globalization. The Minister of Business and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, interviewed by MF-Milano Finanza and Class Cnbc at the Expert Talk event.
“We have been among the protagonists of the European regulation on critical raw materials and we have approved a law decree that creates in Italy a favourable context for extraction, processing and recycling – says Urso. With the Ministry of the Environment we updated the map: We have 16 of the 34 critical raw materials identified by the EU. We have seen companies in European bands: four Italian projects have been recognized strategic, all on recycling. And we have already told the Commission that Italy is running to host a European storage warehouse, thanks to our geographical location that allows us to supply the entire continent with ease.”.
Urso believes that there is the possibility that Italy obtains this deposit, “because it would be in the interest of the whole of Europe”. As for the Italian candidacy for the European gigafactory on artificial intelligence “The Commission – he explains – received 77 proposals, but we, unlike other countries, have been able to make a system and present a single consortium. It is composed of large public-controlled companies, Leonardo and Eni, and is very competitive. I am convinced that in the next spring one of the five gigafactory will be assigned to Italy.”.
“We already have data centers, a quantum calculation plan, three of Europe’s biggest supercalculators and avant-garde universities, even in the South. All this shows that we are building an assertive Italy, for the benefit of companies, citizens and Europe,” adds Urso, who to the question if the areas where the gigafactory and this hub for raw materials have been identified: “Yes, the group of enterprises has identified some areas. It is a multipurpose and polycentric project. But I can’t say anything else because we are dealing with the Commission.”
As for American duties Italy is reacting “better than expected and better than others. Because American consumers do not want to give up the quality of made in Italy and because our companies are resilient. It is necessary to see the final data at the end of the year, but the real danger is not direct duties, which on average are 15%”.
“The problem – adds – is the indirect effect: If Asian products do not enter the United States due to higher duties, overproduction is directed towards the European market, the most open and the richest. It is like a tsunami: the shock happens elsewhere, but the wave comes from us. That is why we asked that the doubling of duties and the halving of quotas on Chinese steel, already announced by Commissioner Sèjournè, enter into force immediately.”.
We, meanwhile, “we are counterfeit and unfair competition. We think of the ultra fast fashion that brought last year 12 million packages per day in Europe without any control, because under the threshold of 150 euros. They often contain products spread as Italians and not sustainable from the environmental point of view. We asked that the duty on these packages immediately enter into force, not in three years, because it would allow at least control of customs”.
“If Brussels does not anticipate the measure “we will intervene with national legislation, there is a debate in France too. We could put a tax on the delivery of packages from outside Europe. And we have already foreseen the responsibility of digital platforms: if the product does not correspond to reality, the costs cannot fall on our enterprises.”
“Today Italy – stresses Urso – has a leading role. The spread has passed from 242 to less than 70 and our credibility allows us to be decisive in European reforms. With Germany we were able to anticipate the revision of the automotive regulations. Now we ask for a radical revision: technological neutrality, full recognition of hybrid, use of biofuels and overcoming the threshold of 2035, while still maintaining the final goal. We must arrive at the future, which will be mainly electric, with the European factories still in operation.”.
To the question whether the relationship with Stellantis has improved, he answers: “Yes. There is a new governance, more aware of Italian reality. Stellantis today expresses pragmatic and responsible positions, in line with Italian and Acea. The presentation of the 500 hybrids in Mirafiori, with new assumptions, is an important signal”.
With regard to the former Ilva, if nationalization is a hypothesis on the table, he replied: “From the constitutional point of view no. The State can intervene only in very precise cases which do not apply here. But it can enter the race, where necessary, to guarantee productive continuity, occupation and decarbonization”. “The inheritance is heavy: the commissioners estimated in almost 5 billion the damage caused by ArcelorMittal. However, as we did in Terni and Piombino, I am convinced that, with the collaboration of all, we can find a solution that guarantees production and employment”.
“The Italian economy – remembers Urso – is linked to Germany, which has been in recession for almost three years. Despite this, Italy has gone on. And there are positive signs: Gross fixed investment in growth, industrial turnover in increase, index of the PMS back above the expansion threshold. But we must complete the reforms of European industrial policy.” And the demographic factor “weights a lot. Italy is an increasingly older country with a population that does not grow. It takes time to reverse the course, but the government has already started policies to support the birth.”
Looking at the defense industry, “Leonardo works on land, air, space and cyber, Fincantieri on the naval and submarines. This produces excellent fruits and allows an effective direction among ministries.” And the question of what the state of health of the Italian industry is: “We made transparency on crisis tables: It was 55, today it’s 38. We have solved many of them while keeping the plants active. The line is realism, responsibility, teamwork. The world is in a storm, but the Italian government has guaranteed stability, reliability and credibility. This is why we are becoming a model for others.”
– photo Ipa Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
