"The current transitions can be a great opportunity, provided that we know how to deal with them in the right way: to begin with, with a supply chain approach, beyond the geographical borders of the country," so warned Giovanni Baroni, President Small Industry of Confindustria, interviewed by QN on the occasion of the meeting 'Italy-Germany: transitions, new supply chain geographies and opportunities for SMEs'. organised in Bologna together with AHK Italien, the Italian-German Chamber of Commerce. 'We have to start thinking in terms of the continent and therefore, in our case, of Europe. Hence the series of meetings, the first of which could only start with Italy's main trading partner'.

And on the consequences of the German recession on our industrial fabric, Baroni said: 'We are experiencing a slowdown, especially in terms of investments. Germany's and ours are two interconnected economies. Theirs began to slow down a year ago, when ours was in full euphoria. The forecasts speak of a 2024 that will have nothing to do with the year we left behind us'. At the moment, the Italian economy is holding up, especially 'manufacturing, also due to demand, which is linked to long deliveries. There will be a slowdown at the end of the year and at the beginning of 2024. As for Germany, it is implementing a number of potentially effective measures. Strong tax credits, focus on SMEs, incentives and, it seems incredible, bureaucratic simplification measures. I say incredible because we are talking about a country that is a symbol of efficiency. The hope is that we will be able to coordinate interventions with Italy, given the close economic and trade relations we have with them. The 58 billion euro earmarked for the transitions in 2024 and the investments in infrastructure and the rail network will create an inducement for us as well'.

The President of the Piccola Industria (Small Industry) then pointed out that the Italian-German interchange 'has been growing for years. In 2022 it was at 168 billion, against 142 in 2021. In 2015 it was at 108. Numbers that give the measure of constant growth'. On the opportunities for SMEs, Baroni concluded: 'We are now talking about a common market. Many products of excellence from German industry also have components that speak Italian. We need the supply chains to dialogue and face together the major evolutions to which they are called, expressing the technological supremacy of which they are capable. Also to disarm the threats coming from other continents'.