The United States-Italy Relationship and Transatlantic Unity

The United States and Italy are close Partners and Allies

Italy and the United States share a commitment to the same values – democracy, human rights, the rule of law, security, and prosperity. The United States represents Italy’s largest non-EU export market. The two-way trade in goods and services amounted to $80 billion last year. The relationship, which ranges from trade in consumer goods and agricultural products to cooperation in the defense industries, has spurred collaboration in fields outside the economic realm, including security and space technology. As of 2019, Italy’s direct investment in the United States totaled $32.8 billion, while U.S. direct investment in Italy was $34.9 billion. As of 2018, U.S. jobs tied to Italian direct investment in the United States totaled 93,700, while 250,000 Italian jobs were tied to U.S. direct investment in Italy. Italy is the second most popular destination for American study abroad students in the world, with more than 35,000 U.S. students studying there each year.  Italian students are also increasingly attracted to education exchange programs in the United States.  In the 2019/2020 academic year, more than 6,000 Italians chose to study at a U.S. college or university. Since the establishment of the U.S.-Italy Fulbright Commission in 1948, approximately 14,000 Italian and American students, teachers, lecturers, and researchers have participated in the Fulbright international exchange program, enhancing scholarship through educational exchange. The U.S.-Italy Fulbright Program has produced alumni who have had enduring impacts on their fields, including Italian Prime Ministers Giuliano Amato and Lamberto Dini, eight Nobel laureates, twelve Pulitzer Prize winners, and five MacArthur Foundation Fellows.

By U.S. Mission Italy | 27 June, 2021