Italian manufacturer SACMI says U.S. tariff threats fuel market uncertainty

U.S. tariff threats are creating unprecedented uncertainty for global manufacturers and warned that relocating production to the United States is not a realistic option for many firms, said an Italian entrepreneur.

Paolo Mongardi, president of Italian industrial group SACMI, a long-established enterprise exporting over 80 percent of its products globally, told China Central Television in an interview that recent tariff measures and threats from the United States have disrupted operations and caused delays in fulfilling customer orders across SACMI’s diverse sectors, including ceramics, plastics, food and beverage, packaging, and advanced materials.

"The current situation is filled with uncertainty. U.S. tariffs have impacted markets worldwide, and industrial companies want to invest but are unable to do so because they don't know how to proceed or what their sales revenues will be. This uncertainty affects future investments, resulting in delays in our order deliveries. Companies looking to make substantial investments are all waiting for decisions from the Trump administration," said Mongardi.

The Trump administration has also suggested foreign manufacturers relocate production to the United States to offset tariff impacts.

Despite that SACMI maintains a strong sales and service presence in the U.S., Mongardi still ruled out shifting manufacturing to the United States, citing significant investment requirements and structural limitations.

"It is unrealistic to complete all production in one country to avoid tariffs. Our manufacturing process is very complex, and we produce highly customized products for our clients in small quantities, not through mass production. Therefore, producing a highly customized product in one country requires a long time and significant investment, making it unfeasible. Thus, we will not consider opening new factories in the U.S.," said Mongardi.

Mongardi noted that rising trade protectionism, particularly U.S. unilateral tariffs, has disrupted global supply chains. In response, SACMI had to alter its supply strategy, which will lead to higher prices for U.S. consumers.

"We have to adopt a different sales strategy and are forced to raise our prices in the U.S. American customers have to pay higher prices if they want to buy our products," he said.

Italian manufacturer SACMI says U.S. tariff threats fuel market uncertainty

The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.

The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.

Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.

"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.

Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.

Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.

"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.

Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight