ANFAO Reports U.S. Tariffs Drive 34.5 Percent Drop in Italian Eyewear Shipments to America

PIEVE DI CADORE, Italy—In the face high economic and political instability, ANFAO, the Italian Optical Goods Manufacturers’ Association, has shared figures from the first half of 2025 which outline the impacts incurred from import duties imposed by the Trump administration. Italian eyewear, which ANFAO said exports about 90 percent of its production, reported a 34.5 percent drop in exports to the U.S. Overall, exports reached €2.8 billion between January and June 2025, a decline of 3.7 percent year over year, driven largely by a 5.5 percent drop in sunglasses—the segment that represents more than two thirds of Italian eyewear exports, the association advised. Conversely, frames and ophthalmic lenses were broadly stable, rising 0.1 percent and 1.2 percent respectively.