Italy’s Giorgia Meloni meets with Donald Trump at the White House amid EU anxiety
WASHINGTON D.C. : Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is meeting at the White House on Thursday with President Trump, in what her aides have called a high-stakes “commercial peace mission.”
European leaders are hoping Italy’s right-wing premier can position herself as a bridge between the Trump administration and the European Union, which Mr. Trump and his top aides have bashed as a deadbeat, if not abusive partner on defense and trade.
Mr. Trump told reporters Thursday that “of course” there will be a trade deal with the EU, amid the 90-day pause on his “reciprocal” tariffs. Asked if the EU is on his priority list of nations for reaching trade deals, Mr. Trump said, “Everybody’s on my priority list.”
The president said he and Meloni discussed trade and “many, many things” in their first meeting of the day. But it’s unclear how much progress Mr. Trump and Meloni made in discussing any sort of trade deal.
The hope not only in Rome, but in EU capitals across the 27-nation bloc is likely that Meloni can persuade Mr. Trump not to impose the steep tariff hikes he’s threatened, which could devastate European economies. A reporter asked Meloni if she believes the U.S. is a reliable partner.
“If I wouldn’t think it’s a reliable partner, I wouldn’t be here,” Meloni responded.
Meloni said she’s “here to find the best way to make us both stronger.”
“The goal for me is to make the West great again,” Meloni said. “And I think we can do it together.“
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters he believes there have been trade calls with the EU already, and the U.S. is trying to work with the world’s 15 largest economies first. The president said “tariffs are making us rich.”
Europe has hope, and anxiety, over the Trump-Meloni meeting
Meloni and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen discussed strategies on how to approach her meeting with Mr. Trump during multiple phone calls ahead of the trip, according to a commission spokesperson.
Von der Leyen herself has not yet been granted a meeting with Mr. Trump, despite repeated requests. Meloni’s sit-down at the White House will be the first with any European leader since the administration announced its tariffs on virtually every nation with which the U.S. conducts trade at the beginning of April. The EU was hit with a blanket 20% tariff rate on all exports to the U.S. with that announcement, though Mr. Trump put those higher rates on hold for 90 days about a week later, as global stock markets reeled, leaving a 10% universal rate in place.
Meloni has gently chided the sweeping tariffs on the EU as “wrong,” but she’s been one of the voices urging the continental bloc not to impose retaliatory measures, insisting that a calm response focused on negotiations would bring a more constructive resolution.
The White House claims dozens of counties have come forward seeking to negotiate new trade agreements with the U.S., with Mr. Trump boasting that leaders were calling him and begging to strike deals to avoid the reimposition of the higher levies.
“We know we’re going through a difficult period, let’s see how it goes in the coming hours. I am feeling no pressure, as you can imagine, for my next two days,” Meloni said with a note of clear irony at an awards ceremony two days before her White House meeting. “I am aware of what I represent, and I am aware of what I am defending.”
Source : CBS News