Giorgia Meloni said Donald Trump had accepted her invitation for an official trip to Rome, as the pair met in Washington in an attempt by the Italian prime minister to bridge the gap between the European Union and United States amid trade tariff tensions.
Ms Meloni said Trump’s trip could happen “in the near future” and could present an opportunity for him to meet other European leaders.
“The goal for me is to make the West great again,” Ms Meloni said.
Mr Trump opened the summit in the Oval Office on Thursday by saying Ms Meloni was “doing a fantastic job” and had “taken Europe by storm”, adding that she “has become a friend”.
Mr Trump and Ms Meloni had earlier expressed optimism about resolving the EU-US trade conflict. The EU faces 25 per cent import tariffs on steel and aluminium and cars, and broader tariffs on almost all other goods, under Mr Trump’s policy to hit countries he says impose high barriers to US imports.
“I am sure we can make a deal and I am here to help with that,” Ms Meloni said before the summit.
Mr Trump said that broadly speaking he expected he would make an announcement about trade deals but he was in no rush. “We’re going to have very little problem making a deal with Europe or anybody else, because we have something that everybody wants,” Mr Trump said.
Before leaving for Washington, Ms Meloni discussed the summit with the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
[ Trump puts Giorgia Meloni in an awkward spotOpens in new window ]
Germany’s outgoing chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and his successor, Friedrich Merz, also discussed the meeting with Ms Meloni, according to reports in the German edition of Politico. Mr Scholz failed to get a meeting with Mr Trump and Mr Merz’s request is reportedly pending.
Ms Meloni had previously described Mr Trump’s tariffs on EU goods as “wrong” but she appears to be taking a more cautious approach as she manages a delicate balancing act between her political ideals, which are more in tune with Mr Trump’s, and Italy’s role within the EU.
The meeting provoked trepidation among some of Italy’s European allies as well as Ms Meloni’s domestic opposition amid fears their closeness risks jeopardising the bloc’s unified approach to the tariffs and other issues.
Enrico Borghi, a politician with the centrist Italia Viva party, told a TV talk show: “The advice from the opposition is that the prime minister returns home with reopened negotiations between the US and EU that will guarantee a framework of relative tranquillity to our economic and productive system, which has been weakened by what is a real trade war.”
Italy is the third-largest exporter to the US from the EU. Ms Meloni’s office denied she would seek special tariff exemptions on Italian products. Italy has strong economic ties with the US that go beyond exports, including foreign direct investments.
The summit was expected to address Mr Trump’s demand that Nato partners increase military spending to 2 per cent of GDP. Italy is at 1.49 per cent, among the lowest in Europe.
It was Ms Meloni’s third visit to the White House, with the two previous occasions taking place during Joe Biden’s administration.
She will return to Rome in time to meet on Friday Trump’s vice-president, JD Vance, whose blistering attack on Europe at the Munich Security Conference in February she has defended.
Mr Vance will also meet Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, during his Easter weekend visit. – Guardian
