Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday amid a tense trade standoff with the European Union over tariffs.
Meloni’s visit to Washington makes her the first European leader to meet the president since he announced tariffs on European imports earlier this month.
Trump is a fan of Meloni, the leader of the right-wing populist Brothers of Italy party — one that has risen in prominence along with a tide of other similar populist parties in Europe. He described her as a “fantastic woman” who was “really taking Europe by storm” when they met in Mar-a-Lago in January.
But that rapport — and Meloni’s diplomatic skills — will be put to the test on Thursday, as the leaders meet amid wider concerns of full-blown trade war between the U.S. and the bloc.
In early April, Trump announced a 20% “reciprocal” tariff on all imported goods from the EU as part of his wide-reaching global trade tariffs policy. He has since reduced the duty to 10% for 90 days, allowing for negotiations to take place to try to find a trade deal.
The EU in turn paused its retaliatory 25% tariffs targeting 21 billion euros’ ($23.8 billion) worth of U.S. exports. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen commented last week that the EU wants “to give negotiations a chance” but should talks not prove satisfactory, EU countermeasures will kick in.
The EU will be watching Meloni’s meeting with Trump carefully, hopeful that she could aid talks to find a compromise to resolve what Trump sees as an unfair and unbalanced trading relationship due to the EU’s persistent trade surplus with the U.S.
