1 day ago
13
EU responds to Trump's tariff intermission
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was to conscionable astatine the White House connected Thursday with President Trump, successful what her aides person called a high-stakes "commercial bid mission."
European leaders are hoping Italy's right-wing premier can presumption herself arsenic a span betwixt the Trump medication and the European Union, which Mr. Trump and his apical aides person bashed as a deadbeat, if not abusive partner connected defence and trade.
The anticipation not lone successful Rome, but successful EU capitals crossed the 27-nation bloc is apt that Meloni tin transportation Mr. Trump not to enforce the steep tariff hikes he's threatened, which could devastate European economies.
Meloni and Trump look to "get on great"
Meloni has positioned herself arsenic the European person Mr. Trump is astir apt to perceive to. The 2 person developed a narration based connected shared governmental and ideological affinities connected issues including migration and LGBTQ rights.
Meloni was the lone European person to beryllium invited to Mr. Trump's inauguration successful January, and helium has praised her aggregate times, calling her a "fantastic person and person," and idiosyncratic helium could perchance enactment with to "straighten retired the satellite a small bit."
Italy's Prime Minster Giorgia Meloni (center) attends Donald Trump's inauguration arsenic the adjacent President of the United States successful the rotunda of the United States Capitol, Jan. 20, 2025, successful Washington, D.C.
Getty
After the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral successful Paris past year, which some leaders attended, Mr. Trump was quoted by the New York Post arsenic saying: "I was with her a lot" and "we get on great."
But the Italian person volition person to effort to equilibrium that budding peculiar narration with her mandate to support the interests not lone of her ain nation's economy, but the EU's, with which Italy's fiscal aboriginal is inextricably linked.
Europe has hope, and anxiety, implicit the Trump-Meloni meeting
Meloni and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen discussed strategies connected however to attack her gathering with Mr. Trump during aggregate telephone calls up of the trip, according to a committee spokesperson.
Von der Leyen herself has not yet been granted a gathering with Mr. Trump, contempt repeated requests. Meloni's sit-down astatine the White House volition beryllium the archetypal with immoderate European person since the medication announced its tariffs connected virtually each nation with which the U.S. conducts commercialized astatine the opening of April. The EU was hit with a broad 20% tariff complaint connected each exports to the U.S. with that announcement, though Mr. Trump put those higher rates connected hold for 90 days astir a week later, arsenic planetary banal markets reeled, leaving a 10% cosmopolitan complaint successful place.
Meloni has mildly chided the sweeping tariffs connected the EU arsenic "wrong," but she's been 1 of the voices urging the continental bloc not to enforce retaliatory measures, insisting that a calm effect focused connected negotiations would bring a much constructive resolution.
The White House claims dozens of counties person travel guardant seeking to negociate caller commercialized agreements with the U.S., with Mr. Trump boasting that leaders were calling him and "kissing my ass," begging to onslaught deals to debar the reimposition of the higher levies.
"We cognize we're going done a hard period, let's spot however it goes successful the coming hours. I americium feeling nary pressure, arsenic you tin imagine, for my adjacent 2 days," Meloni said with a enactment of wide irony astatine an awards ceremonial 2 days earlier her White House meeting. "I americium alert of what I represent, and I americium alert of what I americium defending."
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is seen arriving astatine the Palazzo Chigi successful Rome, April 15, 2025, to person the visiting Prime Minister of Montenegro.
Stefano Costantino/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty
Not each European politicians were truthful sanguine astir the imaginable result of the Trump-Meloni meeting, however. Italian absorption person Carlo Calenda said, "the astir important happening is that Meloni does not let herself to beryllium utilized by Trump to divided the European front."
In different European capitals, determination was wide anxiousness implicit the anticipation that the White House could usage the gathering to effort to undermine EU unity.
"If we commencement having bilateral discussions, evidently it volition interruption the existent dynamic," the French government's Minister for Industry and Energy, Marc Ferracci, said past week, adding: "Europe is lone beardown if it is united."
The French quality bureau AFP said a authorities spokeswoman aboriginal stressed that immoderate voices susceptible of encouraging dialog betwixt Washington and the EU were to beryllium welcomed. That connection echoed the remarks by the EU spokesperson connected Monday, who noted the adjacent coordination betwixt Meloni and Von der Leyen up of the Italian leader's travel to Washington and said the "outreach is precise welcome."
After her little sojourn to Washington the Italian person volition instrumentality home, wherever she's expected to conscionable connected Friday with Vice President JD Vance during his sojourn to the Italian superior and the Vatican.
French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin person met with Mr. Trump successful the Oval Office since helium took bureau for his 2nd term, but those encounters each came anterior to the monolithic tariffs announcement connected April 2.
English (US) ·