Italy's Meloni will test her mettle as EU-US bridge when she meets Trump in Washington

MILAN – Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni volition trial her mettle arsenic a span betwixt the EU and the United States erstwhile she meets with U.S. President Donald Trump successful the White House connected Thursday, the archetypal European person to person a face-to-face with Trump since helium announced, and then suspended, 20% tariffs connected European exports.

Meloni secured the gathering astatine a captious juncture successful the commercialized warfare arsenic Italy’s leader, but she besides has, successful a sense, been “knighted” to correspond the European Union. She has been successful adjacent interaction with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen up of the trip, and "the outreach is … intimately coordinated," a committee spokeswoman said this week.

“We cognize we are successful a hard moment," Meloni said this week successful Rome. "Most certainly, I americium good alert of what I represent, and what I americium defending."

The European Union is defending what it calls “the astir important commercialized narration successful the world,’’ with yearly commercialized reaching 1.6 trillion euros ($1.8 trillion).

Trade negotiations autumn nether the European Commission’s authority, which is pushing for a zero-for-zero tariff woody with the U.S. However, Trump medication officials successful talks with the EU person yet to publically amusement signs of relenting connected Trump’s insistence that a baseline 10% tariff beryllium charged connected each overseas imports. He paused for 90 days a retaliatory summation to 20%.

The intermission has raised immoderate hopes for negotiations, and Meloni’s margins for advancement are much successful gaining clarity connected Trump's goals alternatively than outright concessions, experts say.

“It is simply a precise delicate mission,” said Fabian Zuleeg, main economist astatine the European Policy Center deliberation vessel successful Brussels. “There is the full commercialized agenda, and portion she’s not officially negotiating, we cognize that Trump likes to person this benignant of informal exchange, which successful a consciousness is simply a negotiation. So it’s a batch connected her plate."

As the person of a far-right party, Meloni is ideologically aligned with Trump connected issues including curbing migration, promoting accepted values and skepticism toward multilateral institutions. But stark differences person emerged successful Meloni’s unwavering enactment for Ukraine.

After being the lone European person to attend the Jan. 20 inauguration, Meloni has responded with studied restraint arsenic abrupt shifts successful U.S. argumentation nether Trump person frayed the trans-Atlantic alliance. She has denounced the tariffs arsenic "wrong" and warned that “dividing the West would beryllium disastrous for everyone,” aft Trump’s heated White House speech with Ukraine’s president.

“She has been precise cautious,’’ said Wolfango Piccoli, an expert astatine the London-based Teneo consultancy. “It is what we request erstwhile we person a counterpart that is changing each day.’’

Italy maintains a 40 cardinal euro commercialized surplus with the United States, its largest with immoderate country, fueled by Americans’ appetite for Italian sparkling wine, foodstuffs similar Parmigiano Reggiano hard food and Parma ham, and Italian luxury fashion. These are each sectors captious to the Italian economy, and mostly supported by small- and medium-sized producers who are halfway center-right voters.

“All successful all, I deliberation she volition absorption connected the precise beardown economical and commercialized relations that Italy has with the United States, not conscionable successful presumption of exports, but besides services and energy," said Antonio Villafranca, vice president of the ISPI deliberation vessel successful Milan. “For example, Italy could adjacent see importing much state from the U.S.”

The gathering comes against the backdrop of increasing concerns implicit planetary uncertainty generated by the escalating tariff wars. Italy’s maturation forecast for this twelvemonth has already been slashed from 1% to 0.5% arsenic a result.

Meloni is besides expected to code Trump's request for NATO partners to summation subject spending to 2% of gross home product. Italy’s spending, astatine 1.49% of GDP, is among the lowest successful Europe.

Experts cautioned, however, against raising expectations implicit immoderate factual progress.

“The champion strategy has been to beryllium precise circumspect: Get there, get the meeting, get the photograph opportunity,” Piccoli said. “If she is capable to travel back, and springiness a consciousness of however Washington wants to framework aboriginal relations connected trade, defence and Ukraine policy, that would beryllium a immense win."

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AP writers Lorne Cook successful Brussels and Josh Boak successful Washington contributed to this report.

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