Giorgia Meloni will attempt to burnish her credentials as a possible bridge between the EU and the US during a high-stakes summit with Donald Trump in the White House on Thursday, the first European leader to meet the US president since he announced and then paused some of his planned trade tariff hikes.
Italy’s far-right prime minister, who has nurtured friendly relations with Trump, arrived in Washington on Wednesday night. The pair will have lunch at 12pm local time before the meeting in the Oval office, which will be attended by a pool of White House reporters and Italian journalists.
“As you can imagine, I’m feeling no pressure at all,” Meloni joked at an event in Rome this week. “It’s a difficult moment, let’s see how the situation develops, but let’s remember that we have the strength, ability and intelligence to overcome any obstacle.”
Trump imposed 20% tariffs on EU products before suspending them for 90 days. The EU is subject to a 10% tariff imposed across most countries around the world since 9 April.
Prior to leaving for Washington, Meloni discussed the summit with the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen. Germany’s outgoing chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and his successor, Friedrich Merz, also discussed the meeting with Meloni, according to reports in the German edition of Politico. Scholz failed to get a meeting with Trump while Merz’s request is reportedly pending.
Meloni has described Trump’s tariffs on EU goods as “wrong”, but the prime minister 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 Trump’s, and Italy’s role within the EU.
The meeting has provoked trepidation among some of Italy’s European allies as well as Meloni’s domestic opposition amid fears their closeness risks jeopardising the 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 tranquility 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, although 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 is also expected to address Trump’s demand that Nato partners increase military spending to 2% of GDP. Italy’s share is currently at 1.49%, among the lowest in Europe.
This will be Meloni’s third visit to the White House, with the two previous occasions taking place during Joe Biden’s administration.
Meloni will return to Rome in time to meet on Friday Trump’s deputy, JD Vance, whose blistering attack on Europe at the Munich Security Conference in February she has defended.
Vance will also meet Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, during his Easter weekend visit.
