Italy’s Meloni Visits Washington for Tariff Talks with Trump

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is expected to meet with President Donald Trump on Thursday in a move to ease tensions and play intermediary between the White House and the European Union amid the litany of tariffs the president has levied against the bloc.

Trump has referred to Meloni as a "fantastic leader and person," and the Italian prime minister was one of the few international leaders to attend his January inauguration.

But the Italian leader is believed to have more on her mind than maintaining positive relations with Trump. She is looking to lead the charge in protecting the EU’s economy.

"I think the Europeans see this as an opportunity, not a pitfall. Meloni is perfectly positioned to serve as a transatlantic bridge between Brussels and Washington," Peter Rough, senior fellow and director for the Center on Europe and Eurasia with the Hudson Institute, told Fox News Digital.

"She has good relations with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the [European Union] Commission and is a natural fit for Trump, given their mutual national conservatism," he added.

The EU has until July to convince the president to reverse course on his 20% "reciprocal tariffs" he issued on the April 2 "Liberation Day," which he paused one week later for 90 days after global fallout.

But the EU is still subject to the 10% baseline tariffs Trump hit all trading partners with, as well as the 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum and vehicles.

Those tariffs, though unwelcome, were not a complete shock to international leaders as Trump had pledged to enact sweeping tariffs while on the campaign trail, and in the weeks leading up to April 2, EU leaders reportedly proposed a zero-to-zero tariffs deal with Washington in a move to stop the president from enacting the tariffs.

But Meloni is expected to push this proposal as she is under pressure to not only balance Italy’s position as a member of the EU and preserve its strong historical ties to the U.S., she also faces internal pressure due to the consequences a trade war with the U.S. would have on her country's economy.

The U.S. has become Italy’s No. 1 non-EU export market, valued at $76 billion in 2024, though Rome only imported $32 billion from the U.S. that same year, according to government trade data, contributing to what Trump has classified as "unfair" trading practices.

Italy is the EU’s third-largest exporter to the U.S. behind Germany and Ireland, which means Meloni is facing significant internal pressure to leverage her good relations with Trump before Italians start to feel real economic pains, particularly as several industries that Washington has targeted in its tariff war are pursuant to U.S. exports like machinery, pharmaceuticals, textiles and food exports like cheese and wine.

"Rather than succumbing to histrionics or burning bridges with the White House, she has chosen her words carefully since the president made his tariff announcement two weeks ago," Rough said. "I don’t know if she’ll prove successful this week, but if anyone can do it, it’s probably Meloni. She’s got a lot of credibility built up."

Other EU leaders, like the prime minister of Ireland, have made similar journeys to the U.S. to meet with Trump, though it was not enough to stave off the 20% blanket tariff Trump announced this month.

However, reports indicate that some EU leaders remain hopeful that Meloni will be the one to turn the tide.

But the EU isn’t putting all its eggs in the Meloni basket. Earlier this week, EU Commissioner for Trade Maros Šefčovič met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and said in a social media post that the EU remains committed to finding a "mutual solution to unjustified tariffs."

"The EU remains constructive and ready for a fair deal – including reciprocity through our 0-for-0 tariff offer on industrial goods and the work on non-tariff barriers," he wrote. "Achieving this will require a significant joint effort on both sides."