Meloni moves to stop the tariff war and leaps towards a positive relationship with Trump
Rachel Campos-Duffy, co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekend,” talks about an interview with President Donald Trump on “Varney & Co.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is expected to meet with the president Donald Trump On Thursday, in a move to ease tensions and play an intermediary between the White House and the European Union, amid the tariffs the president has collected against the bloc.
Trump called Meloni “a fantastic leader and person,” and the Italian prime minister was one of the few international leaders to attend. January appointment.
However, the Italian leader is thought to have more in her mind than maintaining a positive relationship with Trump. She is trying to lead the fees when she protects EU economy.

President Donald Trump will then meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on January 4, 2025 at Mar Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. (Italian government via Reuters/handouts)
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“I think Europeans see this as an opportunity, not a pitfall. Meloni is fully erected to serve as a transatlantic bridge between Brussels and Washington,” Peter Ruff, senior fellow and director of the Hudson Institute’s European and Eurasian Centre, told Fox News Digital.
“She has a good relationship with Ursula von der Reyen, president of the (European Union) Commission. Given their mutual national conservatism, she is naturally suited to Trump,” he added.
Until July, the EU had to reverse the 20% “mutual tariff” course issued on the “liberation date” on April 2nd, and suspended one week later 90 days later. Global Fallout.
However, the EU is subject to a 10% baseline tariff that Trump has hit all trading partners, and a 25% tariff on steel, aluminum and vehicles.
These tariffs are not welcome, but were not a complete shock to international leaders as Trump pledged to enact tariffs that would be cleaned up in the campaign trail. It was reportedly proposed Zero-to-zero tariffs will be addressed with Washington in a move to stop the president from enacting tariffs.
The White House did not answer Fox News Digital’s questions about why the president didn’t accept the contract, instead proceeding with what he called “mutual tariffs.”

President Donald Trump holds the “mutual tariffs” chart as he speaks at the trade announcement event at the White House on April 2, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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However, Meloni is expected to promote this proposal as he is under pressure to balance Italy’s position as a member of the EU and maintain a strong historic connection with the United States. She faces internal pressure due to the consequences of the trade war with the US on her country’s economy.
The US became Italy’s number one non-EU export market, worth $76 billion in 2024, but Rome imported only $32 billion from the US that year. Government Trade Datacontributes to what Trump has categorized as “unfair” trading practices.

President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (Getty Images)
Italy is the EU’s third largest exporter to the US, behind Germany and Ireland. Meloni means that, especially as some industries Washington is targeting in its tariff war, are facing great internal pressure to capitalize on good relations with Trump before Italians begin to feel real economic pain. Food exports such as cheese and wine.
“She has carefully chosen words since the president made the tariff announcement two weeks ago, rather than succumbing to historionics and burning bridges at the White House,” Raff said. “I don’t know if she’ll succeed this week, but if anyone can do that, it’s probably Meloni. She’s building a lot of credibility.”
Other EU leaders, Ireland’s Prime Ministertravelled in the same way as the US to meet Trump, but it wasn’t enough to stop Trump’s 20% blanket tariffs announced this month.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, left, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Reyen (Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)
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but, The report shows Some EU leaders maintain that they expect Meloni to be the tide-turning person.
However, the EU does not put all eggs in a meati basket. Earlier this week, EU Trade Chairman Marossivchovich met with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Social Media Posts The EU is still committed to finding a “mutual solution to unfair tariffs.”
“The EU is constructive and remains ready for fair transactions, including interaction through 0-0 tariff offers on industrial products and non-tariff barriers,” he writes. “It takes a lot of joint effort on both sides to achieve this.”
Meloni’s office didn’t immediately answer Fox News Digital’s question about whether to consider deals between Italy and the US rather than tackling the entire EU deal.