President Donald Trump said Thursday he is in “no rush” to reach any trade deals because he views tariffs as making the United States wealthy. But he suggested while meeting with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni that it would be easy to find an agreement with the European Union and others.
Trump played down the likelihood of an accelerated timeline to wrap up deals, saying other countries “want to make deals more than I do.”
“We’re in no rush,” said Trump, hinting he has leverage because other countries want access to U.S. consumers.
Even though Trump has a warm relationship with Meloni, she was unable in their meeting to change his mind on tariffs.
“No, tariffs are making us rich. We were losing a lot of money under Biden,” Trump said of his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden. “And now that whole tide is turned.”
Trump is convinced that his devotion to tariffs will yield unprecedented wealth for his country even as the stock market has dropped, interest on U.S. debt has risen and CEOs are warning of price increases and job losses in what increasingly looks like a threat to the existing structure of the world economy.
A bond market panic was enough for Trump to partially pull back on his tariffs, causing him to pause his 20% import taxes on the EU for 90 days and charge a baseline 10% instead. Meloni’s visit showed the challenge even leaders who enjoy a rapport with Trump.
Meloni had, in a sense, been “knighted” to represent the EU at a critical juncture in the fast-evolving trade war that has stoked recession fears. The U.S. administration has belittled its European counterparts for not doing enough on national security while threatening their economies with tariffs, sparking deep uncertainty about the future of the trans-Atlantic alliance.
She sought to portray the U.S. and Europe as natural allies in Western civilization and said it was important to “try to sit down and find solution” to tensions over trade and national security.
“The goal for me is to make the West great again,” Meloni told Trump.
The EU is defending what it calls “the most important commercial relationship in the world,’’ with annual trade with the U.S. totaling 1.6 trillion euros ($1.8 trillion). It was unclear, based on Meloni’s public interactions with Trump, whether the premier has a clear understanding of what Trump wants as part of an agreement.
His administration has said its tariffs would enable trade negotiations that would box out China, the world’s dominant manufacturer. But Trump maintains that rivals and allies alike have taken advantage of the U.S. on trade, a position that has frustrated long-standing partners and raised concerns about whether Trump is a trustworthy dealmaker.
Trump tried to push back against claims that his tariffs are harming the economy, saying that gasoline and egg prices are already dropping. The president blamed the Federal Reserve for interest rates rising on U.S. debt. Rates largely increased because investors were worried about Trump’s tariff plans and they became less willing to buy Treasury notes, while the central bank has held steady on its own benchmark rates because of economic uncertainty.
“We have very little inflation,” Trump said. “I would say we have essentially no inflation.”
The EU has already engaged with Trump administration officials in Washington. Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commissioner for trade and economic security, said he met on Monday with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Šefčovič said afterward on X that it would “require a significant joint effort on both sides” to get to zero tariffs and work on nontariff trade barriers, with Trump’s team specifically objecting to Europe’s use of value added taxes.
As the head of a far-right party, Meloni is ideologically aligned with Trump on issues including curbing migration, promoting traditional values and skepticism toward multilateral institutions. But stark differences have emerged in Meloni’s unwavering support for Ukraine after Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
The two leaders discussed the war and Italy’s role in an eventual postwar reconstruction of Ukraine. Trump has previously pressed Meloni to increase Italy’s defense spending, which last year fell well below the 2% of gross domestic product target for countries in the NATO military alliance. Italy’s spending, at 1.49% of its gross domestic product, is among the lowest in Europe.
“We didn’t speak about how much that percentage would be increased, even though we are truly aware that the theme of defense is particularly important,” Meloni said.
Despite the differences on Ukraine and defense spending, Meloni is seen by some in the U.S. administration as a vital bridge to Europe.
She was the only European leader to attend Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration and she has responded with restraint as shifts in U.S. policy under Trump have frayed the U.S.-European alliance. Meloni has denounced the tariffs as “wrong” and warned that “dividing the West would be disastrous for everyone,” after Trump’s heated White House exchange with Ukraine’s president.
Italy maintains a 40 billion euro ($45 billion) trade surplus with the U.S., its largest with any country, fueled by Americans’ appetite for Italian sparkling wine, foodstuffs like Parmigiano Reggiano hard cheese and Parma ham, and Italian luxury fashion. These are all sectors critical to the Italian economy, and mostly supported by small- and medium-sized producers who are core center-right voters.
The meeting comes against the backdrop of growing concerns over global uncertainty generated by the escalating tariff wars. Italy’s growth forecast for this year has already been slashed from 1% to 0.5% as a result.
The White House has imposed tariffs on much of the world, arguing that other countries have taken advantage of the U.S., as evidenced by its trade deficits. But with the 90-day pause, it increased Trump’s tariffs on China to 145% while keep separate ones as much as 25% on Canada, Mexico, autos, steel and aluminum.
On Wednesday, Trump met with Japan’s chief trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa. Trump, on social media, summarized the meeting as achieving “Big progress!” but he did not offer any specifics.
China is simultaneously seeking to strike deals that could possibly undercut claims made by Trump that his tariffs will ultimately lead to more domestic factory jobs and stronger growth.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday the administration is working on the “big 15 economies” first when it comes to trade deals. He said South Korean officials will visit Washington next week.
Associated Press writers Lorne Cook in Brussels and Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.
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