Washington – President Donald Trump said on Thursday that “there is no rush” to achieve any trade agreements because he considers the tariffs as wealthy in the United States. But he suggested during a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Melons that it would be basic to find an agreement with the European Union and others.
Trump has reduced the likelihood of an accelerated time axis to finish the offers, saying that other countries “want to include more offers than me.”
“We are not in a hurry,” Trump said, suggesting that he has a lever because other countries want access to American consumers.
Although Trump has a sultry relationship with hat, she was unable to meet them to change his mind at the tariffs.
“No, the tariffs make us rich. We lost a lot of money under biden,” said Trump about our predecessor, Democratie Joe Biden. “And now the whole tide is inverted.”
Trump is convinced that his devotion to the tariff will bring an unprecedented wealth to his country, even when the stock market has fallen, the interest of the US debt increased, and general directors warn about price increases and loss of work in what looks more and more like a threat to the existing structure of the world economy.
The panic of the bond market was enough for Trump partly go back to his tariffscausing that it stops 20% of import taxes in the EU for 90 days and instead burden on the output of 10%. Meloni’s visit showed the challenge of even leaders who like contact with Trump.
»Read more: Trump’s tariffs “very likely” to raise prices, Fed Chief warns.
In a sense, Melons became a “knight” to represent the EU at a critical moment in a rapidly developing trade war, which caused the recession’s fears. The US administration humiliated its European counterparts for not doing enough in the field of national security, while threatening their tariffs, causing deep uncertainty about the future of the transatlantic alliance.
She tried to present the US and Europe as natural allies in Western civilization and said that it is significant to “try to sit and find a solution” tensions over trade and national security.
“The goal for me is to re -make the West a great one,” said Meloni Trump.
The EU defends what he calls “the most important commercial relations in the world”, with an annual trade from the US with a total value of EUR 1.6 trillion ($ 1.8 trillion). It was not clear, based on public interactions of tellets with Trump, regardless of whether the premiere has a clear understanding of what Trump wants under the agreement.
»Read more: After 100 years of selling fabric, this business in northern freedoms is worried that he will not survive Trump’s tariffs to China
His administration stated that her tariffs would enable commercial negotiations that will be solved by China, the dominant producer in the world. But Trump maintains that both rivals and allies took advantage of the US in trade, a position that frustrated long -lasting partners and aroused concerns about whether Trump is a trustworthy trades.
Trump tried to take a break from the claims that his tariffs were harmful to the economy, saying that gas and egg prices are already falling. The president blamed the federal reserve for the augment in interest rates in the US debt. The rates have largely increased because investors were worried about Trump’s tariff plans and became less likely to buy tax banknotes, while the central bank maintained stable reference rates due to economic uncertainty.
“We have very little inflation,” said Trump. “I would say that we don’t have inflation basically.”
The EU has already got involved with Trump administration officials in Washington. Maroš Šefčovič, a European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, said that he met on Monday with the Secretary of Trade Howard Lutnick and a representative of US trade Jamieson Greer. Šefčovič later said on X that “it would require a significant effort on both sides” to get to zero tariffs and work on trade barriers, and Trump’s team opposes the operate of value added taxes by Europe.
As the head of the far -right party, Melons is ideologically adapted to Trump in matters, including migration limiting, promoting classic values and skepticism towards multilateral institutions. But there were clear differences Unwavering melony support for Ukraine After the invasion of Russia in February 2022.
Two leaders discussed the war and the role of Italy in the possible post -war reconstruction of Ukraine. Trump had previously pressed the telons to augment the expenditure on the defense of Italy, which last year dropped far below 2% of the target gross domestic product for countries in NATO military alliance. Italy’s expenses, at 1.49% of their gross domestic product, belong to the lowest in Europe.
“We did not talk about how much this percentage would be increased, even though we are really aware that the topic of defense is particularly important,” said Melons.
Despite the differences in expenses for Ukraine and defense, Melons is perceived by some in the US administration as an significant bridge to Europe.
She was the only European leader Take part in the inauguration of Trump on January 20 And she responded with a limit, because the changes in American policy as part of Trump frayed the US-European alliance. Melons condemned the tariffs as “bad” and warned that “the division of the West would be catastrophic for everyone” after the scorching replacement of Trump of the White House with the President of Ukraine.
Italy maintains a trade surplus worth EUR 40 billion ($ 45 billion) from the US Italian sparkling wineFoodsuffs such as Parmigiano Reggiano Hard Cheese and Parma Szyn, and Italian luxury fashion. These are all key sectors for the Italian economy, and mainly supported by compact and medium -sized producers who are the main right voters.
The meeting takes place against the background of growing fears related to global uncertainty generated by the escalation tariff wars. As a result, the growth forecast this year has already been reduced from 1% to 0.5%.
The White House imposed tariffs on most of the world, arguing that other countries have benefited from the USA, as evidenced by its trading deficits. But with a 90-day pause, he increased Trump’s tariff to China to 145%, while keeping separate, even 25% in Canada, Mexico, Auto, Steel and Aluminum.
On Wednesday, Trump met with the main commercial negotiator of Japan, Ryosei Akazawa. Trump in social media summed up the meeting as “great progress!” But he didn’t offer any details.
China at the same time try to conclude contracts that could cut Trump’s claims that his tariffs will ultimately lead to more national jobs in the factory and stronger growth.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday that the administration was first working on “large 15 economies” when it comes to trade agreements. He said that officials from South Korea would visit Washington next week.
