US President Donald Trump said he is “in no rush” to make any trade deals because of the revenue his tariffs generate.
However, at a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, he suggested it would be easy to find an agreement with the European Union and other countries.
Mr Trump played down the likelihood of speeding up the deal deadline, saying any agreements would be reached “at some point”.
“We're in no hurry,” the president said, hinting that he has leverage as other countries seek access to American consumers.
Mr Trump later said: “We have a lot of countries that want to make a deal. Frankly, they want to make deals more than I do.”
Ms Meloni's meeting with Mr Trump was a test of her abilities as a bridge between the EU and the United States.
She became the first European leader to hold face-to-face talks with Trump since he announced and then partially lifted 20 percent tariffs on European exports.
Ms Meloni secured her place at the meeting as Italy's leader, but she was also, in a sense, “knighted” to represent the EU at a critical moment in a fast-moving trade war that is fuelling fears of recession.
The Trump administration has belittled its European counterparts for not doing enough on national security while threatening their economies with tariffs, creating deep uncertainty about the future of the transatlantic alliance.
The Italian prime minister sought to portray the US and Europe as natural allies of Western civilisation and said it was important to “try to sit down and find solutions” to tensions over trade and national security.
“My goal is to make the West great again,” Ms. Meloni told Mr. Trump.
The EU defends what it calls “the most important trading relationship in the world”, with annual trade with the US worth €1.6 trillion (£1.3 trillion).
The Trump administration has said its tariffs will enable trade talks that will displace China, the world's leading manufacturer.
But Mr Trump argues that both rivals and allies have taken advantage of US trade advantages.
Mr Trump has sought to counter claims that his tariffs are hurting the economy, saying fuel and egg prices are falling.
The president blamed the Federal Reserve for the rise in interest rates on U.S. government debt, even though rates have risen largely because investors worried about Trump's tariff plans made them less willing to buy Treasuries.
Mr Trump said of US inflation and the population: “They've already seen it get a lot better.”
For European countries, trade negotiations fall under the purview of the European Commission, which is seeking a zero-tariff agreement with Washington.
Administration officials negotiating with the EU have yet to publicly soften the president's 10% base tariff.
Mr Trump suspended his initial 20 per cent tax on EU products for 90 days to allow negotiations to begin.
The EU has already engaged with Trump administration officials in Washington.
Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, said he met with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Monday.
Mr Sefcovic later said on his Twitter account that “it will take a significant joint effort from both sides” to achieve zero tariffs and work on non-tariff trade barriers.
Experts say Ms. Meloni's chances of making progress lie more in clarifying the Republican president's goals than in making outright concessions.
“This is a very delicate mission,” said Fabian Zuleg, chief economist at the European Policy Centre think tank in Brussels.
“There's a whole trade agenda, and while she's not formally negotiating, we know that Trump likes to have these kinds of informal exchanges that are, in a sense, negotiations. So she's got a lot on her plate.”
As the leader of a far-right party, Ms. Meloni is ideologically aligned with Mr. Trump on issues such as restricting migration, promoting traditional values and skepticism about multilateral institutions.
However, after Russia's invasion in February 2022, Ms. Meloni's staunch support for Ukraine became deeply divided.
The two leaders are expected to discuss the war and Italy's role in Ukraine's post-war reconstruction.
Mr Trump is expected to pressure Ms Meloni to increase Italy's defence spending, which fell well below the 2 per cent of gross domestic product target for NATO military alliance countries last year.
Italy's spending is 1.49% of GDP, among the lowest in Europe.
Despite differences over Ukraine and defense spending, some U.S. administration officials see Ms. Meloni as an important link to Europe at a difficult time for transatlantic relations.
Mr Trump intends to discuss with Ms Meloni not only “how we can open up the Italian market, but how they can help us with the rest of Europe,” according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters ahead of the visit.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with White House ground rules.
The only European leader to attend Mr Trump's inauguration on January 20, Ms Meloni responded with studied restraint as abrupt changes in US policy under Mr Trump have undermined the US-European alliance.
She denounced the tariffs as “wrong” and warned that “dividing the West would be disastrous for everyone” after Trump's heated White House exchange with the Ukrainian president.
“She was very careful,” said Wolfango Piccoli, an analyst at London-based consultancy Teneo.
“This is what we need when our partner changes every day.”
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that the administration is prioritizing working with the “largest 15 economies” when it comes to trade deals.
He said South Korean officials would visit Washington next week.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
