U.S. President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni each expressed confidence on Thursday that the United States and Europe will be able to negotiate a trade deal before his 90-day pause on some tariffs ends.
The 27-nation European Union faces 25% import tariffs on steel, aluminum and cars, and broader tariffs on almost all other goods under Trump's policy to hit countries he says impose high barriers to U.S. imports.
Trump said he was 100% certain of an eventual trade deal with Europe, the most confidence he has expressed on those negotiations since rattling world markets with his tariff announcements.
"Of course, there will be a trade deal, very much. They want to make one very much. And we are going to make a trade deal. I fully expect it. And it will be a fair deal," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office after talks with Meloni, a close ally.
Meloni, positioning herself as an intermediary between the United States and Europe, was equally confident.
She noted, however, that she could not lock in a deal for the full EU but said frank discussions could help resolve trade disputes that have strained U.S.-European ties.
"I am sure we can make a deal, and I am here to help with that," she said.
Trump has offered to make trade deals with as many nations as possible to limit the impact of the tariffs. Asked about what countries were on his priority list, he said, "Everybody is on my priority list.” He also said he expected to make a trade deal with China.
While Trump is cool to many European leaders, he and Meloni, a 48-year-old conservative, have bonded. She was the only European Union leader invited to Trump's inauguration in January, and he praised her leadership during their visit on Thursday.
"Our relationship is great," Trump said.
After a lunch meeting, Trump and Meloni sat side by side in the Oval Office and fielded questions during a lengthy session.
They both talked up their tough stances against diversity and inclusion policies, as well as migration. Meloni, who will host Vice President JD Vance in Rome on Friday, said Trump had accepted her invitation to visit Italy in the near future.
Trump enjoyed Meloni's long answer in Italian to a question that he declared "that was so beautiful" and insisted on hearing the translation.
Trump's move to pause most global tariffs for 90 days last week eased some pressure on Meloni's visit.
She is walking a tightrope between her ideological affinity with the president and her ties with European allies, who have criticized Trump's tariff hikes and his decision to exclude the EU from talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
Meloni is facing pressure at home to protect Italy's export-driven economy, which last year ran a 40 billion euro ($45.4 billion) trade surplus with the U.S.
But she must also be seen as defending the interests of the whole 27-nation EU bloc.
Meloni told reporters she expected Italy would announce at the next NATO meeting in June that her country would be able to reach the alliance requirement that each member nation spend 2% of its gross domestic product on defense spending.
Highly indebted Italy's projected defense budget for 2024 was 1.49% of GDP, NATO figures show, below the military alliance's current 2% target that Trump wants raised to 5%.
