‘The goal for me is to make the West great again,’ says Meloni at White House

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni meets with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday amid optimism that an EU-US trade deal could be worked out over the Republican’s market-shaking tariffs. Meloni flattered the US leader in their meeting, saying “the goal for me is to make the West great again”, echoing Trump’s campaign slogan.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is the first European leader to have a face-to-face with President Donald Trump since he announced, and then suspended, 20% tariffs on European exports.

While she meets with Trump in her capacity as Italy’s premier, she’s also, in a sense, been “knighted” to represent the European Union at a critical juncture in the fast-evolving trade war.

The Trump 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.

“We know we are in a difficult moment,” Meloni said this week in Rome. “Most certainly, I am well aware of what I represent, and what I am defending.”

The EU is defending what it calls “the most important commercial relationship in the world”, with annual trade with the US totaling 1.6 trillion euros ($1.8 trillion). The Trump 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 US on trade.

Instead of being the responsibility of individual member states, trade negotiations fall under the authority of the EU Commission, which is pushing for a zero-for-zero tariff deal with Washington.

Administration officials, in talks with the EU, have yet to publicly relent on the president’s baseline 10% tariff. Trump paused for 90 days his initial 20% tax on EU products so that talks could occur.

The EU has already engaged with Trump administration officials in Washington. Maros Sefcovic, the European Commissioner for trade and economic security, said he met on Monday with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

Sefcovic said afterward on X that it would “require a significant joint effort on both sides” to get to zero tariffs and work on non-tariff trade barriers, with Trump’s team specifically objecting to Europe’s use of value added taxes.

Meloni’s margins for progress are more in gaining clarity on the Republican president’s goals rather than outright concessions, experts say.

“It is a very delicate mission,” said Fabian Zuleeg, chief economist at the European Policy Center think tank in Brussels. “There is the whole trade agenda, and while she’s not officially negotiating, we know that Trump likes to have this kind of informal exchange, which in a sense is a negotiation. So it’s a lot on her plate.”

As the leader of a far-right party, Meloni is ideologically aligned with Trump on issues including curbing migration, promoting traditional values and scepticism towards multilateral institutions. But stark differences have emerged in Meloni’s unwavering support for Ukraine after Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

The two leaders are expected to discuss the war and Italy’s role in an eventual postwar reconstruction of Ukraine. Trump is expected to press Meloni to increase Italy’s defence 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 GDP, is among the lowest in Europe.

Despite the differences on Ukraine and defence spending, Meloni is seen by some in the US administration as a vital bridge to Europe at a difficult moment for trans-Atlantic relations.

Trump is looking not only to discuss with Meloni how “Italy’s marketplace can be opened up, but also how they can help us with the rest of Europe”, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters before the visit. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.