Italy’s premier to meet next week with Trump

ROME

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni will travel to the US to talk tariffs with the US president on April 17, her office said Tuesday.

Meloni recently said Donald Trump's tariffs, which will be 20% for European Union countries like Italy, are a mistake, but warned that imposing countermeasures at the EU level could escalate a trade war.

She said she advocates negotiations with the US, as tariffs would severely hurt Italy, which has the third-largest trade surplus for goods in the EU, after Germany and Ireland.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Monday that the EU should consider postponing counter-tariffs on US imports of aluminum and steel set to take effect Wednesday.

The EU faces a 25% tariff on those two items and cars, and a broader 20% tariff on almost all other goods.

EU officials have agreed that the bloc should seek negotiations and strike a deal with the US, but a first set of retaliatory measures will likely be approved later this week.

ROME

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni will travel to the US to talk tariffs with the US president on April 17, her office said Tuesday.

She said she advocates negotiations with the US, as tariffs would severely hurt Italy, which has the third-largest trade surplus for goods in the EU, after Germany and Ireland.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Monday that the EU should consider postponing counter-tariffs on US imports of aluminum and steel set to take effect Wednesday.

The EU faces a 25% tariff on those two items and cars, and a broader 20% tariff on almost all other goods.

EU officials have agreed that the bloc should seek negotiations and strike a deal with the US, but a first set of retaliatory measures will likely be approved later this week.