Italy's Meloni Will Test Her Mettle As Eu-us Bridge When She Meets Trump In Washington

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni will test her mettle as a bridge between the EU and the United States when she meets with U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House on Thursday, the first European leader to have a face-to-face with Trump since he announced, and then suspended , 20 tariffs on European exports.

Meloni secured the meeting at a critical juncture in the trade war as Italy's leader, but she also has, in a sense, been "knighted" to represent the European Union. She has been in close contact with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ahead of the trip, and "the outreach is - closely coordinated," a commission spokeswoman said this week.

"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 European Union is defending what it calls "the most important commercial relationship in the world,'' with annual trade reaching 1.6 trillion euros 1.8 trillion.

Trade negotiations fall under the European Commission's authority, which is pushing for a zero-for-zero tariff deal with the U.S. However, Trump administration officials in talks with the EU have yet to publicly show signs of relenting on Trump's insistence that a baseline 10 tariff be charged on all foreign imports. He paused for 90 days a retaliatory increase to 20.