Trump boasts about tariff profits as he says he's in 'no rush' to reach any trade deals in meeting with Italian PM
US President Donald Trump has said that he is in "no rush" to reach any trade deals because of the revenues his tariffs are generating.
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But he suggested while meeting with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni that it would be easy to find an agreement with the EU.
His administration has indicated that offers are coming from other countries and it is possible to do 90 deals during the 90-day tariff pause, but the president played down the likelihood of an accelerated timeline, saying any agreements would come "at a certain point".
"We're in no rush," Mr Trump said.
Ms Meloni's meeting with Trump will test her mettle as a bridge between the EU and the US. She is the first European leader to have face-to-face talks with him since he announced and then partially suspended 20% tariffs on European exports.
Ms Meloni secured the meeting as Italy's leader, but she also has, in a sense, been "knighted" to represent the EU at a critical juncture in the trade war.
She was in close contact with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen before the trip, and "the outreach is... closely coordinated," a commission spokeswoman said.
"We know we are in a difficult moment," Ms 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 reaching 1.6 trillion euros (£1.3 trillion).
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Trade negotiations fall under the authority of the commission, which is pushing for a zero-for-zero tariff deal with Washington.
Trump administration officials, in talks with the EU, have yet to publicly show signs of relenting on the president's insistence that a baseline 10% tariff be charged on all foreign imports.
Mr Trump paused for 90 days his initial 20% tax on EU products so that negotiations 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.
Mr Sefcovic said afterwards on X, formerly Twitter, that it would "require a significant joint effort on both sides" to get to zero tariffs and work on non-tariff trade barriers.
Ms 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 Centre 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, Ms Meloni is ideologically aligned with Mr Trump on issues including curbing migration, promoting traditional values and scepticism toward multilateral institutions.
But stark differences have emerged in Ms 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 post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.
Mr Trump is expected to press Ms 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, Ms Meloni is seen by some in the US administration as a vital bridge to Europe at a difficult moment for trans-Atlantic relations.
Mr Trump is looking not only to discuss with Ms 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.
After being the only European leader to attend Trump's January 20 inauguration, Ms Meloni has responded with studied restraint as abrupt shifts in US policy under Mr Trump have frayed the US-European alliance.
She has denounced the tariffs as "wrong" and warned that "dividing the West would be disastrous for everyone" after Mr Trump's heated White House exchange with Ukraine's president.
"She has been very cautious,'' said Wolfango Piccoli, an analyst at the London-based Teneo consultancy.
"It is what we need when we have a counterpart that is changing every day."
