Meloni Averts Full-Scale Trade War with Trump by Plucking Chords of ‘Western Nationalism’

On 17 April 2025, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni met with US President Trump at the White House in Washington DC. Meloni was the only European leader invited to Trump’s inauguration and carried the moniker of ‘Trump’s whisperer’ due to her apparent ability to talk and convince Trump where others may have failed.

As usual, both leaders had a fireside chat with the media. For starters, Meloni confirmed her support for Trump’s motto to ‘Make America Great Again’ (#MAGA). “The goal for me is to make the West great again. And, I think we can do it together,” as she concurred with Trump.

Previously, Trump went so far as to say that the old continent has been taking advantage of the US and is not contributing its fair share to #NATO. To that, Meloni agreed to raise its contribution to 2% of #GDP, which is more than before but still some ways from Trump’s target of 5%.

When the question of the Ukraine-Russia conflict was evoked, a rift seemed to appear between the two. Italy and the EU are backing Ukraine as they fear Russian expansion onto their doorsteps. Trump did mention that he wanted to end the war, but it seems easier said than done.

In preparation for her visit to Washington, Meloni coordinated closely with EC President Ursula von der Leyen. The aim was to see how to secure a relief from the heavy #tariffs that Trump plans to slap onto the EU after the 90-day reprieve.

It is worth noting that Italy enjoys a USD 45 billion trade surplus with the US. In order to have a more balanced trade, Meloni pledged to import more #LNG from the US. In addition, Meloni agreed to encourage more Italian companies to invest in the US.

An outright trade war between the US and EU may well have been averted, and the atmosphere of the meeting was generally friendly. At the end, Meloni invited Trump to visit Rome and meet with other European leaders, suggesting further negotiations in the pipeline.