Duties, Trump "gifts" Meloni a key role in tariff negotiations. The Prime Minister is already working as a "bridge bridge" to seek a US-EU agreement
Donald Trump and Georgia Meloni
Indirectly, Donald Trump has done a great, enormous favor to Giorgia Meloni . The US president has made a proposal on duties to the European Union that is difficult to digest for the 27 countries of the Old Continent. The tycoon has announced that he wants to find an agreement and that he is also available for an extension, but his requests have shaken the EU chancelleries. The announcement was made by the president of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen , inviting the leaders present at the European Council to reflect and evaluate what to do.
But from what we understand, it is not exactly an olive branch that arrived from the US president. Not only does a minimum threshold of 10% of duties on European products appear inevitable, but also a greater purchase of LNG and critical materials is requested, including nuclear fuel. The leaders - starting with the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa , and the current President of the EU, the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk - rely on Von der Leyen, to whom they express "full confidence" in the work of negotiations.
The main point is the division between France and Germany , the two main EU nations. Emmanuel Macron is very tough on Washington while Friedrich Merz is decidedly more open to confrontation and dialogue with the White House. And this is where the Prime Minister comes into play. The "special" relationship between Meloni and Trump , as was also seen during the dinner at the recent NATO summit (sitting at the same table) which led to advantageous conditions for Italy on military spending at 5% of GDP by 2035, allow the leader of Fratelli d'Italia to relaunch the role of ' bridge-maker ' between the two sides of the Atlantic.
And the rift between Paris and Berlin, historically united in that often anti-Rome axis, gives the Prime Minister even more room for maneuver . It is quite clear that officially it will be up to Von der Leyen to negotiate with Trump in view of the July 9 deadline for the suspension of duties, but behind the scenes Meloni is already working - as authoritative sources from the majority and government explain - to smooth out the rough edges and seek the best possible agreement .
It is known that the tycoon , as we have seen with China, Canada, Mexico and other nations, shoots high and then comes down to negotiations and more moderate advice, also given the weakening of the dollar and the increase in yields on ten-year US bonds which certainly do not help the United States . Meloni, always well advised by her sister Arianna, has as her primary objective the national interest and not the European one, but in this case obtaining a fair agreement with the entire Union is also convenient for our country , especially considering the very strong interconnection of our economy with the German one.
Perhaps it is excessive to say that at Palazzo Chigi they are toasting the tycoon 's " heavy " proposals on tariffs, but they are giving Meloni a highway as a 'bridge' role with Trump . And this puts Italy, the government and the prime minister herself back at the centre of the international political scene. After military spending at 5% and the Israel-Iran conflict (on which however the executive remained on the sidelines with a wise and considered choice), Meloni returns to being a protagonist in the trade war and in the US-EU negotiations on tariffs .
Affari Italiani
