Italy backs Brussels in tariff showdown
Italy is fully behind the European Commission as it prepares its response to US President Donald Trump's tariffs and negotiates to avert a trade war, Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said.
"We must work to avoid a trade war, which would be disastrous for the US and our companies," Tajani said on the way into a European Trade Council meeting.
"We have to negotiate, the EU has to negotiate united.
"Italy will support all the initiatives of (Trade) Commissioner (Maros) Sefcovic, in whom we have extreme trust".
Forza Italia leader Tajani reiterated that the Italian government has no intention of putting the European Commission "in difficulty", CE Report quotes ANSA.
There is speculation that Premier Giorgia Meloni may flight out to Washington soon to meet Trump, with whom she has friendly relations, at the White House and seek to act as a 'bridge' between the US administration and Brussels.
On Monday, Meloni held a meeting of her "taskforce" of senior ministers whose briefs are affected by the tariffs, including Tajani and her other deputy premier, Transport Minister and League leader Matteo Salvini.
The premier has said she will call on the EU to revise the Green Deal and suspend the measures regarding the auto sector in the light of the tariffs.
