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Meloni, the leader of the post-fascist Brothers of Italy party, said on Saturday that she felt it was her responsibility to defend transatlantic unity and rebuild it if necessary.
Italy's Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, has called for a "reasoned" approach to an escalating tariff war between the EU and the US and reiterated the importance of transatlantic unity.
US President Donald Trump has announced sweeping tariffs on his country's allies and adversaries, including a 25% tax on car imports starting next week and a 200% tariff on champagne, wine and other alcoholic beverages from the EU.
The assignments come amid tensions over defense, with Trump's moves toward Russia over the war in Ukraine raising concerns among EU leaders about Washington's commitment to the continent's security.
Meloni, the leader of the post-fascist Brothers of Italy party, said on Saturday that she felt it was her responsibility to defend transatlantic unity and rebuild it if necessary.
" Of course there are differences at the table on tariffs, but precisely for this reason I also think that we should not act on impulse, but in a reasoned manner," she said at a meeting of the centrist opposition party Azione (Action).
Just over 10% of Italian exports go to the US, half of them machinery and related components.
Emanuele Orsini, head of the Italian business federation Confindustria, said at the same meeting that a trade war would be a "big problem for Italy", saying he hoped the EU could negotiate a solution.
Meloni, whose party has a deep Eurosceptic streak, told the Financial Times on Friday that the US was Italy's "first ally" and rejected the idea of choosing Europe or the US.
" Our relationship with the US is the most important relationship we have," she said.
She also sympathized with US Vice President JD Vance's accusation that Europe had abandoned its commitment to freedom of speech and democracy.
"I have to say I agree. I've been saying this for years ... Europe has lost a bit of itself ," she told the newspaper.
In response, Elly Schlein, leader of the center-left Democratic Party, accused the Meloni government of transforming day by day into the Trump administration's Trojan Horse within the EU.
Meloni, however, has supported plans to boost Europe's defenses in the face of Washington's shift, at least in principle, while ruling out sending troops to implement a possible peace solution in Ukraine.
One of her two junior coalition partners, Matteo Salvini of the Eurosceptic anti-immigration League party, is strongly opposed to the defense plan, characterizing it as a ploy to boost the German economy. / Adapted from “Pamphlet” by “The Guardian”
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