During Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s visit to Washington on Thursday, former U.S. President Donald Trump expressed strong confidence in finalizing a trade agreement with the European Union before the current 90-day tariff pause expires.
At a bilateral lunch with Meloni, Trump told reporters, “There’ll be a trade deal. 100 percent. Why do you think there won’t be? Of course, there’ll be a trade deal,” according to a CNN report. He added, “They want to make one very, very much. We’re gonna make a trade deal. I fully expect it, but it will be a fair deal.”
Trump has temporarily suspended reciprocal tariffs on over 75 countries, including EU nations and India, citing their willingness to engage in meaningful trade discussions with the U.S. In a reciprocal move, the EU has also paused its retaliatory tariffs for 90 days to allow room for negotiation.
At a joint press conference, Prime Minister Meloni highlighted the importance of transatlantic trade, saying, “That shows how interconnected our economies are, and that’s very important—not just about Italy, but about the entire Europe. The exchange between us is a very big one. These are the topics we discussed.”
Meloni also announced that Trump had accepted her official invitation to visit Rome in the near future. “The goal for me is to make the West great again, and I think we can do it together,” she said.
Commenting more broadly on international trade, Trump said, “Everybody wants to make a deal, and if they don’t want to make a deal, we’ll make the deal for them.”
Negotiations between the U.S. and EU are expected to intensify in the coming weeks as both sides aim to reach an agreement before the deadline.