Trump Says He's In 'No Rush' To Close Deals: Full Q&A

resident Donald Trump said during a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that he expects to reach a trade deal with the European Union, but indicated he is in no hurry to finalize an agreement to reduce tariffs.'

“There’ll be a trade deal,” Trump said Thursday, adding “I fully expect it, but it’ll be a fair deal.”
The president offered no time line for when he expected the first of the agreements to be finalized with trading partners seeking to avoid high tariffs, saying only that they would happen “at a certain point” and insisting that other nations would need to make concessions.'

“We’re in no rush,” Trump added. “We are going to have very little problem making a deal with Europe or anyone else.”

Meloni said she aimed to invite Trump to make an official visit to Italy and organize a meeting with EU officials to discuss trade. Securing face-to-face negotiations with the bloc would allow European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen an opportunity to speak with Trump for the first time, and would help cement Meloni’s role as a conduit between Europe and the US. ”

Meloni’s Washington visit is being closely watched by other trading partners eager for any insight into what concessions Trump is seeking. 

“I’m sure we can make a deal, and I’m here to help on that,” Meloni said Thursday. She emphasized that Trump would need to engage with other European leaders, adding, “I cannot do this deal in the name of the European Union.”

The Italian prime minister, who is an ideological ally of the US president and the leader of a Group of Seven economy, is seen as a potential bridge between his administration and the EU amid a trade fight that’s rattled financial markets and deepened fears of a global downturn.
Trump’s decision last week to pause high tariffs on the EU and other trading partners has sent foreign leaders racing to secure deals with the administration during a 90-day negotiating period. The EU faces a 20% “reciprocal” tariff if it doesn’t reach a deal with Trump — double the current rate of 10%. 

EU officials are developing a proposal to restrict some exports to the US as a possible response if talks fail, according to people familiar with the plan. That measure would come in addition to retaliatory duties that Europe prepared but paused when Trump temporarily reversed course on his higher tariff rate.

Meloni, asked during the meeting if the EU would proceed with those additional tariffs, said she was confident in striking a deal to avert the tit-for-tat exchange.

Trump indicated he still foresees a “baseline of a substantial number” of tariffs on imports, suggesting that he would not abandon duties entirely.

Ahead of Trump’s meeting with Meloni, senior administration officials said the leaders would discuss ways to boost US energy exports and foster cooperation in artificial intelligence. The talks between the two are covering a wide range of trade issues, including easing import duties and regulatory barriers for US companies, as well as bolstering joint opportunities in space, telecommunications and biotechnology, said the officials, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity ahead of the meeting.

The officials sought to emphasize that the US sees Italy as a key economic partner and a major European Union market for US goods and services. While the discussions would touch on tariffs, the leaders would address a much broader slate of global concerns, including shipping and defense-related matters, spending on collective security and ending the war in Ukraine, the officials said.

Trump is personally involving himself in the talks with foreign leaders over trade, and Meloni’s visit comes a day after he hosted a Japanese delegation and spoke with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. 

Italian officials ahead of Meloni’s visit conceded they held low expectations for securing an agreement in Thursday’s talks. US officials have indicated the bulk of the tariffs imposed on the EU would not be removed, and there was little progress made in trade discussions earlier this week between the two sides.


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