Meloni: "Avoid the commercial war, adequate answers if needed". Mattarella: "Compact and determined"

“I am convinced that you have to work to avoid a commercial war in all possible ways that nobody would benefit, nor the United States or Europe. ” Giorgia Meloni, Speaking in the courtyard of Palazzo Chigi on the occasion of the first edition of the ‘Master of the art of Italian cuisine’, on the day on which the announcement of the US President is expected,Donald Trump, That At 10 pm in Italy he will present his strategy on duties to the world.

To avoid a commercial war with the duties “it is not excluded, if necessary, to also have to imagine adequate answers to defend our productions”, added the premier.

“The United States are the second destination market” of Italian agri -food products “with an export that in 2024 rose by 17%”. So “the US one is clearly a fundamental market for us and it is clear that the introduction of new duties would have heavy implications for Italian producers. I personally think that it would also be an injustice for many Americans because it would limit the possibility of buying and consuming our excellence only to those who have the economic possibility of spending more”, explained Meloni.

Mattarella, you need a compact, serene and determined response

The duties are a “deep error”. On the European part “we need a compact, serene, determined response,” said the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella in the talks with the Estonian counterpart Alar Karis. At the center of the conversation also the need to recover collaborative transatlantic relationships and to accelerate the EU enlargement process to the Balkans, also considering Ukraine and Moldova.

The EU: our answer will be there, at the right time

“As for our response” to the US duties, “everything I can say is that there will be. It will happen at the right time, after the announcement scheduled for this evening”. This was stated by the spokesman for the European Commerce Commission, Olof Gill, in the daily briefing with the press. Gill then specified that the answers will be two: “There will be a first reaction to the duties on steel and aluminum imposed by the United States, and there will be a second answer that will group everything else. I cannot say more about either of the two at the moment, because the first is going through the necessary internal process, and the second, as I said, will be issued after the announcement expected by Washington later,” he added.