ROME (Reuters) -Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Sunday it is “positive” a trade deal has been reached between the European Union and the United States, adding, however, that she needs to see the details.
Washington struck a framework trade deal with the EU imposing a 15% import tariff on most EU goods.
“I consider it positive that there is an agreement, but if I don’t see the details I am not able to judge it in the best way,” Meloni told journalists on the sidelines of a meeting in Addis Ababa.
Italy is one of the biggest European exporters to the U.S., with a trade surplus of more than 40 billion euros.
The Italian government, led by a nationalist coalition, had urged its European partners to avoid a direct clash between the two sides of the Atlantic.
In a statement, Meloni said that the agreement “ensures stability”, adding that the 15% “is sustainable, especially if this percentage is not added to previous duties, as was originally planned.”
“We are ready to activate support measures at the national level, but we ask that they also be activated at the European level for sectors that will be particularly affected by US tariff measures,” she added.
The statement was also signed by the leaders of the other two coalition parties: Antonio Tajani of Forza Italia and Matteo Salvini of the League.
(Reporting by Sara Rossi and Giselda Vagnoni, editing by Diane Craft and Nick Zieminski)
