Shealah Craighead
During his first meeting with Donald Trump at the White House, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte expressed support for the views of the US president on trade, migration, security and defense spending.
"We are two governments of change: many things unite us," said Conte at a joint press conference. "Italy and the United States are twin countries."
According to Bloomberg, the Italian prime minister offered Trump a rare support among European leaders, repeating his populist rhetoric, skepticism towards the EU status quo and the desire to improve relations with Russia.
Trump, too, did not skimp on compliments: he praised Italy's struggle with immigration, saying that other European countries should follow its example.
In this case, Bloomberg notes: Conte should be more careful and look at examples of his predecessors. Thus, Theresa May was publicly criticized by Trump during the visit of the US president to London. And Emmanuel Macron, trying to combine flattery and a harsh manner of communication, soon became convinced that his "special manner" does not yield any results: the US is coming out of both the climate agreement and the nuclear deal on Iran.
The United States and Italy agreed to intensify coordination in the Mediterranean Sea of combating terrorism and illegal immigration. In addition, the two sides reached a compromise on the Libyan issue: both Trump and Conte, for various reasons, are interested in reducing France's influence in this region, and they have found allies in each other.
The US trade deficit with Italy in the amount of $ 31 billion could become a stumbling block. But the US president obviously expects that Rome will become a particularly close partner of Washington within the EU. So Trump went on concessions on the issue of duties imposed on European goods: an exception would be made for Italian agricultural products. In turn, Conte said that he understands the US administration, which wants a "fairer" trade relations.
soruce: reuters.com
"We are two governments of change: many things unite us," said Conte at a joint press conference. "Italy and the United States are twin countries."
According to Bloomberg, the Italian prime minister offered Trump a rare support among European leaders, repeating his populist rhetoric, skepticism towards the EU status quo and the desire to improve relations with Russia.
Trump, too, did not skimp on compliments: he praised Italy's struggle with immigration, saying that other European countries should follow its example.
In this case, Bloomberg notes: Conte should be more careful and look at examples of his predecessors. Thus, Theresa May was publicly criticized by Trump during the visit of the US president to London. And Emmanuel Macron, trying to combine flattery and a harsh manner of communication, soon became convinced that his "special manner" does not yield any results: the US is coming out of both the climate agreement and the nuclear deal on Iran.
The United States and Italy agreed to intensify coordination in the Mediterranean Sea of combating terrorism and illegal immigration. In addition, the two sides reached a compromise on the Libyan issue: both Trump and Conte, for various reasons, are interested in reducing France's influence in this region, and they have found allies in each other.
The US trade deficit with Italy in the amount of $ 31 billion could become a stumbling block. But the US president obviously expects that Rome will become a particularly close partner of Washington within the EU. So Trump went on concessions on the issue of duties imposed on European goods: an exception would be made for Italian agricultural products. In turn, Conte said that he understands the US administration, which wants a "fairer" trade relations.
soruce: reuters.com
