Brussels: EU officials are hopeful that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has successfully influenced US President Donald Trump to consider holding a summit between the United States and the European Union.

According to Namibia Press Agency, during a meeting with Trump at the White House, Meloni expressed confidence that the US and the EU could reach an agreement on tariffs. Prior to her visit to Washington, there were reports that EU trade negotiators were hopeful Meloni would address US tariff demands.

Meloni had also discussed the potential for an EU-US summit with European Council President Antonio Costa, who is tasked with organizing such meetings. European Commission officials have expressed support for this initiative.

Earlier, on April 2, Trump signed an executive order enacting reciprocal tariffs on imports from various countries, establishing a base tariff rate of 10%. Higher rates were applied to 57 countries based on the US trade deficit with each nation. On April 9, he announced a 90-day pause, applying a baseline tariff of 10% on over 75 countries that had not retaliated and had requested negotiations, with China as an exception. Prior to this pause, the European Union was subject to 20% tariffs.