US tariffs would severely harm Italian producers, Prime Minister Meloni says

ROME

Italian producers would be hit hard by new US tariffs and every effort should be made to avoid a trade war, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Wednesday.

"It is clear that the introduction of new tariffs would have heavy repercussions for Italian producers," Meloni said at a prize-giving ceremony for Italian cuisine.

US President Donald Trump was set to impose sweeping new tariffs later on Wednesday as he proclaimed "Liberation Day" in the country, in what could escalate a trade war with global partners, increase costs and destabilize a decades-old trade order.

“I remain convinced that we need to work to avoid in all possible ways a trade war which will not benefit anybody, neither the US nor Europe,” she said. “This obviously doesn’t exclude, if necessary, having to imagine adequate responses to defend our producers.”

Italy’s business lobby Confindustria calculated that if a protectionist escalation occurred, the country’s growth would drop to 0.2%, from a projected 0.6% and to 0.4% next year from 1%.

Separately, Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella said US tariffs are a “profound mistake” and Europe should respond in a “united, serene and determined” way.