EU should not retaliate to US with more tariffs: Italian premier

​​​​​​​ROME

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Thursday that the EU should not respond with retaliatory tariffs to the decision by the US to impose levies on worldwide imports.

“I am not convinced that the best choice would be to respond to tariffs with other tariffs because the impact could be worse on our economy,” she told TV RAI.

“We need to open a frank discussion with the Americans with the objective, in my view, to achieve the removal of the tariffs, not to multiply them.”

US President Donald Trump announced tariffs late Wednesday on goods imported from foreign countries, roiling financial markets worldwide, attracting widespread criticism from trade partners and triggering calls for retaliatory tariffs.

Tariffs vary from country to country. The EU will be hit by a 20% tariff.

Meloni said she will meet next week with representatives of the Italian industrial sector to assess the effect of the tariffs.

“I don’t think it is the catastrophe that many are describing. It’s an additional problem that we have to solve. We won’t stop exporting to the US,” she said.

Then, she will make proposals to European partners.

“There are many things we can do to remove the tariffs that Europe self-imposed,” she said, adding that the EU should remove tariffs imposed for “ideological reason” on the automotive sector and the bloc should consider reviewing its stringent fiscal rules.