Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has found herself at the center of a heated political storm following the announcement of a new EU-US trade agreement that she welcomed as a “positive” and “stabilizing” development. The deal, reached during a high-level meeting between US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on July 27, establishes a 15% baseline tariff on most exports, including automobiles, while maintaining a steep 50% levy on steel and aluminum.

While the deal has been hailed in Washington and by some sectors in Brussels as a diplomatic achievement that averts a trade war, it has sparked significant backlash across Italy and Europe. Critics argue that the agreement concedes too much to the United States, jeopardizing billions in exports and potentially costing hundreds of thousands of jobs across the continent.

Addressing reporters in Rome on July 27, Meloni emphasized the geopolitical and economic importance of maintaining strong ties with the United States. “I think it’s positive that there’s an agreement,” she said. “It helps avert a head-on clash with the US and provides stability in a time of global uncertainty.”

Meloni’s remarks are a marked departure from her earlier campaign pledges, in which she criticized the Trump administration’s trade protectionism and vowed to push for a “zero-for-zero” deal-no tariffs on either side. The shift has not gone unnoticed by her political opponents or Italian industrial leaders, who are already counting the potential costs.

Italy currently enjoys a trade surplus with the United States of over €40 billion ($46 billion), particularly in........

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