US tariffs are a bad choice by President Donald Trump but not a catastrophe, Premier Giorgia Meloni said Thursday, adding that the government would meet business leaders next week to gauge a response to the controversial measures.
"I think the choice of the United States is a bad choice, which does not favor either the European or American economy, but I also think that we should not fuel the alarmism that I am hearing in these hours," Meloni told Italian TV after a government huddle on the unprecedented tariffs.
"The United States market is an important market for Italian exports, it is worth 10% of our total exports and we will not stop exporting to the United States.
"It means that obviously we have another problem that we must solve, but it is not the catastrophe that some are talking about", she said in an interview with Tg1, the news station of the state broadcaster's first channel.
She added: "We are doing and must do a study on the real impact that this choice of American duties has on each sector: next week we will meet with the representatives of the production categories to also compare with the estimates they have, to look for the best solutions".
Among other points touched on in the interview, Meloni said Italy would propose a revision of the EU's Stability and Growth Pact saying that "it is possible that not everyone will agree but we must do this".
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