It also acts methodically. On April 9th the bloc agreed on its retaliation for Donald Trump’s steel and aluminium tariffs, imposed on February 10th. How to answer his subsequent car tariffs and capricious “reciprocal” tariffs will be decided later, illustrating another rule: one fight at a time.

The Italian prime minister is the first European leader to meet the U.S. president since he hit pause on tariffs above 10% for most trading partners.

US President Trump is optimistic about a US-EU trade deal to avoid a 20% tariff in July. However, experts warn China may exploit US-EU tensions by offering Europe attractive trade deals, despite ongoing issues like trade imbalances and dumping.