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Donald Trump on Monday welcomed Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, a populist European leader with whom he shares affinities, particularly on immigration and trade.
"This is a man who does a great job, "said the Oval Office President of the United States, welcoming Mr. Conte's migration policy.
" I know he has a very strong position at the border, "continued Donald Trump. "Many other countries in Europe should do the same," said the tenant of the White House, willingly critical of the European Union, before a first interview in one-on-one that was to be followed by discussions
"Italy is an important ally of NATO, an eminent partner in Afghanistan and Iraq and is crucial for bringing stability to the Mediterranean region", announced the White House by announcing the end of June this visit, the first of the new Italian Prime Minister that Mr. Trump had already judged "super" during the last G7, early June in Canada.
"He is very firm on immigration, like me", had declared the Republican billionaire, who wants to build a wall on the border with Mexico to fight illegal immigration and did not hesitate to separate children from their parents arrested for illegally crossing the border. 19659002] According to the Italian press, the visit to Washington of this law professor without political experience should allow him to acquire an international stature, he who, in Italy, is regularly in the shadow of his two bulky vice-presidents of the Council who chose him to lead the government: Luigi Di Maio, leader of the anti-system Movement 5 Stars, and Matteo Salvini, boss of the League, a formation of extreme right.
But the latter, at the origin of the firmness displayed by Rome on immigration, has once again made mention of him Sunday by posting on Facebook, the day of the birthday of the birth of Benito Mussolini, a sentence often pronounced by the fascist dictator – " many enemies, a lot of honor. "
– Friends of Russia –
Another common point between MM. Trump and Conte, both men favor better relations with Russia
In Canada, Trump called on the G7 to return to Russia, which was ruled out in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea. "They should go back to Russia because we should have Russia at the negotiating table," he said.
Mr. Conte, which was the first major international meeting, said he was "in agreement" with the US president, standing out from his European colleagues.
On the trade, the two men share the same skepticism about Regarding Free Trade: Mr. Trump has denounced several international agreements such as the Alena (with Canada and Mexico) or the Trans-Pacific Free Trade Agreement (TPP), while the government of Mr. Conte refuses to ratify the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Canada (CETA).
However, according to Nick Ottens, of the Atlantic Council, the American president "may not find the ally to which he s' expects "with the head of the Italian government.
On trade, the rejection by the new Italian government of multinational agreements risks compromising the goal of Mr. Trump to eliminate any customs tariff with the European Union, explains this expert.
According to the Italian press, Mr. Conte wishes in particular to preserve the Italian automobile sector, threatened with US import taxes, and wants to defend the activities of Italian companies in Iran, which Mr. Trump wants to prevent by the reinstatement of sanctions against Tehran. [19659002] And in the area of defense, Italy has indicated that it is out of the question to reach the target of spending for the sector at 2% of GDP, let alone the new target of 4% set by Mr. Trump to the allies at the last NATO summit.
"We looked at each other and we smiled: we thought the 2% were already out of reach," said the Italian Defense Minister recently. Elisabetta Trenta
More consensual, Italy's participation in NATO operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria was to be on the agenda of both men as well as Italian diplomatic efforts to support the process of reconciliation in Libya
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