President Trump welcomes Italian prime minister

U.S. president Donald Trump met with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni on April 20. At a press conference after the meeting President Trump spoke in glowing terms of the U.S’s trade relationship with Italy.

The economy of Italy is one of America’s largest trading partners—a lot of people don’t know that—we both seek a trading relationship that is balanced, reciprocal—I love the word  reciprocal, because we don’t have to many reciprocal trading partnerships, I will tell you that—but we will, very soon—and fair, benefitting both of our countries and we can work together to achieve that outcome—and that will happen,” Trump said.

Prime Minister Gentiloni has strongly criticized protectionist trade policies that use tariffs to keep domestic products competitive.

President Trump is strongly opposed to trade deficits—where one nation sells a much larger quantity of goods  than it buys from a trading partner.

The United States currently imports more than twice what it exports to Italy.

As of February 2017 imports were $7 million and exports, $3 million.