Italy’s Giorgia Meloni will meet Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday after a first round of EU-US talks failed to shed light on the US president’s demands for de-escalating his tariff war.

The Italian prime minister, a conservative nationalist, has forged a personal rapport with Trump, who has called her “a wonderful woman” and a “strong” leader. She has warned Brussels not to retaliate to Trump’s trade war and instead called for negotiations with Washington to resolve differences.

The EU and US held a first round of talks this week about Trump’s tariffs — now set at 25 per cent on steel, aluminium and cars, and at 10 per cent on all other exports during a 90-day pause. If talks fail, Washington has said it will reinstate a 20 per cent “reciprocal tariff” rate on EU exports.