WASHINGTON — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni will test her mettle as a bridge between the European Union and the United States when she meets with President Donald Trump in the White House on Thursday, becoming the first European leader to have face-to-face talks with him since he announced and then suspended 20% tariffs on European exports.

Meloni secured the meeting as Italy’s leader, but she also has, in a sense, been “knighted” to represent the EU at a critical juncture in the trade war. She was in close contact with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen before the trip, and “the outreach is … closely coordinated,” a commission spokeswoman said.

“We know we are in a difficult moment,” Meloni said this week in Rome. “Most certainly, I am well aware of what I represent, and what I am defending.”

The EU is defending what it calls “the most important commercial relationship in the world,” with annual trade reaching 1.6 trillion euros ($1.8 trillion).

Trade negotiations fall under the authority of the commission, which is pushing for a zero-for-zero tariff deal with Washington. Trump administration officials, in talks with the EU, have yet to publicly show signs of relenting on the president’s insistence that a baseline 10% tariff be charged on all foreign imports. Trump paused for 90 days a retaliatory increase to 20%.

That has raised some hopes for negotiations, and Meloni’s margins for progress are more in gaining clarity on the Republican president’s goals rather than outright concessions, experts say.

“It is a very delicate mission,” said Fabian Zuleeg, chief economist at the European Policy Center think tank in Brussels. “There is the whole trade agenda, and while she’s not officially negotiating, we know that Trump likes to have this kind of informal exchange, which in a sense is a negotiation. So it’s a lot on her plate.”

As the leader of a far-right party, Meloni is ideologically aligned with Trump on issues including curbing migration, promoting traditional values and skepticism toward multilateral institutions. But stark differences have emerged in Meloni’s unwavering support for Ukraine after Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

The two leaders are expected to discuss the war and Italy’s role in an eventual postwar reconstruction of Ukraine. Trump is expected to press Meloni to increase Italy’s defense spending, which last year fell well below the 2% of gross domestic product target for countries in the NATO military alliance. Italy’s spending, at 1.49% of GDP, is among the lowest in Europe.

Despite the differences on Ukraine and defense spending, Meloni is seen by some in the U.S. administration as a vital bridge to Europe at a difficult moment for trans-Atlantic relations.

Trump is looking not only to discuss with Meloni how “Italy’s marketplace can be opened up, but also how they can help us with the rest of Europe,” according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters before the visit. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.

After being the only European leader to attend Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration, Meloni has responded with studied restraint as abrupt shifts in U.S. policy under Trump have frayed the U.S.-European alliance. She has denounced the tariffs as “wrong” and warned that “dividing the West would be disastrous for everyone,” after Trump’s heated White House exchange with Ukraine’s president.

“She has been very cautious,” said Wolfango Piccoli, an analyst at the London-based Teneo consultancy. “It is what we need when we have a counterpart that is changing every day.”

Italy maintains a 40 billion euro ($45 billion) trade surplus with the U.S., its largest with any country, fueled by Americans’ appetite for Italian sparkling wine, foodstuffs like Parmigiano Reggiano hard cheese and Parma ham, and Italian luxury fashion. These are all sectors critical to the Italian economy, and mostly supported by small- and medium-sized producers who are core center-right voters.

“All in all, I think she will focus on the very strong economic and trade relations that Italy has with the United States, not just in terms of exports, but also services and energy,” said Antonio Villafranca, vice president of the ISPI think tank in Milan. “For example, Italy could even consider importing more gas from the U.S.”

The meeting comes against the backdrop of growing concerns over global uncertainty generated by the escalating tariff wars. Italy’s growth forecast for this year has already been slashed from 1% to 0.5% as a result.

Experts cautioned against raising expectations over any concrete progress.

“The best strategy has been to be very circumspect: Get there, get the meeting, get the photo opportunity,” Piccoli said. “If she is able to come back, and give a sense of how Washington wants to frame future relations on trade, defense and Ukraine policy, that would be a huge win.”

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Barry reported from Milan. Associated Press writers Lorne Cook in Brussels and Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.