Italy: Trump’s protectionist stance is “worrying” for Europe

US President Donald Trump’s plans for the economy have some “very worrying aspects”, the Italian Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said on Friday.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with European finance ministers in Brussels, Padoan said he was in accordance with Trump’s intention to kickstart the US economy but was wary of his protectionist stance.

“If protectionism really sets in in the United States this would hurt Europe,” he added.

President Trump has so far been reluctant to lay out the specifics of his plan for the economy. The markets were mixed in response to Donald Trump’s inauguration speech last Friday, after it failed to give much clarity as to his intentions. However the dollar index fell to its lowest point of the day after Trump said he would ‘put America First’, with investors taking this to mean that it he would be taking a protectionist approach to the economy.

Padoan’s words come just days after the finance minister criticised Europe for not having a stronger ‘Trump-like’ vision for the future. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, he said:

“You can agree or disagree with this view, but it is the challenge that they are launching Brexit and Trump: have a vision. In Europe we do not, we do not have a vision that is comparable in terms of the message output. Sorry to be so negative in this case”.

Turning to Italy’s public finances, the minister said on Friday that it would be “a big problem for Italy” if the European Commission opened a formal procedure against Italy, forcing them to make steeper deficit cuts. The argument relates to Italy’s banking crisis, in which several banks are in need of a bailout – but as part of European regulations, Italy is unable to give the help that is needed. Rome is currently in talks with Brussels to arrive at an agreement suitable to both parties.