Trump's tariffs triggered a global financial meltdown, with Wall Street losing $2 trillion as the Dow fell 3.98% and Nasdaq 5.97%. European markets followed, with Milan plunging 3.6%. The EU planned retaliatory measures starting April 15, with Germany comparing the tariffs' impact to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Prime Minister Meloni canceled all appointments for emergency meetings, later emerging with a measured stance - calling Trump's tariffs "wrong but not catastrophic" and advocating for removing rather than multiplying tariffs. This positioned Italy differently from harsher EU responses, with Von der Leyen describing the situation as "chaos."
In sports news, Italian skier Federica Brignone suffered serious tibial and fibular fractures after falling during the giant slalom championships, requiring helicopter evacuation and facing several months of recovery.