Stefan Löfven is last among the Nordic leaders to visit the White House but becomes the first European leader to meet Donald Trump after the U.S. president's message on tariffs on steel and aluminum of last week. The two met at the UN General Assembly in the fall, but Tuesday's meeting was the first official in Washington.

Trump met Löfven and his delegation for about two hours. No lunch or other social activity between the Heads of Government was planned. According to Washington insiders, the schedule is typical of a bilateral meeting in the White House: They start with bilateral discussions, after which Trump meets a number of Swedish top executives accompanying Löfven and it ends with a joint press conference with Prime Minister Löfven and President Trump.

Trade across the Atlantic was likely an important issue during their meeting, according to most commentators. (Trump's proposal of last Thursday is to introduce tariffs of 25 percent for steel and 10 percent for aluminum.) Sweden is the first European country to meet Donald Trump after his announcement of the steel tax. According to most observers this puts additional pressure on the country to give its opinion on the issue and about the risks of starting a future trade war with U.S. global trading partners. Several factions in DC are trying to get Trump to change his mind, including many Republicans and people in Congress.

You can watch the joint press conference with President Trump and Prime Minister Stefan Löfven at The White House Youtube channel.

More on the high level meeting in our next printed issue.