♪ this is al jazeera america, i'm randall pinkston live in new york city. we're interrupting our regular programming to take you live to the white house where president obama is about to hold a news conference with italian prime minister may te'o renzi. mike what are relikely to hear from the president and the prime minister. >> well this is a visit from the italian prime minister matteo renzi. they met for the first time just

after he as -- ascended to his post. they will talk about ukraine, and we may hear questions from the press about 300 paratroopers who are being sent into western ukraine to help train ukrainian forces there. this is part of what the ukrainian government has been asking for, almost pleading for over the last several months. other issues on the agenda the situation in iran. we're having a two-minute warning here. we expect these leaders to enter in two minutes -- iran the ongoing talks over itself nuclear program, the situation in the fight against isil the coalition fight, the situation in syria as well but perhaps one of the items at the top of

the agenda is something that is quite controversial in italy, and that is the chaos in libya. that country devolving into chaos, competing interests. extremists of every stripe there. there is a delegation from the officially recognized parliament in tobruk trying to get meetings at the state department and capitol hill and having a very difficult time. president obama is going to want to talk about trade. he faces stiff opposition within the democratic party. the more urgent one dealing withish sha, and also a major trade deal with europe as well. and i think we can maybe anticipate the presidential election now looming here in the united states, creeping up on the president, some questions, perhaps about that. and the brand new candidacy of hillary clinton. randall. >> mike thank you, we have in

our studio with us patricia sabga. talking about trade that mike just mentioned how does that impact on italy. >> well right now, obama is trying to get fast track approval to move these deals through congress which would not allow congress to cherry pick certain elements that they don't like or don't think are in u.s. interest. italy is mired in recession right now and wants to boost its trade. we have seen stimulus of quantitative easing from the european central bank. that's geared at trying to keep the euro low and that will boost exports out of europe. >> and what about those in america who are opposing the

fast tracking why is there an objection to it? >> it's not just the trans-atlantic trade and investment partnership, there is also the trans-pacific partnership. >> stand by we think president obama is entering with the italian prime minister. let's take a listen. >> it is a great pleasure to welcome my partner and friend prime minister renzi to the white house. i actually should say, welcome back. not many people know this but matteo came to the white house several years ago. back then he was the young dynamic mayor of florence today he is the young dynamic prime minister of italy. but even then i think people recognize that he brought an energy and a sense of vision to where he wanted to see his country go and today is an

opportunity for me to return the incredible hospitality that the italian people showed me last year in rome. one of the great cities of the world. italy, of course is one of our closest and strongest allies and any time italians and americans get together it's also a chance to celebrate the deep bonds of history, friendship, and family. as i said before i'm not lucky enough to have any italian ancestry that i know of but -- but i consider myself an honorary italian, because i love all things italian, and the united states would not be what we are, or who we are, without the contributions of generations of italian americans. in rome matteo spoke eloquently to his visits to the military

cemetery in florence. i'm also grateful for my partnership, personally with prime minister renzi. we have worked together on several occasions from rome to our nato g-7, and g-20 summits. i know he is deeply committed to our alliance. i have been deeply impressed with the energy, vision and reforms he is pursuing to unleash the potential of the italian people and the italian economy. his willingness to challenge the status quo and look to the future has made him a leading voice in europe and we're seeing progress being made with respect to italy. so i want to thank you again for the seriousness and sense of purpose that you bring to our work together here today. this morning we focused on our shared security starting in europe. we agreed that the international community needs to continue

supporting ukraine with robust assistance as it pursues economic and political reforms. we strongly support the minks agrees and we agree that russia and ukraine must fulfill all of the obligations under these agreements. i thanked the prime minister of italy's strong support for the international coalition against isil. italy by the way is one of the largest contributors of advisors and trainers to help build up iraqi security forces and italy is leading the effort to ensure the area is liberated from isil's control or stabilized from an effective civilian police force. we also spent considerable amount of time discussing our deep shared concern for the situation in libya, where we continue to support u.n. efforts to form a unity government. given italy's role across the

mediterranean, we agreed to work together more intensively to enkour ration cooperation on threats, and well as additional cooperation with allies. more broadly italian forces continue to play a vital role from kosovo to lebanon to afghanistan. as coalition forces continue to train and assist afghan forces and we want to make sure we transform responsibly as we complete our consolidation by the end of next year. i updated prime minister renzi on the framework that we reached with iran. our progress towards a comprehensive deal that prevents iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. and we agreed until a final deal is reached, sanctions on iran must continue to be fully and

strictly enforced. after this press conference we'll have lunch and that will give us a chance to focus on what is clearly the top priority of both of our peoples, that is creating a strong inclusive economy that is creating jobs and opportunity on both sides of the atlantic. like me prime minister renzi is a strong supporter of the trans-atlantic trade and investment partnership, which would boost jobs and poeshthss in europe and the united states and would include strong protections for workers and public health and safety and the environment. now that congress is considering important bipartisan legislation for trade negotiation authority, it needs to make major progress this year. i'm looking forward to hearing his plans to reinvigorate

italy's economy, and discuss paths to return greece to growth within the euro zone and we'll be discussing the importance of all of our major economies taking ambition -- ambitious action on climate change. during its presence in the e.u. italy showed real leadership as europe committed to new targets for reducing emissions. and we continue to forge a strong climate agreement in paris this year. i want to con -- congratulate italy as they plan to host the 2015 world food expo. the expo is focused not only on outstanding cuisine, but also how we feed a growing planet

how we combat hunger and mall nutrition. and how we put healthy food on our tables. so we commend italy's leadership and i suspect many americans will be visiting milan, and sampling the food and wine. matteo thank you for your leadership in italy and europe for your partnership on many pressing global issues. i assure you that it is a friendship and partnership that all americans treasure and we are grateful that we have had such strong bonds between our peoples. prime minister. >> thank you so much. -- italian government to be here in the white house, and heard of freedom around the world.

[ speaking italian ] >> translator: i will speak in italian very quickly in order to thank the president of the united states of america for the extraordinary leadership that he has displayed both in terms of his foreign policy as well as in the economic and development model. the last time we met was in brisbane during the g-20. i can only say that as a partner and as an ally i have to express my appreciation for the work that has been carried out by the united states of america in the very complex cuba issue. this has been a very complex issue. it has been difficult for the american people as well as for the cuban people as well i would like to congratulate the president for the iran janish

-- iranian issues because at least there is an agreement which we hope will reach a conclusion by june 30th. i would all thes like to add when i came to the white house, i brought on my behalf and all of the italians the feelings of pride for what the president mentioned earlier, for the role of so many italians in the history of the united states of america from christopher columbus onward as well as the appreciation and the gratefulness for the sacrifice of young men and women of the united states whom in these next few days we will remember for having liberated italy. we're very, very proud of what our fighters did because they fought against fascism, they went out in the mountains, and they struggled, they fought but

this would not have been possible without the sacrifices and the commitment of the american army young men and women who didn't even know italy who died for my grandfather, my father my grandchildren, and my children. this is why during these days of celebration in italy, i will be sure -- this is the 70th year of the liberation i will go to the american cemetery in order to honor all of the american people, and i would like to thank you, dear president on behalf of all of italians. we spoke quite a bit, and spoke about a number of topics, and i'm quite anxious to talk with president obama about everything that has to do with the economy. now if you look at these last seven years from 2008 to 2015 the american economy has had a reduction of the unemployed and

there has been a growth in the gdp. the european economy had an increase in its employment in unemployed, and gdp went down. something just did not work at home. this is why i believe that the experience of the united states government is a model for the european economy, and that we have to be very careful about budgets, about the limitations, about our commitments, but we have to go through a new season of growth and investments. in 2014 we started with the first provisions. there's still much to be done. the american leadership for me is a point of reference. we also spoke about libya, as the president said. i just had a meeting -- during this meeting, i am convinced that the united states and i, the president and i are fully on the same page. in the next few weeks, we will see that we will reach the

fruits of all of this commitment. everything that happens in the mediterranean sea is not merely something that has to do with security and of course it is but at the same time it has to do with justice and the dignity of man kind. this is why the very authoritative cooperation that the united states and -- the united states can offer is for italy an extremely important fact. we also spoke about ukraine and russia as the president mentioned. we also mentioned all of the issues that have to do with iran and the very complex framework in the middle east. i believe that it'ser very important for us to underscore how as part of this great alliance guided by the united states which is a reference point not just for our choices, but for the ideals the

cultural battle that all of us have to fight. this is why, dear president, dear barack i decided to visit georgetown university and now i will go to the national gallery, because i know there's an exhibition on the floeren teen italian renaissance. and this tells us how culture is important for a young boy, a young girl. this is the engine. this is the basis of our civilization and our future. this is a great occasion the expo of course and i brought a few bottles of wine to barack because i know that he is a great expert. >> -- candidate about tuscan wine. i remember very well a very

important interview about it. >> translator: but i also believe that it's very important for us quite aside from any jokes. we must make sure the expo becomes a great occasion for the quality of life the lifestyle, and at the same time to declare war against poverty. it's just not possible for us to have a world in which one billion people died because they are obese or because they don't have enough to eat. this is what the expo is going to be and the presence of the united states will be an element of great importance. thank you from the bottom of my heart, and if i may finish i would like to say that even if it doesn't have anything to do between the relationship between governments, i said to president obama that i wanted to thank him for his speech at selma. this is a personal observation, but it's also a political issue.

there are moments in which history can be quite extraordinary, and one of these moments is what this country has lived through over the last 50 years. i think that for those of us who love politics that speech was a moment of great inspiration and very strong reflection. for this thank you kindly mr. president, and thank you for your warm welcome to the white house. >> let me just -- that with respect to the wine -- [ laughter ] >> -- i felt it would be insulting for me not to sample it. [ laughter ] >> and -- and to -- to establish the -- the strong commercial bonds between the united states of america when it comes to tuscan wine. i will give you matteo a report on whether it is up to the

quality that we expect. [ laughter ] >> with that let me call on roberto rampton of reuters. there we go. >> reporter: thanks. president obama, some congressional leaders yesterday came to a deal on fast track for trade. but it is clear that many in your party are opposed. and are you worried that your support for this is going to divide your party going into 2016 and will it hurt your party's ability to win? do you need hillary clinton's support on this? and prime minister how -- how confident are you that greece will reach an agreement with its creditors by the end of this month? and how concerned are each of you about the effects this could have on the global economy if a deal is not reached? >> on trade, first of all, i want to congratulate senators widen and hatch for coming up with a bipartisan framework for

traders promotion authority. and i think it's important to recognize that the trade promotion authority is not the same as a trade agreement. it just gives us a structure whereby when a trade agreement is presented, they can move forward in a -- a quicker fashion and not get completely bogged down in the usual procedures and i would be receiving the same trade promotion authority that every president in the post-war era, with the ebb exception of richard nixon has received. what is exceptional is that in this framework for the first time there are requirements for enforceable labor environmental provision provisions. there is a clear attention to issues like human rights. and in many ways this is the

most far-reaching and progressive trade promotion authority that we have seen going through congress. and that's important, because as i have said before it is entirely understandable that there is some scepticism around trade from working families who live in a town that saw manufacturing collapse and jobs being outsourced. people recognize there have been circumstances in the past in which trade may have contributed to aggregate growth of the global economy or u.s. economy but hurt workers. and we have learned lessons from that and this trade promotion authority, thanks to the work of senator widens and hatch, reflects some of those lessons. now in terms of actually getting a deal done the first trade agreement that we potentially

would present would be the trans-pacific partnership or tpp. i have spoken to this before but i will repeat that 95% of the world's markets are outside of our borders. the fastest growing markets, the most populous markets are going to be in asia and if we do not help to shape the rules so that our businesses and our workers can compete in those markets, then china will set up rules that advantage chinese workers, and chinese businesses. and that will set the stage over the next 20, 30 years for us being locked out, us being unable to protect our businesses from discrimination, our agricultural products being excluded from these areas. high tariffs that prevent us from being able to compete

fairly. when it comes to services or the internet, for example, our ability to maintain intellectual property protection or freedom in the internet or other requirements that tilt the playing field against u.s. workers, that's what is going to happen. so what we are doing is negotiating the highest level, highest standard trade agreement in our history with strong enforceable labor provisions strong enforceable environmental provisions and i will be able to show when the final agreement is presented that this is absolutely good for not just american businesses but for american workers, and it's good for our economy, and it's the right thing to do. now, last point i'll make on this. the politics around trade has always been tough, particularly in the democratic party, because

people have memories of outsourcing and job loss. the point i have made to my labor friends and my progressive friends is that, you know companies looking for just low-cost labor, they have already left. we are already at a disadvantage right now, and the trade agreement i'm proposing would strengthen our ability to force other markets open and strengthen our position compare to where we are right now. and being opposed to this new trade agreement is essentially a ratification of the status quo, where a lot of folks are selling here but we're not selling there. japan is one of the negotiators in this deal. now last time i checked, if you drive around washington there are a whole bunch of japanese cars. you go to tokyo, and -- and count how many chryslers and gm

and ford cars there are. so the current situation is not working for us. and i don't know why it is that folks would be opposed to us opening up the japanese market more for u.s. ahutos or u.s. beef. it doesn't make sense. so i'll be able to make a strong case but i think it's important when you talk about dividing the party, look we have got a korean free trade agreement passed a columbian free trade agreement passed and it didn't divide the democratic party. there's going to be a set of democratic senators and house members who traditionally have just on principle opposed trade because the unions on principle, regardless of what the provisions are, are opposed to trade, and then there are others who like me believe that we

cannot stop a -- a -- a global economy at our shores. we have got to be in there and complete and make sure we are writing the rules so we have a level playing field, because when we do products made in america, services provided by american firms, are the best in the world, and i will continue to make that argument and for those who argue that somehow this is contrary to the interest of working families what i tell them is my whole presidency has been about helping working families, and lifting up wages, and giving workers more opportunity, and if i didn't think this deal was doing it i wouldn't do it. the chamber of commerce didn't bring me to the dance. the reason i'm doing it is because i know it is important to do and it sends a signal

throughout asia that we are competing and we can going to help maintain international rules that are fair for everybody, and not so tilted in favor of one country that it ends up being bad for, not only our commercial prospects, but for other countries over the long time. that was a very long answer but it's a big question and i hadn't had a chance to talk about it. >> very briefly -- obviously the situation in greece is -- the situation in europe is not 2011 is not around the world [ inaudible ] so it's different time. but we must absolutely strongly work to achieve an agreement. to achieve this agreement it's important greece government

respect not all the agreements of the past because in the european council we accept a very normal principal if there is a moment of election and a new leader it's correct to respect the vote of citizens. in this case the vote of citizens in greece. but there are a framework of agreement in a european institutions which are very important greece -- greece government must respect. at the same time we must for the future write a new page in the european economics. i am absolutely confident about it. it finished the time of [ inaudible ] austerity in europe but to achieve this goal the local government the national government must do

reforms. this is important first of all for italy. we are absolutely committed to realize reform to our citizens not european institution, to our citizens, and then we can finally open a discussion about the relation between austerity and growth in the european economy, but now it's time to respect the new framework of agreement, and we will work in this direction. >> translator: mr. president, some of your promises have already brought investors from the u.s. to italy. now these investors would like to know when all these reforms are going to take place? could you give us a better idea. you spoke about