Italy says very worried by prospect of U.S. tariffs on its exports

ROME (Reuters) - Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Wednesday that Rome was worried by the prospect of U.S. tariffs on Italian exports.

"The subject of tariffs worried us a lot because we have companies that survive on exports," Di Maio told reporters at a news conference with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Di Maio said the government would do all it could to defend the interests of Italian exporters, and the U.S. market was particularly important at a time when the European economy was slowing down.

(Reporting by Angelo Amante, writing by Gavin Jones)