WEBVTT - US Ambassador to EU Andrew Puzder Talks Trade Tensions 0:00:02.520 --> 0:00:08.800 Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. Trade tensions between the 0:00:08.880 --> 0:00:12.320 United States and the European Union of resurfaced since President 0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:14.079 Trump said he would raise the tariffs on e U 0:00:14.200 --> 0:00:17.360 cars and trucks to twenty five percent. The European Commission 0:00:17.400 --> 0:00:19.919 President Ursla Vonderlon says the e is ready for all 0:00:20.000 --> 0:00:24.400 scenarios if Washington breaks its trade agreements. Truck last summer, 0:00:24.400 --> 0:00:26.079 they saw ahead of a meeting of G seven trade 0:00:26.120 --> 0:00:29.000 ministers happening in Paris this morning, joining us in our 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:31.720 Brussels studio to discuss as the US ambassadors the opinion 0:00:31.760 --> 0:00:34.000 Andrew Poster, good morning, ambassador. Great to have you back 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:37.400 with us. Good morning on Bloomberg Radio. Can you explain 0:00:37.479 --> 0:00:39.800 the route of this problem? President Trump says he wants 0:00:39.840 --> 0:00:42.239 to increase these levees because the EU isn't complying with 0:00:42.320 --> 0:00:42.640 the deal. 0:00:42.680 --> 0:00:44.600 What's the issue, so Beck. 0:00:44.600 --> 0:00:47.960 In March of twenty twenty five, the President took auto 0:00:47.960 --> 0:00:51.559 turifs up to twenty five percent. After a bunch of 0:00:53.159 --> 0:00:57.080 back and forth communications between President Vonderline and President Trump, 0:00:57.800 --> 0:01:00.480 we reached an agreement in Turnbury last year, we would 0:01:00.480 --> 0:01:04.520 reduce our tariffs to fifteen percent and the EU would reduce. 0:01:04.360 --> 0:01:05.959 Their tariffs to zero. 0:01:07.240 --> 0:01:10.560 We reduced our tariffs on August first of last year, 0:01:11.800 --> 0:01:16.280 that's nine months ago on autos, and to date we 0:01:16.400 --> 0:01:19.560 haven't seen the EU reduced a single tariff. Not only 0:01:19.600 --> 0:01:22.840 haven't they reduced tariffs, but when the Parliament came forward 0:01:22.880 --> 0:01:26.240 after many delays and voted to approve the deal, they 0:01:26.280 --> 0:01:28.360 tried to change the deal. They want to add four 0:01:28.440 --> 0:01:30.720 or five amendments to the deal which completely change it. 0:01:30.720 --> 0:01:34.399 They want to renegotiate. So the President said, look, after 0:01:34.480 --> 0:01:37.000 nine months of you enjoying the benefits of this deal 0:01:37.480 --> 0:01:41.360 and dragging your feet on getting us the benefits, times up, 0:01:42.040 --> 0:01:44.680 We're not going to put up with this. You need 0:01:44.720 --> 0:01:46.480 to get this thing done. You need to get it 0:01:46.520 --> 0:01:48.440 done the way we agreed to it, the way President 0:01:48.520 --> 0:01:51.360 Vanderline and I agreed to it. And if you can't 0:01:51.360 --> 0:01:53.000 get it done, then we're going to take tariffs back 0:01:53.080 --> 0:01:55.200 up and we're going to take back take the tariff 0:01:55.280 --> 0:01:57.480 up on notice. Now it hasn't happened yet, but he's 0:01:57.760 --> 0:01:59.360 notified Europe that it will happen. 0:02:00.640 --> 0:02:03.400 The European Union would argue that this is the system 0:02:03.440 --> 0:02:06.320 by which the legislation has to be passed that it 0:02:06.400 --> 0:02:09.919 has to go through the legislative process. Was it necessary 0:02:09.919 --> 0:02:13.480 to threaten tariffs in order to try to push this through? 0:02:14.080 --> 0:02:17.760 So two things. One is the Parliament could have approved 0:02:17.800 --> 0:02:20.560 this a long time ago. This is something that was delayed. 0:02:20.720 --> 0:02:24.320 They delayed the vote, they delayed the committee votes. It 0:02:24.400 --> 0:02:26.720 was stalled for a long time, and when they finally 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:29.920 pass it, they want to amend the deal. So when 0:02:29.919 --> 0:02:32.960 you're saying it's our legislative process, well, the legislative process 0:02:33.080 --> 0:02:36.440 was to drag your feed, continue hearings, continue votes, not 0:02:36.560 --> 0:02:39.160 have them, and then change the deal once you do 0:02:39.280 --> 0:02:40.960 have a vote. Then I would say that that's not 0:02:41.000 --> 0:02:42.840 really a very fair legislative process. 0:02:43.000 --> 0:02:45.440 They did also delay it because if i'm there were 0:02:45.480 --> 0:02:47.960 also fresh threats of tariffs coming from the United States 0:02:47.960 --> 0:02:50.080 as well, which was one of the key delays. But 0:02:50.200 --> 0:02:51.640 the last time that we spoke, you were on your 0:02:51.680 --> 0:02:54.040 way to the planary session in Strasbourg to talk to 0:02:54.160 --> 0:02:57.480 MEPs about their concerns. Did that not come to the 0:02:57.560 --> 0:03:00.200 right resolution? Is that why we're in the situation wherein. 0:03:00.440 --> 0:03:03.240 I think Berd Longey did a great job getting this 0:03:03.360 --> 0:03:05.320 bill through the Parliament. I think there were a lot 0:03:05.360 --> 0:03:08.440 of people opposed to the deal and he had to 0:03:08.440 --> 0:03:10.760 make some concessions to get it approved in parliament. 0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:11.399 I think. 0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:16.920 Chairman Webber has done a great job with the EPP. 0:03:17.760 --> 0:03:20.600 I think there are people who are sincerely interested in 0:03:20.639 --> 0:03:25.359 getting this deal approved, but it did get delayed continuously. 0:03:25.800 --> 0:03:29.560 The United States has not increased tariffs. That's just not true. 0:03:29.600 --> 0:03:32.840 We have not increased to threaten too well, it's a 0:03:32.840 --> 0:03:35.160 big difference between threatening to do something and doing it 0:03:35.280 --> 0:03:38.520 since the day that we since August first of last year, 0:03:38.960 --> 0:03:42.160 tariffs on automobiles have been fifteen percent. Nobody's changed that. 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:44.960 And when it did get when they do finally get 0:03:44.960 --> 0:03:49.920 it through the parliament, I think everybody realizes that they 0:03:50.280 --> 0:03:52.880 want to renegotiate the deal. I quite honestly, in the 0:03:52.960 --> 0:03:55.320 United States side, there's no interest in renegotiating the deal. 0:03:55.400 --> 0:03:58.080 We have a deal, and as many in the EU. 0:03:58.240 --> 0:04:00.240 This isn't just the United States saying this, but many 0:04:00.280 --> 0:04:02.680 people in the European Union have been saying a deal 0:04:02.800 --> 0:04:05.600 is a deal, we need to approve this. Well, we 0:04:05.680 --> 0:04:08.480 agree a deal is a deal. We need to approve this, 0:04:08.640 --> 0:04:09.720 so let's get it approved. 0:04:09.960 --> 0:04:13.240 What conversations have you been having this week then, and 0:04:13.360 --> 0:04:15.960 what conversations are you having now with the EU? Do 0:04:16.240 --> 0:04:20.000 you think that this you know, as you say times up, 0:04:20.040 --> 0:04:22.000 do you think that that message is getting across Do 0:04:22.000 --> 0:04:23.880 you think that that is going to speed things up? 0:04:24.640 --> 0:04:27.320 Well? I think rather than talking about conversations I have 0:04:27.480 --> 0:04:33.160 with various EU officials, some of who are favorably disposed 0:04:33.240 --> 0:04:36.799 towards our position, some of them are aggressively not favorably 0:04:36.839 --> 0:04:39.000 disposed our position. I think if you look at the 0:04:39.000 --> 0:04:43.520 public statements, you can see that there are divisions within 0:04:43.560 --> 0:04:46.360 the EU as to whether their support for doing this 0:04:46.440 --> 0:04:50.599 deal or opposition to it. But I believe that there 0:04:50.720 --> 0:04:53.599 is more support than there is oppositions, So I believe 0:04:53.640 --> 0:04:54.880 we're going to get this deal done. 0:04:54.880 --> 0:04:59.320 Look, this deal is part of really getting. 0:04:59.000 --> 0:05:03.840 The the new EU US relationship where it needs to be. 0:05:03.880 --> 0:05:07.320 We need to get certainty in our trade relationship. Businesses 0:05:07.360 --> 0:05:09.560 need that, countries need that. That will lead to greater 0:05:09.640 --> 0:05:12.520 prosperity for both the EU and the US. And it 0:05:12.520 --> 0:05:16.320 actually says that in the Framework Trade Agreement we've got 0:05:16.360 --> 0:05:19.640 the critical Minerals deal, which we now have a memorandum 0:05:19.640 --> 0:05:24.000 of understanding on that. Commissioner Chefkevich and Secretary Rubio signed. 0:05:24.400 --> 0:05:26.760 It was last week or the week before. We're trying 0:05:26.800 --> 0:05:29.159 to get Europe on board, and I think we will 0:05:30.000 --> 0:05:33.719 come to a Pax Silica agreement with the EU, which 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:37.799 will help bring the EU more aggressively into the AI economy, 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:40.840 along with as a partner with the United States. So 0:05:41.120 --> 0:05:43.800 these are all efforts to try and bring the two 0:05:43.800 --> 0:05:48.120 economies together, and I think we'll both be more prosperous 0:05:48.160 --> 0:05:50.520 if we can approve these agreements, and I think we 0:05:50.600 --> 0:05:53.760 will approve them. It's just going through this process is 0:05:53.800 --> 0:05:57.159 not easy, and I think both sides doing the best 0:05:57.200 --> 0:06:00.320 it can. But nine months of you got to deal, 0:06:00.360 --> 0:06:02.240 we got nothing isn't going to work. 0:06:02.600 --> 0:06:06.520 Where do you see the I suppose the zone for negotiations. Now, 0:06:06.600 --> 0:06:08.720 then what are the things because I mean the clauses 0:06:08.760 --> 0:06:11.560 that the European Parliament added, including you know that it 0:06:11.560 --> 0:06:13.640 would only the deal would only come into force when 0:06:13.680 --> 0:06:15.360 the US held a bit side of the bargain. So 0:06:15.360 --> 0:06:17.200 I'm sure you agree with that if you're talking about 0:06:17.200 --> 0:06:18.080 a deal being a deal. 0:06:18.080 --> 0:06:19.920 We've been holding up our side of the bargram since 0:06:20.000 --> 0:06:21.160 last fall, so. 0:06:21.080 --> 0:06:23.120 That's not an issue. The other the other key condition 0:06:23.160 --> 0:06:24.360 was we should be. 0:06:24.320 --> 0:06:27.000 We should be making that condition with I mean but 0:06:27.040 --> 0:06:29.400 that that I guess, I guess really we are. You 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:31.960 don't have a deal until both people comply. A deal 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:34.159 isn't you do what you promise and and we'll do 0:06:34.200 --> 0:06:36.279 ours later. A deal is you do what you promise 0:06:36.360 --> 0:06:39.680 we'll do would we promise? Well, okay, we're waiting. 0:06:39.560 --> 0:06:42.040 Sure, but I'm trying to identify upos. What is it 0:06:42.040 --> 0:06:44.800 exactly that that was in the European Parliament changes that 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:47.280 that is now an issue given that you've been talking 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:48.600 to the European Parliament about this. 0:06:48.760 --> 0:06:50.640 Well, the things that are an issue are the things 0:06:50.640 --> 0:06:52.400 that weren't in the deal that was agreed to a 0:06:52.480 --> 0:06:55.640 Turnbury and that you know, really great people on the 0:06:55.760 --> 0:06:58.520 on the EU side, big advocates for the European Union, 0:06:58.520 --> 0:07:02.560 Bjorn Seabird morro Chef negotiated this against people from the 0:07:02.640 --> 0:07:06.160 US who are the same Jamison Greer, our ambassador, and 0:07:06.520 --> 0:07:10.040 Howard Lutnik, our Secretary of Commerce. These for individuals, with 0:07:10.280 --> 0:07:14.680 help from others, put what Trump and Wonderline agreed to 0:07:14.800 --> 0:07:18.240 in writing, and we did what we said we would do. 0:07:19.120 --> 0:07:20.960 It's time for Europe to do what it said it 0:07:20.960 --> 0:07:24.360 would do and stop with the amendments. 0:07:23.880 --> 0:07:27.160 Already, Okay, I suppose. In the meantime, though, what has 0:07:27.240 --> 0:07:32.360 happened is the US led war in Iran, and many 0:07:32.400 --> 0:07:36.960 European countries have been critical of that war. Also, what 0:07:37.040 --> 0:07:40.640 sort of conversations have been having with counterparts and what 0:07:40.720 --> 0:07:43.480 are those conversations been like since the start of the war, 0:07:43.560 --> 0:07:49.480 given the economic, the inflationary, the growth impact that is 0:07:49.520 --> 0:07:52.000 having now on European countries. 0:07:52.480 --> 0:07:57.400 So my conversations with the people in the the ones 0:07:57.680 --> 0:07:59.960 who need a conversation, I think some people understood this 0:08:00.080 --> 0:08:04.440 without me having to say it. But President Trump, Secretary 0:08:04.520 --> 0:08:07.480 Rubio has been very clear and President Trump as as well, 0:08:08.160 --> 0:08:12.680 that the United States believes that Iran was building up 0:08:12.760 --> 0:08:19.360 a significant resource or reserves of missiles, including long range 0:08:19.360 --> 0:08:23.280 missiles and drones, so that if anybody tried to stop 0:08:23.320 --> 0:08:26.960 their nuclear weapons program with which they were proceeding, if 0:08:27.000 --> 0:08:29.200 anybody tried to stop it, they would disrupt the world 0:08:29.200 --> 0:08:32.199 economy by tacking their neighbors in the Middle East, by 0:08:32.200 --> 0:08:35.000 shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, and doing whatever they 0:08:35.000 --> 0:08:38.200 could to prevent the world from restricting their ability to 0:08:38.200 --> 0:08:42.400 get a nuclear weapon. Now, President Trump once he had 0:08:42.400 --> 0:08:44.640 that knowledge, could could have done what other presidents and 0:08:44.679 --> 0:08:46.720 other leaders in other countries have done, which has kicked 0:08:46.720 --> 0:08:49.080 the ball down the road, or kick the can down 0:08:49.080 --> 0:08:51.000 the road and say, you know, let the next guy 0:08:51.080 --> 0:08:53.679 deal with this. Because there was no political benefit to 0:08:53.760 --> 0:08:57.000 President Trump doing what he did. The Democrats aren't going 0:08:57.040 --> 0:08:59.040 to support him no matter what he does, so that 0:08:59.160 --> 0:09:02.319 wasn't going to help. But his own party wasn't completely 0:09:02.400 --> 0:09:05.360 supportive of the President taking this move, so and with 0:09:05.440 --> 0:09:08.439 elections coming up in November, there was no political benefits. 0:09:08.480 --> 0:09:10.640 So you know, if he did this, he had a 0:09:10.760 --> 0:09:14.520 very sincere belief that this was absolutely the right thing 0:09:14.640 --> 0:09:16.560 to do, not only for the United States, but for 0:09:16.640 --> 0:09:22.560 world peace. You cannot let this crazy theocratic regime get 0:09:22.559 --> 0:09:23.440 a nuclear weapon. 0:09:23.679 --> 0:09:25.240 It would be a complete disasswer. 0:09:25.400 --> 0:09:28.080 So consequences of this as well, with energy prices that 0:09:28.160 --> 0:09:30.360 much higher, and so you know, this is something that 0:09:30.360 --> 0:09:33.480 obviously European countries are feeling very keenly. I'm wondering, do 0:09:33.559 --> 0:09:36.280 you have a sense that relations with some of those 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:40.480 countries in the EU are irreparably damaged? Can there be 0:09:40.520 --> 0:09:41.280 an improvements? 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:45.720 No, I don't think. I don't think relations are irreparably damaged. 0:09:45.800 --> 0:09:46.360 I think. 0:09:47.720 --> 0:09:50.240 To get back to what I'm talking to people in 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:53.360 the EU about, once you understand why President Trump did 0:09:53.360 --> 0:09:55.400 this and the importance of his doing it, and the 0:09:56.040 --> 0:09:59.400 really the decision being that this was absolutely what was 0:09:59.440 --> 0:10:01.880 the right thing to do. When you find countries where 0:10:01.920 --> 0:10:05.160 we've spent really billions, if not trillions of dollars defending 0:10:05.280 --> 0:10:07.760 we've had military bases in place, even since the fall 0:10:07.760 --> 0:10:09.760 of the Soviet Union, where we really didn't need to 0:10:09.800 --> 0:10:13.320 have those bases, We've continued to spend American taxpayer dollars 0:10:13.400 --> 0:10:16.120 on defense of Europe. You know, we went in the 0:10:16.160 --> 0:10:18.240 past one hundred and twenty years, We've been to Europe 0:10:18.240 --> 0:10:25.080 twice to free it from from aggressive, aggressive, militaristic people, 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:28.600 you know, and then we can't use our bases, we 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:32.360 can't fly over countries to do what President Trump believed 0:10:32.440 --> 0:10:36.520 was the right thing to do in with respect to Iran, 0:10:36.559 --> 0:10:38.600 and I think was unquestionably the right thing to do. 0:10:38.600 --> 0:10:41.120 It is it will, it is having an effect on prices, 0:10:41.120 --> 0:10:45.920 but look, this is nothing compared to what would have 0:10:45.960 --> 0:10:49.480 happened if a long range ballistic missile carrying a nuclear 0:10:49.480 --> 0:10:53.040 weapon had headed off towards Rome or Cyprus, or Berlin 0:10:53.400 --> 0:10:54.120 or Tel Aviv. 0:10:54.160 --> 0:10:55.960 I mean this is we know there was no indications 0:10:55.960 --> 0:10:56.960 that that was imminent either. 0:10:57.200 --> 0:10:59.200 Well, we know they had the ballistic missiles, we know 0:10:59.240 --> 0:11:01.040 they've been threatening to do it. We know they sent 0:11:01.120 --> 0:11:04.160 a missile, we know they attacked Cyprus. So I mean, 0:11:04.200 --> 0:11:05.760 so there are a lot of things we do know. 0:11:06.840 --> 0:11:09.760 You can't. You know, we don't. But in nineteen thirty five. 0:11:09.559 --> 0:11:12.040 If they if we had stopped Adolf Hitler, everybody would 0:11:12.080 --> 0:11:13.760 have claimed we don't know what would have happened if 0:11:13.800 --> 0:11:15.000 we if we hadn't stopped him. 0:11:15.000 --> 0:11:16.800 Well, the same thing here. We don't know what would 0:11:16.840 --> 0:11:17.280 have happened. 0:11:17.280 --> 0:11:19.599 You'll never know what would have happened, but we do 0:11:20.120 --> 0:11:21.840 have evidence as to what could have happened. 0:11:21.960 --> 0:11:23.600 All right, good to have you with you. I'm Bossdor, 0:11:23.640 --> 0:11:25.280 Thank you very much for being my pleasure in studio. 0:11:25.320 --> 0:11:28.320 Andrew Poster there, US Ambassador to the European Union, joining 0:11:28.360 --> 0:11:29.760 us in the Brussels Radio studio.