I've sat through two summits now between the EU and
the United States.
And none of this will come as a surprise to
either side,
especially to President von der Leyen or President Michel,
because they've talked extensively about the problem of overcapacity in
the
People's Republic of China and how it's distorting our markets
in the United States and their markets in Europe.
And I think the message
to them from us would be the same message they
would give us,
which is we're going to protect our workers and we're
going to protect our
sectors of the economy that are are being attacked basically
by the PRC,
especially in the green tech area.
I mean, they had their experience with solar panels.
They're now facing the prospect
on electric vehicles and batteries and critical minerals,
as are we.
So it's not a surprise to either side.
It's, I think the message
of us to them and them to us is we're
going to protect our workers and our businesses.
You've mentioned that you were in the last two European
Council meetings.
No, no, no European summits.
Summits, yeah. Yeah.
I was just wondering to what extent are you coordinating
with the EU,
these tariffs on Chinese E VS?
Well, I actually don't know what they're going to do
on their own sanction invest their investigations on
on over capacity in the electric vehicle
markets. But I've been in the meetings where they've talked
about it and they clearly have a common vision of
what the problem is
and it's not simply with
you know green tech in the EV
electric vehicle area. It's also on aluminum and steel.
You know the global arrangement of aluminum steel is now
beginning to focus on over capacity
and abuse of our markets as it is with critical
minerals.
So they've talked a lot about it
and to the extent they share values,
the only problem is working out the details and in
that sense we're negotiating agreements between the two
systems between the EU and the United States.
You know, the interesting thing about since I've been here
is I think the relationship between the European Union
and the United States is probably better than it has
been in any time in our history.
And I've had high-ranking people
in the European Commission tell me that.
And I think it's extremely important for your listeners to
understand that both systems share these values.
There's not a need to have a lot of detailed
description discussions about what the problem is.
They understand and share that vision because the systems are
very,
very similar. Would you like the EU to move a
little bit faster?
Look, I spent 17 years working in the US Senate
for a while for a young junior senator from Delaware.
And I understand how complicated these big Democratic systems are.
You can't make them move any faster than they're going
to move.
Our system takes time. Their system takes time.
But the most important thing is to reach consensus within
your systems and between the two systems.
That's my job. You've noticed that there has been an
improvement in the transatlantic relationship since President Biden arrived at
the White House.
His election was very much celebrated here in Brussels.
And yet when it comes to stealing aluminium tariffs between
the EU and the US,
what we saw was a postponement.
There was there's basically no deal between the EU and
the US when it comes to that.
That will fix this problem.
Why? Why has it been so hard to get an
agreement with the EU on this
complicated issue?
And by the way, people forget that they did roll
over the original agreement they made in
2021. So the tariff suspensions are still there.
The problem is working out.
The actual mechanism for dealing with over capacity is a
very complicated problem and their system is a very decentralized
system.
In other words, every member state has basically a veto.
Ours is a little more centralized.
So it's easier for us to reach a consensus in
the US system than it is for them to reach
one in theirs.
And we have to be understanding of that and we've
worked very diligently on that.
The issue of overcapacity has also been mentioned
a lot by other US representatives and I would like
to share this comment from Catherine Tai with you
because she has made the point that the US and
Europe have basically struggled to survive against the China economic,
Chinese economic model. Would you say that this is the
challenge of this decade for Western economies?
Well, as it relates to the
People's Republic of China, absolutely,
because they are engaged in a deliberate effort to undermine
economic sectors on in both Europe and the United States.
And both countries, both systems have decided to protect their
workers and to protect our industries.
You know, look, I've had many conversations with Europeans on
this question,
and they just went through the wrenching experience of dependence
and being addicted to Russian gas.
They are not going to become addicted.
I predict they will not become addicted to European electric
vehicles or batteries or critical minerals.
And we can't either. That's why we passed the inflation
reduction side
in the wake of the latest tariffs from the United
States on Chinese goods.
Some economists are suggesting that
the US is choosing economic gains over
fixing climate change.
China has green technology. Some of it is cheaper than
was offered in the EU and the US.
What is your answer to that?
We have to be able to achieve our climate objectives
and preserve our economic security and protect our workers at
the same time.
We can't do one or the other.
And I think the Europeans have reached the same conclusion.
And I have no doubt that both sides will reach
consensus on this.
I'd like to also look at what's going on in
this.
On the security front, we saw Secretary of Lincoln arriving
in Ukraine.
Tell us, what is the message to Ukraine at this
stage?
Now that you've approved further support,
when can Ukraine actually receive this aid?
When can you receive the aid?
As soon as we can get it to them.
You know, this is a,
I'm not a military expert.
I don't know what the logistical problems are in getting
the aid to northern
Ukraine right now. But I do know
that we are determined to move.
We, you know the President just signed a billion dollars
worth of aid over as soon as that within minutes
of signing
the supplemental and it's just a logistical problem when pre
positioning the aid and getting it to the right place
at the right time.
There's also a big problem on both sides of the
Atlantic on rebuilding our defense industrial base
and I think both sides are focused on this problem
and we have to be able to produce more.
The important thing to remember here is
the European Union and the United States between them are
40% of the GDP of the world.
If this becomes an industrial battle between that system,
if we have the political will and the Russians,
I have no doubt Who Will Win that battle.
We'll we'll out produce them just like we did in
the
1930s and 40s. And we have also
a tremendously motivated and skilled army
and courageous army in the Ukrainians.
So I have no doubt Who Will Win this battle
in the end.
There's been a lot of question marks,
not just about the US support to Ukraine,
because obviously it took quite a long time to get
this support approved,
but also when it comes to the US place in
NATO.
And recently the president of France,
you know, Macron, he actually said that we have to
get ready to protect ourselves.
What's your response? Can the EU actually expect the US
to be there for them when it comes to defense?
I think the importance of the European Union and Europe
generally stepping up and increasing its commitment and rebuilding its
defense industrial base,
just like we do, is critical
to both systems and it's critical to both democracies and
it's critical to free markets.
And what your
listeners need to understand is this is their battle too.
Because I spent 15 years working in Central and Eastern
Europe,
both as a diplomat and as a lawyer,
representing investors like the people that are listening to this
program,
And without free markets and without democracy and without a
Free Press to hold them accountable,
your investments are at risk.
And that's why we all have stakes in this and
especially the people that are listening to this program.
So can the EU count on the US support?
Yes, absolutely. And it it'll depend,
by the way, a lot on what you do as
a reporter and what they do as business people to
engage the American polity
and be sure that we stay committed
to this relationship because this relationship is their relationship as
much as it is the
government's relationship. And does the US electorate actually understand that
as we approach the upcoming election?
Not as well as they should.
But don't forget, the vote in the House,
notwithstanding all the reporting about how bad it would be,
was a three to one vote in favor of Ukraine
and in favor of the money that'll continue as long
as you stay engaged.
Let's see what we'll have.