Transcript
Michael McDermott (0:00)
At CES. Michael McDermott, EVP of Samsung, spoke with Bloomberg Media Studios about what the company calls its next AI chapter, your companion to AI Living. It's a shift from AI as a feature to AI as a trusted partner in everyday life.
Stephen (0:17)
Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts, Radio news well, the latest tariff threats from the US President are casting a shadow over the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos. European leaders are due to meet now later this week to discuss their response, which could include placing limits on market access for American companies. Let's discuss now with Michael Loewen, the CEO of IDA Ireland, the government agency charged with attracting foreign direct investment, who joins us from Davos. Michael, good morning. How worried are you about this latest escalation of tensions between the US And Europe?
Michael Loewen (0:51)
Good morning, Stephen. Yes, I think the last 48 hours have certainly brought another level of uncertainty for global trade and for international companies. Just last week, actually, I was in the US on the west coast and, and it's quite clear from an enterprise perspective, what they look for is they need global markets, they need global presence and global workforce, and that's what they want to do. And of course, when you have maybe some potential changes in terms of tariffs, that can be disruptive. And we've seen that last year, the first half of last year was quite difficult from an FDI flow perspective and obviously decision making became quite delayed during that period. So hopefully we will see some dialogue over the coming days that can maybe bring more clarity and direction in the future.
Stephen (1:35)
In your conversations with those U.S. companies, do you get a sense of frustration that they're unable to plan or make decisions because of the changing policies?
Michael Loewen (1:47)
Well, I think the dynamics has probably shifted from I came out of the US from even on Thursday night to this morning. So last year obviously know that there was delays in the first half of the year in terms of decision making that actually moved. I think companies found paths and again, decisions have to be made in order to support innovation, in order to serve markets. So I think in some ways it's almost a deja vu back to where we were last April. But I do believe that the resilience of the enterprise base will continue to see their path through because we have and I think enterprise have seen the means of which you need to respond in terms of of global investment and global flows. And I think that will continue. It's just that it brings another level of complication and complexity within their business.