Bloomberg Radio Host (3:00)

They did also delay it because there were also fresh threats of tariffs coming from the United States as well, which was one of the key delays. But the last time that we spoke, you were on your way to the plenary session in Strasbourg to talk to MEPs about their concerns. Did that not come to the right resolution? Is that why we're in the situation we're in now?

Andrew Pozder (3:18)

I think Bert Lange did a great job getting this bill through the Parliament. I think there were a lot of people opposed to the deal, and he had to make some concessions to get it approved in Parliament. I think Chairman Weber has done a great job with the epp. I think there are people who are sincerely interested in getting this deal approved, but it did get delayed continuously. The United States has not increased tariffs. That's just not true. We have not increased tariffs.

Bloomberg Radio Host (3:48)

We're threatened to on several occasions.

Andrew Pozder (3:49)

Well, it's a big difference between threatening to do something and doing it. Since the day that we. Since August 1st of last year, tariffs on automobiles have been 15%. Nobody's changed that. And when it did get, when they do finally get it through the Parliament, I think everybody realizes that they want to renegotiate the deal. Quite honestly, on the United States side, there's no interest in renegotiating the deal. We have a deal. And as many in the eu, this isn't just the United States saying this, but many people in the European Union have been saying, a deal is a deal. We need to approve this. Well, we agree a deal is a deal. We need to approve this. So let's get it approved.

Interviewer (4:27)

What conversations have you been having this week then? And what conversations are you having now with the eu? Do you think that this, you know, as you say, time's up. Do you think that that message is getting across? Do you think that that is going to speed things up?

Andrew Pozder (4:42)

Well, I think rather than talking about conversations I have with various EU officials, some of who are favorably disposed towards our position, some of whom are aggressively not favorably dispose our position, I think if you look at the Public statements. You can see that there are, there are divisions within the EU as to whether there's support for doing this deal or opposition to it. But I believe that there is more support than there is opposition. So I believe we're going to get this deal done. Look, this deal is part of really getting the new EU US relationship where it needs to be. We need to get certainty in our trade relationship. Businesses need that, countries need that. That'll lead to greater prosperity for both the EU and the US and it actually says that in the, in the framework trade agreement. We've got the critical minerals deal, which we now have a memorandum of understanding on that Commissioner Shefkovich and Secretary Rubio signed. I think it was last week or the week before. We're trying to get Europe on board, and I think we will come to a Pax silica agreement with the EU which will help bring the EU more aggressively into the AI economy, along with as a partner with the United States. So these are all efforts to try and bring the two economies together. And I think we'll both be more prosperous if we can approve these agreements. And I hope, and I think we will approve them. It's just going through this process is not easy and I think both sides are doing the best it can. But nine months of you got a deal, we got nothing isn't going to work.

Bloomberg Radio Host (6:20)

Where do you see the. I suppose the zone for negotiations now then, what are the things. Because I mean, the clauses that the European Parliament added, including, you know, that it would only. The deal would only come into force when the US Held a bit side of the bargain. So I'm sure you agree with that. If you're talking about a deal being a deal.

Andrew Pozder (6:35)

We've been holding up our side of the bargain since last fall, so that's not an issue.

Bloomberg Radio Host (6:39)

The other key condition was putting.

Andrew Pozder (6:42)

We should be making that condition, I mean, but that I guess really we are. You don't have a deal until both people comply. A deal isn't you do what you promise and we'll do ours later. A deal is you do what you promise. We'll do what we promise. Well, okay. We're waiting.

Bloomberg Radio Host (6:57)

Sure. But I'm trying to identify, I suppose, what is it exactly that was in the European Parliament changes. That is now an issue, given that you've been talking to the European Parliament about this.

Andrew Pozder (7:06)

Well, the things that are an issue are the things that weren't in the deal that was agreed to at Turnberry and that really great people on the EU side, big advocates for The European Union. Bjorn Siebert, Moro Shefkovich negotiated this against people from the US who are the same. Jamison Greer, our ambassador, and Howard Lutnick, our Secretary of commerce. These four individuals, with help from others, put what Trump and von der Leyen agreed to in writing. And we did what we said we would do. It's time for Europe to do what it said it would do and stop with the amendments already.

Interviewer (7:42)

Okay, I suppose. In the meantime, though, what has happened is the US Led war in Iran and many European countries have been critical of that war also. What sort of conversations have you been having with counterparts and what have those conversations been like since the start of the war, given the economic, the inflationary, the growth impact that that is having now on European countries?

Andrew Pozder (8:10)

So my conversations with the people in the eu, the ones who need a conversation, I think some people understood this without me having to say it, but President Trump, Secretary Rubio has been very clear, and President Trump has as well, that the United States believes that Iran was building up a significant resource or reserves of missiles, including long range missiles, drones, so that if anybody tried to stop their nuclear weapons program with which they were proceeding, if anybody tried to stop it, they would disrupt the world economy by attacking their neighbors in the Middle east, by shutting down the Strait of Hormuz and doing whatever they could to prevent the world from restricting their ability to get a nuclear weapon. Now, President Trump, once he had that knowledge, could have done what other presidents and other leaders in other countries have done, which is kick the ball down the road and, or kick the can down the road and say, you know, let the next guy deal with this. Because there was no political benefit to President Trump doing what he did. The Democrats aren't going to support him no matter what he does. So that wasn't going to help. But his own party wasn't completely supportive of the president taking this move. And with elections coming up in November, there was no political benefit. So, you know, if he did this, he had a very sincere belief that this was absolutely the right thing to do, not only for the United States, but for world peace. You cannot let it, this crazy theocratic regime, get a nuclear weapon. It would be a complete disaster.

Bloomberg Radio Host (9:42)

So there are consequences of this as well, with energy prices that much higher. And so, you know, this is something that obviously European countries are feeling very keenly. I'm wondering, do you have a sense that relations with some of those countries in the EU are irreparably damaged? Can there be an improvement?

Andrew Pozder (9:59)

No, I don't think relations are irreparably damaged. I think the, to get back to what I'm talking to people in the EU about, once you understand why President Trump did this and the importance of his doing it and really the decision being that this was absolutely what was the right thing to do. When you find countries where we've spent really billions if not trillions of dollars defending. We've had military bases in place even since the fall of the Soviet Union where we really didn't need to have those bases. We've continued to spend American taxpayer dollars on defense. Europe, you know, we went in the past 120 years, we've been to Europe twice to free it from aggressive, militaristic people. And you know, and then we can't, we can't use our bases, we can't fly over countries to do what President Trump believed was the right thing to do in, with respect to Iran and I think was unquestionably the right thing to do. It is, it will, it is having an effect on prices. But look, this is nothing compared to what would have happened if a long range ballistic missile carrying a nuclear weapon had headed off towards Rome or Cyprus or Berlin or Tel Aviv.

Bloomberg Radio Host (11:12)

As far as we know, there was no indications that that was imminent either.

Andrew Pozder (11:14)

Well, we know they had the ballistic missiles. We know they've been threatening to do it. We know they sent a missile. We know they attacked Cyprus. Yeah, so, I mean, so there are a lot of things we do know. You can't, you know, we don't. But in 1935, if we had stopped Adolf Hitler, everybody would have claimed we don't know what would have happened if we, if we hadn't stopped him. Well, the same thing here. We don't know what would have happened. You'll never know what would have happened. Okay, but we do, we do have evidence as to what could have happened.

Bloomberg Radio Host (11:39)

All right, good to have you with you, Ambassador. Thank you very much for being.

Andrew Pozder (11:42)

My pleasure.

Bloomberg Radio Host (11:42)

Studio. Andrew poster there. U.S. ambassador to the European Union joining us in the Brussels radio studio.

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