00:00Coming up, we'll be joined by Bernd Lange, a German politician and long-serving member of
00:05the European Parliament from the Social Democratic Party of Germany, the CDP. Bernd Lange is the
00:11Chair of the European Parliament's Committee on International Trade, so the man of the moment,
00:15if you like, here on Brussels with trade being one of the biggest subjects in town. So good
00:19morning, Mr Lange. Thank you so much for joining us here on Europe Today. So look, what a week
00:24it's been for the EU-US trade deal. Has it been cursed since the start? Yeah, it's more or less
00:31the same. Each weekend we have to see new developments in the United States. So contrary to our goal to
00:39reach stability and predictability with the deal of Scotland, totally the opposite. And we have to
00:45react more or less each weekend. So wait and see every weekend. Tell me, look, the vote is on hold
00:51for now, the vote in the European Parliament on that EU-US trade deal. Under what conditions
00:56would you actually sign up for it? Yeah, for us, it's crystal clear that the US really is breaking
01:02the deal. They started some weeks after they lifted 400 products from 15 as agreed as a baseline
01:10to 50 for steel and aluminium, so motorcycles, pumps, agricultural technique and so on. Then we had
01:19the Greenland issue and now we have the tariffs based on Article 122, which is a surcharge. So we
01:30have the normal tariffs and 10% and perhaps 15% above. This means a lot of products are now
01:38tariffed
01:39more than 15%. So another break of the deal. But meanwhile, Bernd Lange, the European Commission
01:44is putting pressure on you, on the Parliament to go ahead and vote on this deal. Under what
01:50conditions would you bow to this pressure coming from the Commission? Nobody can make
01:54pressure or give pressure to me. I'm a European Parliament representative and the representative
01:59of the people. And if you're talking to the people on the street, it's totally clear that
02:03we should be clear to the United States. Now, we need a clarification from the United States
02:08in written form. We stick to the Scotland deal. So no additional tariffs, no additional products
02:17to steel and the 400 products have to be revised to 15%. This we need.
02:24And what is best for European industry? They, of course, are crying out for some predictability.
02:29Yeah, that's indeed, as I mentioned. So there were two reasons for the deal. One was predictability
02:34and the other, Trump mixed tariff policy with security policy. And therefore, we accepted
02:40the deal. The deal is totally unbalanced. It's in favour of the United States. But we said,
02:45better a deal than escalation and nothing. But the break is really on the side of the United
02:52States. And this has to be stopped. Otherwise, we have uncertainty.
02:56So can you trust the Americans now as trading partners?
03:00That's a question. So it's not a stable issue. Of course, when I speak to Ambassador Geer,
03:07the USDR of the United States, of course, we have a good relation. We can talk and I can
03:12trust him. But the situation and the decision making in the United States is not based on
03:18a democratic process. At the end of the day, the president is deciding alone. And this is
03:24not a stable situation. And therefore, we are looking really to have fair partnership
03:29with a lot of reliable partners worldwide. So not have an alternative, but a little bit
03:36more stability in the global trade order.
03:38But as you say, every weekend is very unpredictable. And just regarding the tariff threats from last
03:44weekend, how should the EU respond to this? Should we start using now really dramatic tools?
03:49Yeah, no, that's not the case. So, excuse me, we are waiting a little bit. I mentioned this
03:55to the commission, but also to the US side, we need clarification that this is an exceptional
04:00situation. They will use the tariffs, they will bring back the so-called derivatives, and give a
04:06guarantee for, let's say, the next three years, that nothing will happen. And then, of course,
04:12we will move on. If in the next week, nothing will happen, then we have to reflect countermeasures,
04:17counterterrorists, for example.
04:18And what about the EU Mercosur deal? You want to see it provisionally applied, but a lot of
04:23people would disagree with that.
04:25No, we have sent to court, the European Court of Justice, three questions, which are not dealing
04:33with the content of the more formal issue. And therefore, also, some of the people voted in
04:40favour of this request to the court, say, of course, we can live with the provisional application.
04:46So, I guess, if there is a notification from the Mercosur countries that I expect coming before the summer break,
04:53we should go ahead with the provisional application. And I guess this will be supported by the parliament as well.
04:59Okay. And just one question on Friedrich Merz's visit to China. What are your takeaways from that?
05:05Yes, it's a little tricky. On the one side, we have to be clear. The unfair trading practices have to
05:12be mentioned,
05:12and we have also our defensive instruments. But on the other side, China's a big country. We have also some
05:18common interest
05:19in climate protection and cooperation. So, I guess we have to find the balance between the two sides of the
05:26coin.
05:26And so far, I guess the Chancellor did quite well.
05:30Okay. Bert Lange, thank you so much for coming in to us this morning here on Europe Today.
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