MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Let's turn now to the preliminary U.S.-EU trade deal that's just been agreed. If you take President Trump at his word, it is not just a big deal, it's the biggest.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: So we have good news. We've reached a deal. It's a good deal for everybody, I believe. And it's - I think you were saying this is probably the biggest deal ever reached in any capacity, trade or beyond trade.
KELLY: President Trump speaking at his golf course in Scotland after the tariff deal was struck. If finalized, it would set a 15% tariff on most European goods entering the U.S. With us now to share a European perspective on that, Jovita Neliupsiene. She is ambassador of the European Union to the United States. Ambassador, welcome.
JOVITA NELIUPSIENE: Hello.
KELLY: Hi. So President Trump says this is a good deal for everybody. Do you agree?
NELIUPSIENE: Well, I think that the deal brings stability, predictability for both sides of Atlantic, for business on both sides of Atlantic. And from now on, we can really open the door for the strategic trade cooperation and move in there.
KELLY: So stability, predictability - it will also bring, as I noted, a tariff of 15% on European goods coming into the U.S. Zero percent - no tariff - on American goods headed for Europe. What's in this for Europe?
NELIUPSIENE: Well, first of all, yes, it is 15% across the board for 70% of the EU trade to the United States. And really list (ph) on zero-for-zero. We will get as well to some of the - of zeros on our side.
KELLY: Right. There are some details - some very big details - still to be worked out, and I'll get to that in a second. I do want to let you respond. You will have heard criticism - strong criticism - coming from France. The French Prime Minister, Francois Bayrou, is calling this a dark day for Europe. He says this constitutes submissions. This was a post he did on X. Is he wrong?
NELIUPSIENE: Well, let's pause for a moment and consider what was actually the possible alternative. I don't think that a trade war may be really the option where we wanted to land and what kind of the consequences it could have, as we received a couple of weeks ago a letter with the suggestion that the EU will have 30% of tariffs. So I think the landing zone which we are about to have is the most effective decision or most effective deal we could get at the moment. And, you know, if we would consider alternative, it would hit hard on both sides - the consumers, but as well as small and medium businesses. And even big businesses could be out of place.
KELLY: Well - and stay with the impact on European businesses, European industries - what do you imagine? What concerns you about the potential impact on, say, the car industry in Germany?
NELIUPSIENE: Well, and again, right now, the tariff on cars and car parts is 25% plus 2.5%, so in general, 27.5. So we're speaking about going down to 15, and I think that's probably possible to accommodate through the margins. And definitely, you know, the tariffs was never our choice. EU never have chosen to go to the tariff part. And definitely we do believe that it could have an impact on...
KELLY: Right.
NELIUPSIENE: ...Consumer prices.
KELLY: Did you ever think you'd be at a moment where 15 - one-five - percent tariffs on, say, German cars would sound like good news to a European?
NELIUPSIENE: It's not - neither good news nor bad. I think that we have to take the reality. And it's not really the - we have to really concentrate where our strategic operation right now lies.
KELLY: Just about 30 seconds left, but I do want to circle back to your point about predictability, stability. Is this deal, to you, as much about Europe's security as it is about trade? Just about 30 seconds.
NELIUPSIENE: Well, we have 1.5 - 1.7 trillion of trade, and we have really intertwined supply chains in all the sectors, including safety, defense, automotive. We are everywhere, and I think it - the trade deal is about everything, and economic security including.
KELLY: Jovita Neliupsiene is ambassador of the European Union to the United States. Ambassador, thanks so much for your time.
NELIUPSIENE: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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