Ep 117 Special Edition: US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland

In a special edition of the EU Confidential podcast, U.S. Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland speaks with POLITICO’s Ryan Heath about the state of relations between Europe and the United States. Donald Trump’s man in Brussels talks about the prospects of a relationship “reset,” trade tension, digital tax and much more. Sondland has particularly strong words for the EU’s incoming trade commissioner, Phil Hogan. He brands recent comments about Trump by the Irishman “very condescending.” On France’s push for a digital services tax, he pledges a “vigorous” attack and accuses Paris of trying to “dip their dipper into the stream of cashflow” from U.S. companies. Although he spoke before POLITICO broke the news that the World Trade Organisation ruled in favor of the U.S. in a dispute over Airbus subsidies, the ambassador makes clear how he sees that battle playing out. Sondland also talks about his conversations with the EU’s incoming leadership team and about his own European heritage.