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Bloomberg Talks

Senator Thom Tillis Talks Fed, China, and US Relations with Europe

13 Feb 2026

Transcription

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

2.512 - 7.119 Lisa Abramowicz

Bloomberg Audio Studios. Podcasts. Radio. News.

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7.9 - 12.648 Jonathan Ferro

Let's keep it on the geopolitics. Global leaders gathering at the Munich Security Conference. The U.S.

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Chapter 2: What are the key themes from the Munich Security Conference?

12.668 - 28.553 Jonathan Ferro

Secretary of State Marco Rubio leading a delegation as the Trump administration pushes transatlantic ties potentially to their limits. The Republican Senator Tom Tillis is on the ground in Munich and he joins us now for more. Senator, welcome back to the program. Forgive me for doing this live in the moment, but the news just crossed.

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28.533 - 45.644 Jonathan Ferro

This is on Alibaba, reporting from Reuters that the Trump administration is expected to add Alibaba to a list of firms that allegedly helped China's military. This according to reports, sir, just moments ago. Senator, clearly the U.S. administration, and Congress for that matter, is looking to put a bit of a squeeze on China.

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46.365 - 51.655 Jonathan Ferro

Landing in Europe, in Munich, Germany, do you believe that you have the Europeans on side in this effort?

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54.908 - 68.971 Senator Thom Tillis

I think we do. But let's go back to Alibaba. And honestly, any business that's domiciled in China, does anybody really believe that there's separation between the CCCP and the state-owned enterprises and other supposedly independent businesses?

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Chapter 3: How is the U.S. addressing concerns about China?

69.051 - 80.509 Senator Thom Tillis

I think the president is on the right track to make sure that we're starting to hold China accountable. We need a good relationship with them, but it needs to be one that's founded on trust. And quite honestly, there are moves in China that I don't trust.

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80.93 - 86.738 Jonathan Ferro

So, Senator, with that in mind, should U.S.-based investors be able to have access to investing in these companies?

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90.763 - 118.144 Senator Thom Tillis

Well, look, I've got a real problem with – we had a banking committee meeting yesterday with Atkins before from the SEC. And I've got a real problem with the U.S. getting into a trend of – buying into some of our companies. I feel like we should let the free market really drive innovation. And also back to the segment before, I watched your prior segment. We've also got to unleash AI.

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118.164 - 123.272 Senator Thom Tillis

We can't be afraid of it. We have to embrace it. We have to leverage it. And we have to be the leader in innovating in it.

123.252 - 142.441 Jonathan Ferro

Well, Senator, let's talk about that. Creative destruction is a feature of the U.S. economy and American dynamism is something Lisa was talking about earlier on this morning. Senator, I feel like there's an aversion to that these days and a fear associated with some of the headlines we've all seen over the past week, the prospect of white-collar jobs being wiped out.

Chapter 4: What is Senator Tillis's stance on U.S.-China relations?

142.722 - 150.694 Jonathan Ferro

How do we prepare for a moment like that and ensure that what globalization did to manufacturing doesn't happen to services with AI?

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151.535 - 177.171 Senator Thom Tillis

Well, we have to be ever watchful, but the bell has been rung. We can either decide to be the innovation leader and work with our partners and allies, the nations that we have military alliances with, to make sure that the Western world is still in the front of it. But I'm reminded of books that I read about the Industrial Revolution, and any time that we've had a major leap in technology...

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177.151 - 200.779 Senator Thom Tillis

We can't pretend like it didn't happen. We have to figure out how to master it and be the best practice in executing it and dealing with all the potential negative consequences and job displacement. I think the jury's still out on what the net job displacement's going to be. Does it mean that we've got to put more money in education and retooling expertise around the needs of the AI future?

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200.759 - 220.995 Senator Thom Tillis

Probably, almost certainly, but we should resist it. We should make sure that we get rid of the patchwork of laws that are being implemented at the state level that are impediments to our own indigenous innovation and AI, come up with rules of the road at a federal level, and just unleash the power of the U.S. innovation economy to lead the world and get it right.

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221.515 - 236.452 Lisa Abramowicz

Senator, do you feel like internationally there's the same skepticism? You're in Europe. It's known for regulating. There are experts in it, and it seems like a growing number of people feel like that is hampering some of the progress. I mean, is there the same kind of enthusiasm?

236.492 - 243.861 Lisa Abramowicz

What's the mood like around some of the AI story that's causing a lot of volatility, certainly, here in the United States?

246.119 - 266.254 Senator Thom Tillis

But for years, I've been trying to remind everyone of how critical we were of the GDPR, data privacy, data breach policies that the EU implemented. They made mistakes. They corrected some of them. But then states started gold plating some of those policies, California and other ones, that are, again, impediments to our tech sector.

266.234 - 288.953 Senator Thom Tillis

What we need are national – this is clearly interstate commerce. We need to preempt these laws, make them better. If we find a best practice, be instructed by that at some state level. But we need to set that platform right, or the malign uses of AI are going to outpace our ability to stay up with them. That's why I think it's so important. I was the one – The only one, actually.

288.973 - 306.062 Senator Thom Tillis

99 members voted against that. There was an amendment last year to try and preempt the AI laws at the state level, come up with a national standard. I think that we need to do that very quickly, and we should throw data privacy, data breach in there so that we get it right, and maybe we have a gold-plated standard that Europe can be instructed by.

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