Odd Lots Gina Raimondo on How European Industry Is Getting Crushed
232 snips
Apr 6, 2026 
Gina Raimondo, former U.S. commerce secretary and Rhode Island governor, maps out why Europe is struggling under pressure from China and fraying ties with America. She talks supply chains, chip strategy, and the case for a non-China trading bloc. The conversation also turns to AI, mass job disruption, democracy, and why worker transition plans matter.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Trade With China Is Fine Until Security Starts
- Raimondo draws a sharp line between normal trade with China and restricting sales that touch national security.
- She even promoted US health and beauty exports to show most trade is benign, while leading-edge chips and certain AI are different.
Winning AI Requires Surviving The Jobs Transition
- Raimondo thinks winning AI means more than top models and data centers; it also requires surviving the labor-market transition.
- She warns mass layoffs without support systems would amount to automating America’s decline, not beating China.
Build AI Transition Policies Before Mass Layoffs Hit
- Build new incentives now so companies redeploy workers instead of maximizing short-term share price through layoffs.
- Raimondo says democratic politics cannot absorb tens of millions of sudden job losses; China-style “clean up later” would destabilize America.