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Global Markets On Edge As Trump Tariffs Drive Steep Losses; Iowa Farmers Prepare For Big Losses Amid Trump Trade War; Death, Destruction After Storms Pummel Parts Of The South; Florida & Houston Vie For NCAA Championship Tonight. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired April 07, 2025 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: -- on its trading partners, and now some countries are looking to negotiate.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: But that is not the case with China, which slapped the U.S. in response with its own 34 percent tax.

And that prompted Trump then today to threaten to bump Chinas tariffs up another 50 percent if China doesn't back off of their retaliatory tariff by tomorrow.

And what would that mean? Holy cow, 104 percent total tariff against China.

CNN's Anna Stewart is with us now from London, with more on the global backlash.

A hundred and four percent, Anna.

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: It would be unbelievable if every single day in recent weeks hadn't been completely unbelievable at this stage. And you've got to feel for some U.S. businesses and, of course, U.S. consumers, many of whom might like certain products that come from China. For instance, iPhone spring to mind.

The second half of the Truth Social post was really interesting, though, because in addition to this line about China, the president also said negotiations with other countries, which have also requested meetings, will begin taking place immediately.

And that's the sort of news that markets have really wanted, particularly over the weekend. And there we're huge fears going into trading sessions in Asia, especially, that those negotiations simply hadn't taken place.

So we saw the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fall to its lowest level since 1997. We've seen European markets have steep losses through the day, closing down around 4 percent or 5 percent.

And now we have the E.U. Commission president coming out and saying we are trying to negotiate. Negotiation is what we want. We have offered zero tariffs, for instance, on industrial goods. However, will that be enough? I think it's unlikely at this stage.

They've offered something similar on cars before. And of course, they were then hit with 25 percent tariffs on cars like every other country.

So it's -- what will it take in terms of negotiations? And it might not just be tariffs. It might be the so-called non-tariff barriers as well. That's something Peter Navarro has been speaking about in terms of Vietnam. Zero tariffs maybe isn't even enough.

So where do we go from here? Well, with China and the U.S., I can't see China backing down within 24 hours of making the announcement that they would -- or sorry, 24 hours of U.S. President Trump saying that he would like to see those tariffs removed.

So I think we're looking at possibly further escalation this week.

SANCHEZ: Wow. We shall see where that leads us.

Anna Stewart, reporting in London, thank you so much.

As one of the nation's top agricultural exporters, Iowa is uniquely threatened by the impact from tariffs and stands to incur significant losses under these new trade barriers.

Let's discuss further with Aaron Lehman. He's the president of the Iowa Farmers Union.

Aaron, thanks for being with us.

I want to get your thoughts on what the Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told CNN's Jake Tapper over the weekend that American farmers and ranchers are suffering because other countries won't take our agricultural goods, things like pork and poultry.

How big a problem is that for farmers and ranchers? And are these tariffs the solution?

AARON LEHMAN, PRESIDENT, IOWA FARMERS UNION: So we do rely on our commodities with the main -- the main ones we grow here in Iowa on our export markets.

We cannot just make up a loss, a massive loss in export markets with the flip of a switch. So it's extremely important to Iowa farmers that we have a -- a reasonable trade policy that works with our trade partners.

SANCHEZ: So what does that mean in regard to tariffs? I mean, what kind of impact are your formers going to see specifically in comparison to Trump's first term, when a lot of folks had to be bailed out?

LEHMAN: Yes, it just means immediate -- in the immediate term, it means lower prices. This has really impacted the markets that -- what we can sell our product for. But our prices have just dropped. And because of all this trade uncertainty and the tariff uncertainty.

That's the immediate impact. And that means farmers are going to have to tighten their belts. We're going to be spending less on investments in our farms and in our communities.

And -- but the long term impact is bad as well. In, you know, five years ago, when we went through a trade war, a lot of our buyers of what we grow went to farmers in other countries. And some of those buyers haven't come back.

It does long term damage when we cannot be relied upon as a -- as a good partner in trade that's going to negotiate in good faith.

So the impact is immediate, but the long-term impact is very damaging as well.

SANCHEZ: What would you like to see the administration do to simultaneously avoid some of the pitfalls that you're describing, forcing costs down and potentially eradicating, access to markets for -- for farmers, while at the same time opening up opportunity for your product to reach markets where right now it can't.

[14:35:05]

LEHMAN: Yes. There are legitimate concerns that we need to address with trade, whether that be monetary policies and labor standards and health and safety standards, labeling. All those things do need to be addressed to help Iowa farmers.

But the way you do that is you show that you can be a good negotiating partner. You get your trade allies to work together and address concerns by showing that you can be a good trade partner over time.

So this approach gets us no closer to dealing with those true trade issues that have been plaguing farmers for years.

SANCHEZ: Have you or anyone in your organization heard from the federal government about any steps toward organizing aid to folks that might soon struggle the way they did during the first trade war?

LEHMAN: Certainly, farmers, if they are facing the -- the massive financial hurt because of a chaotic trade policy, certainly we need to figure out how we can help farmers through that.

The problem was, five years ago, when a trade bailout was put together, a lot of that money did not get to many small- and medium- sized producers at all. And some farmers were not made whole by that -- that aid as well.

Large farmers tended to get the huge maximum benefit from that and even bought out some of the small- and medium-sized farmers.

SANCHEZ: Wow.

LEHMAN: That's a very difficult process to put together, trade assistance for farmers that doesn't make the problem even worse. So, yes, we need to work to find ways to help farmers who are hurt by

this. But we did not do a good job five years ago. And farmers are thinking we can -- certainly, we should have learned from that process so that we don't get in that same situation again.

SANCHEZ: What would be your message to folks who support these tariffs, who argue that, across industries, the United States has been put in a position where foreign powers have taken advantage of American consumers at the expense of the country's ability to form these sophisticated supply chains that, long term, put the country at a disadvantage toward China?

What would you say to those folks?

LEHMAN: We -- we certainly have trade issues that that need to be addressed to help farmers and workers and all up and down our supply chain.

But this approach doesn't even get close to addressing those issues. You built -- trade relations are built over time. You become a good partner. You work through your differences in good faith. And you build, build, build.

Unfortunately, all that good work that farmers invest in -- we invest in building these trade relationships. All those relationships can be -- can be done away with very, very quickly when you have a chaotic trade policy that just says we're going to go it alone.

Unfortunately, it also means that farmers are put in the crosshairs, and we're the first ones that are going to be retaliated against.

So really, all the good work that you can do to build up those relationships can be done very, very quickly.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Aaron Lehman, great to get your perspective. Appreciate you joining us.

LEHMAN: Well, thank you so much.

[14:38:37]

A trio of violent storms have left 19 people dead in seven states. And while the clouds have mostly moved out, the threat is not yet over. We have details straight ahead.

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[14:43:23]

KEILAR: Happening now, parts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina are under a tornado watch, which is affecting more than two million people. In Alabama, storms there unleashed days of unrelenting rain. It triggered severe flooding.

This is a look at some of the damage in Mobile. Some drivers not heeding the warnings, as you can see there, to stay off the roads. SANCHEZ: The storms have left at least 19 people dead, including a 5-

year-old boy who was found in a storm-battered home in Little Rock, Arkansas.

CNN's Ryan Young is in Moscow, Tennessee, with a look at some of the damage there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we're in Moscow, Tennessee. That's about an hour outside of Memphis. And we wanted to come here because you can see some of the damage that's been left behind.

This is a tragic situation. This home was obliterated by the storm, and two people lost their lives here, a father and daughter. Three others were rushed to the hospital. You can only hope that they are OK and we're able to survive after this terrible storm ripped through here.

And you see the debris that's been strewn all across this area here. This has been all over the state. In fact, 10 people died in Tennessee alone. Seventeen total so far. These storms really ravaged the area.

We were in Kentucky as well. And you can see the massive amounts of flooding that Kentucky is dealing with. They are hoping that some of the water relents at some point to allow people to start moving around.

In Arkansas, we saw power outages and water washing out roads, and even firefighters had to be rescued. We talked to a firefighter captain who not only lost an engine, but they had to send a firefighter to the E.R. after the swift waters almost washed him away.

[14:45:01]

So there's tremendous amounts of pain in this area after almost eight days of relentless storms. You can only think about the families like this one that's lost so much so quickly.

Ryan Young, CNN, Moscow, Tennessee.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Our thanks to Ryan for that report.

Now to some other headlines we're watching this hour.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr calls the measles vaccine the most effective way to prevent the disease.

That endorsement came in a social media post on Sunday, the same day he met with grieving families in west Texas, where a second unvaccinated child has now passed away because of measles.

Now, prior to this, Kennedy had downplayed the measles outbreak, calling the decision to vaccinate a, quote, "personal one," touting Vitamin A as an effective treatment.

Also, President Trump has asked the Supreme Court to block an order requiring U.S. officials to bring back a Maryland father mistakenly deported to a mega prison in El Salvador.

A federal judge has given the Trump administration until midnight tonight to do so. The White House admits that Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia was deported in error, but maintain they're powerless to bring him back, as he's now in Salvadoran custody.

KEILAR: And an Idaho mother with doomsday religious beliefs has already been convicted of killing her two children, as well as a romantic rival, is on trial again, this time, over the death of her then-husband.

Prosecutors say Lori Vallow Daybell conspired to murder her husband in order to collect his life insurance policy and marry her then- boyfriend. In the months after his killing. Daybell would go on to murder her children. And her boyfriend's wife would also end up dead.

Daybell has been the subject of a Netflix documentary and Lifetime movie. She's chosen to represent herself at trial.

And with the markets hanging on every update, top White House officials sending contradicting messages just minutes apart about trade negotiations.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:51:21]

KEILAR: Here in a few hours, the road to the women's final four is sure to end in spectacular style, when UConn's Huskies will be welcomed home at a campus rally a day after they won the basketball championship.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHEERING)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: UConn baby!

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now students at the University of Connecticut were riding high for pretty much the entire game Sunday.

Paige Bueckers helped her team trounce South Carolina 82 to 59. This is the Huskies 12th national title. We've kind of gotten used to this, but it is their first actually since 2016.

SANCHEZ: On the men's side, a first timer could take the title. The Houston Cougars are facing off against the Florida Gators.

And our Coy Wire will be there. He is so excited. He's literally floating right now.

Coy, what are you up to?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Hey, like my -- my man Anthony Hamilton once saying, baby, come float with me. I'm here with my friend from Go Rio Cruises, Albert. Captain Albert. Ahoy, matey.

We're going to catch some of our Zen before the 68,000 people in the Alamodome go buck wild!

Gators, Cougars, it is on.

(CHEERING)

WIRE: Check out some of these scenes from last night. Fans, the bands, they're, like, lining the riverwalk, going down, taking in this incredible atmosphere.

I met one sweet fan from Florida, Mrs. P. She was wearing this orange boa that she had back when the Gators last won a title 18 years ago. The players would touch it as they're running out of the tunnel for good luck.

She said Coach Todd Golden of Florida asked her to bring it on this trip.

I asked Coach Golden, are you superstitious? Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD GOLDEN, FLORIDA GATORS COACH: I would say a little 'stitious, a little 'stitious.

WIRE: Is there anything quirky or unique that you do?

GOLDEN: Not really, to be honest. I like drinking a soda pop right before the game to make sure I'm getting a little energy, a little caffeine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: So not superstitious. Just a little bit 'stitious. Those Gators, Coach Golden's looking for his first ever national title as a head coach.

They will face the Houston Cougars, whose 69-year-old head coach, Kelvin Sampson, his team is kind of like his lucky shirt. Been through it all tough and been through the wringer but still holding strong.

This is a team who is as gritty as they get. They have the best defense in the nation. And that's how they we're able to come back and take down duke. And one of the greatest comebacks we've ever seen in final four history. I found out that Coach Sampson is actually very superstitious. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KELVIN SAMPSON, HOUSTON COUGARS COACH: So I'm wearing this gray Polo. And that outfit, we're 31 and one.

WIRE: OK.

SAMPSON: So I'm about to wear -- I'm about to wear the thread at them things. The color wearing out of that gray. My wife's washed the shirt so many times, it's -- the collar just droops now. So.

(LAUGHTER)

SAMPSON: But, you know, I don't look very good anyway, so I wear a droopy shirt really well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Forty-plus years as a head coach, never won a national title. And neither has Houston. They'll have that opportunity to do that tonight in their home state. I have a feeling it's going to be a sea of red in there.

The teams, after they win, whoever wins the game, will be on one of these floating down the river, probably around midnight, 1:00 a.m. And then they will end and be celebrating, I'm sure, all night long. Or maybe, maybe not even sleeping that night.

But this is San Antonio. What a place to have the biggest stage for men's college hoops. Gators. I better duck here. I'm going to have live TV. Awesome moment.

(LAUGHTER)

WIRE: But it's going to be an incredible scene. As you can see, it's really picking up here in San Antonio.

[14:55:05]

SANCHEZ: An incredible scene. What looks to be an incredible championship game tonight.

Coy, I know you're also excited because the Glizzy Tower is still in play. If the Gators win the championship, our bet will pay off and we'll get a tower full of Glizzies here. I have to throw one your way.

Coy Wire, in San Antonio for us, thanks so much.

WIRE: You got it.

KEILAR: We're not doing that either way?

SANCHEZ: We can. Why not?

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: So we're standing by for an Oval Office meeting between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on another wild day for the stock market. We'll get serious after a quick break. Stay with CNN.

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