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Trump Imposes Sweeping New Tariffs on Allies and Adversaries; Interview with Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL): China Hits Back at Trump's 104 Percent Tariff with 84 Percent Tariff on U.S. Goods. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired April 09, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Stay with me. Berman, did you stay for overtime?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I did.

BOLDUAN: You did?

BERMAN: Sometimes you have to sacrifice for your art, and we stayed for the entire game, and I saw Kristaps Porzingis hit that three from like 150 feet. It was great.

BOLDUAN: And by sacrifice, it means, sorry about the next two hours, guys.

BERMAN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: I'm just kidding. Carolyn, thank you so much.

New hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts now.

BERMAN: All right, breaking this morning, one expert says no one is coming to save the global economy. This comes as China just announced huge new tariffs on the U.S. The American tariffs went into effect overnight. The market's already reacting not well. If the S&P closes there, that would be a bear market.

Today, a judge will consider what evidence to allow in the trial of a man accused of killing four Idaho college students.

And what do Celine Dion, Elton John, and Helen Reddy all have in common besides being on Kate's playlist, She Loves Helen Reddy? The real answer is ahead.

Sara is out today. I am John Berman with Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BOLDUAN: We have big, important breaking news this morning. China is striking back. In just the last hour, Beijing announced it is now slapping new retaliatory tariffs on all U.S. goods by an additional 50 percent, bringing the total tax on U.S. goods headed there to now 84 percent. Just look at your screen. That is after President Trump followed through on his threat to hit China with new tariffs, adding up to a combined 104 percent. That set in at midnight.

So as the two countries now show exactly what a trade war looks like, going punch for punch, here is a live look at how stock futures are looking and they are down across the board. They were mixed early this morning. Now all the major indices are down.

Let's continue to follow this morning, opening bell. Next hour, investors bracing for another roller coaster ride today. Many of the markets in Asia also took a hit as the new round of Trump tariffs set in.

And also this just in, we have first reaction now from the White House, which we will get to in just a moment.

CNN anchor and business correspondent Zain Asher has the very latest for us, and she's joining us right now. So with this response from China, one thing in all the things that are not clear, one thing is clear, is China's taking a very different approach than basically every other nation.

ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR AND BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. I mean, say what you want about reciprocal tariffs that are taking place across the world right now. The canary in the coal mine, Kate, is China, not just because of the 104 percent, obviously that is a huge amount, but it's also the fact that American businesses have had such little time to prepare. This is moving very, very quickly.

You think about the retaliatory tariffs, 104 percent in terms of what Trump is slapping China with, 84 percent in terms of what's happening vice versa. Xi Jinping, his rationale is, listen, we can afford to wait this out.

Why can we afford to wait this out? Because Americans rely on China much more than vice versa. It is the American consumers that are going to suffer because America imports essentially three to four times the amounts of goods from China compared to vice versa.

Also, the Chinese have other ways of protecting their economy, including, for example, boosting domestic consumption. That's one way. Also, strengthening regional cooperation. That's another way. There is a fear that they're going to flood the EU with more Chinese goods. That's another factor as well.

But they know that it is the American consumer that is going to suffer, and they are hoping that that will force Donald Trump to the negotiation table here.

BOLDUAN: And I was talking to Marc Stewart. One of the things that he was saying is, look at the timing of when China also announced this retaliation. That goes kind of a pattern that people have noted with China right before kind of U.S. markets would be opening. One could lean on thinking that that is intentional in trying see, you know, to make the hurt hurt as much as possible or be as volatile as possible.

But that's not just the only thing we're looking at today. We've got a reaction coming at some point soon from the EU as well. They're voting today on how to. How are they likely to respond?

ASHER: I mean, yes. So they're voting today. And what's interesting is that in terms of their retaliation, they are responding at this point to the steel and aluminium or aluminum, as the Americans say, aluminum -- I'm starting to get used to that word -- aluminum tariffs that were imposed back in March.

So they're literally two sets of tariffs behind. They still need to respond to auto tariffs. They still need to respond on the latest 20 percent in terms of reciprocal tariffs.

Part of the reason why the EU is so slow is that we're talking about a 27 member bloc. So, of course, they're going to take their time. Also, I think what's really important is that they have to be smart.

They have to be strategic about how they respond so that it doesn't come back to bite them. They really need to sort of play out the game of chess. So, for example, Donald Trump had initially threatened them with 200 percent tariffs on EU alcohol if they went ahead and imposed tariffs on American bourbon.

So they have they are deciding today.

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And it is likely that they're not going to include American bourbon for that reason. That would have completely destroyed French winemakers, Italian winemakers, Spanish. I mean, it literally would have been game over for them.

BOLDUAN: And putting it that way is interesting because it does add into a bit of -- call it chess or just there's a little bit of a little -- as The Wall Street Journal editorial board had written it just called Trump's bluff, right? You had the head of the European Commission saying we propose zero for zero tariffs. He said no. Now they will have a carve out for Kentucky bourbon. So what does that mean in terms of how Trump responds?

I guess it is a very dangerous, very impactful game of chess.

ASHER: Very dangerous. The EU is also taking it slow because they really need to sort of leave some room open here for negotiations. You pointed out the auto tariffs. They're trying to see if that can be zero percent.

But if we could pull up actually where EU markets are right now, they were I mean, obviously the EU, Europe as a whole is five to six hours ahead of the US. So they're going to be closing soon. But you see they're down significantly across the board.

The FTSE 100, CAC, all of them are down right now. So in terms of optimism, there really isn't much in the way of that.

BOLDUAN: Not today. Not right now. Zain, it's good to see you.

ASHER: Good to see you. BOLDUAN: Thanks for coming in -- John.

BERMAN: All right. And with us now, CNN Global Economic Analyst Rana Foroohar. So Rana, since we've been on the air in real time, China announced its retaliatory tariffs, putting its tariffs on U.S. goods at 84 percent, U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods are 104 percent. So where does that leave us as this trade war progresses this morning?

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Well, it leaves us in chaos is the short answer. And you can see that in the markets already. In terms of the real world impact, it's going to take time for this to play out.

And the way it's going to happen is you're going to see supply chains beginning to rejigger like like dominoes falling. If you think about how many parts are imported, say, for the average car, I mean, it's hundreds. It could be thousands for some some pieces of equipment.

And those -- as those those pieces get imported, the retailers are going to have to decide who's going to pick up the cost. So they're going to try and push it on to suppliers. Are they going to take some of the pain themselves? Are they going to pass it on to consumers?

And so in different products, in different industries, in different parts of our lives, we're beginning we're going to begin to see prices shift.

You know, it's interesting. You can see a lot of Americans actually responding to the threat of this by shopping, which, you know, it would seem like an oxymoron. But actually, it sort of makes sense. You know, people are stocking up. They're thinking, let me go and buy all those toothbrushes. Let me maybe make that car purchase.

You know, you're even seeing, you know, certain retailers, automakers are not actually sending as many cars out for export. They're kind of hoarding supplies.

So we're beginning to see the sorts of things you see at the beginning of a trade war, which is disruption to the status quo.

BERMAN: So stock futures did not react well to this Chinese announcement. So they dropped about a percent the minute that China did announce the retaliation. And if the markets close today -- and it's not clear that they will, that's not how futures work.

But if they close the S&P down more than a point at the end of the day, that would put us in a bear market, technically, that's stocks.

But, Rana, what I heard overnight is more concerns about the bond market. The bond prices are dropping. I was excited to talk to you because I know you can explain in ways that that silly people like me can understand why that's important and so concerning.

FOROOHAR: Well, you know, first of all, I just want to say to all listeners, the simple questions are always the best questions. It's an interesting thing. Usually when you see a kind of a stock market route like like what we're seeing now, you would see safety assets, things that people feel are more secure, like bonds, particularly short term bonds, short term U.S. treasuries, gold even, things like that should be rising. But actually, in recent days, they've been falling. So so why is that? Two things to think about.

One is that a lot of players in the market, particularly big institutional players, hedge funds, you know, the professional guys are actually selling the good stuff, meaning, you know, the safe bonds, the gold in order to cover the losses that they're having in other places in their portfolio. That's something that worries me, because that's the type of behavior that you see when there are more losses to come. It means there's blood on the floor somewhere.

You know, there are there are big places where there's debt that may be covered and we don't know where it is. And that just means that there's a lot of risk in the market still. Point number one.

Point number two is that even before this trade war, bonds were telling us -- the bond market was telling us we're nervous about the U.S. economy. We're nervous about the world. We know that there's a kind of a paradigm shift coming and they were reflecting that. Yields were going up, which means you get paid more for taking the risk. But prices were going down.

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And that says the bond market was already thinking even before the trade war, gosh, I'm worried about the U.S. economy.

BERMAN: Yes, it's a scary cocktail, the likes of which you see during COVID or something. I mean, we haven't seen something like we're seeing overnight since COVID, which is why I think people are waking up going, whoa, this is getting even more tenuous.

Again, back to the first question you're talking about goods. Rana, do you have a sense of where people will see this first? I'm going to go to the store and the price for this is what's going to be higher most quickly.

FOROOHAR: Yes, for sure. You'll see it first in perishables and in food and agricultural products, things that would need to be imported on kind of a day by day basis. And then you would see the price hit quickly.

The things that will take longer will be, you know, complex products, things like cars, you know, things like certain kinds of white goods, computer products where the retailers and the manufacturers might have a lot of parts that are already in stock. And so it could take weeks or months for them to need to import more. And then you'll see those prices begin to rise.

And by the way, just, I mean, to try and find a little bit of a silver lining here, there is a lot of rejiggering of supply chains that is going on even as we speak. So, you know, automakers, computer parts makers, they're all looking around the world and trying to figure out, OK, where are tariffs the lowest and how quickly can we get our products there? In a way, it's going to be a really interesting real time experiment in how quickly can we rejigger global supply chains in an emergency. Kind of COVID like again, as you were saying.

BERMAN: There are a lot of real time experiments going on right now, maybe more, I think, than people --

FOROOHAR: I wish there were fewer.

BERMAN: Right. I mean, people are struggling right now with the amount of real life, real time experiments. Rana Foroohar, great to see you this morning. Thank you for explaining everything so clearly -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: And on this very topic, President Trump's trade rep faced tough questions on Capitol Hill yesterday. He's back on the Hill this morning, just as Trump's new tariffs set in. China's hitting back in a big way. One of the lawmakers who will be questioning the U.S. trade rep is our guest. And we'll get to that next.

And an urgent search is happening right now for survivors after a terrifying nightclub roof fell in on top of concert goers. At least 113 people are so far confirmed dead.

And the Justice Department is now launching an investigation into the largest egg producer in the United States over the price of its eggs.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: This just in, some first reaction from the Trump administration to to China's new retaliation. Here's the Treasury secretary. Just a moment to go.

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SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: I think it's unfortunate that the Chinese actually don't want to come and negotiate because they are the worst offenders in the international trading system. They have the most imbalanced economy in the history of the modern world. And I can tell you that this escalation is a loser for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Likely to be in another important topic on Capitol Hill today, as President Trump's top trade official is headed back there this morning. He'll face tough questions for sure, because just yesterday testifying before the Senate, the U.S. trade representative Jameson Greer defended Donald Trump's tariff moves, arguing that the economy is facing, quote, a moment of drastic overdue change. And he said he's not concerned about the stock market plunges and volatility caused by all of this. Greer faced these tough questions from Democrats for sure, but also Republicans, including this moment with Republican Senator Tom Tillis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): I'm assuming this all got gamed out because because it's a novel approach, it need to be thought out. Whose throat do I get to choke if this proves to be wrong?

JAMESON GREER, TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TOP TRADE OFFICIAL: Well, Senator, you can certainly always talk to me --

TILLIS: But are you at the tip of the spear?

GREER: Well, I'm at the tip of the spear for certain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Tillis is over it, that's for sure. We've heard that from him over and over again.

One of the lawmakers who will be grilling the U.S. trade representative today on the House side, Democratic Congressman Brad Schneider from Illinois is joining us now. Congressman, thank you for coming in. Before we get to the hearing that's about to happen today. What's your reaction to this retaliation from China?

New 50 percent retaliatory tariff from China against all U.S. goods this morning.

REP. BRAD SCHNEIDER (D-IL): Well, I think it was predictable. China has been preparing for the Trump presidency since the last administration, Trump administration, and they've taken steps to try to reinforce their economy against actions, against it by by President Trump. And what we're seeing now is a trade war.

And unfortunately, what President Trump called liquidation or Liberation Day a week ago has become liquidation week in the seven days since.

BOLDUAN: So you have Jameson Greer that's going to be before your committee today. After what you heard from him yesterday and now everything, honestly, that's happened overnight. What do you think he needs to answer most to?

SCHNEIDER: I think he needs to tell the American people what the plan is because of President Trump's tariffs.

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What we've seen is American consumers are paying higher prices for everything from groceries to appliances, cars and houses. American businesses have lost values. Americans, retirement accounts have declined and there doesn't appear to be a clear strategy.

On one day, it's saying these are negotiating tactics to try to create a broader economy for American businesses, American workers. And in the next breath, they're saying, no, these are ways to raise money for the American government. President Trump can't have it both ways. So there doesn't appear to be a strategy. And because of that lack of

strategy, lack of clarity, lack of consistency, we're seeing the stock market nosedive and American companies, American consumers suffer.

BOLDUAN: That I mean, on the what is it? Is it an end? Is the end goal just the tariff itself or a negotiating tactic that seems to continue to evolve and has not been definitively answered, depending on who you speak to?

You called just generally the Trump tariffs one of the dumbest economic blunders in decades. If the president announced a deal with South Korea or Japan today on the trade relationship, would you feel better about what he is doing?

SCHNEIDER: If we saw progress, I'd be more than happy to say that I was wrong and I will correct what I said. This is the dumbest trade move in American history, and he has eliminated more value in one fell swoop than at any time by any person in our history. He's put a tax on the American people, the greatest single tax in our in our history.

So this is idiotic. It's capricious. It is devastating to our economy and to our nation's future.

BOLDUAN: President Trump said just last night that countries are calling him and basically kissing his -- kissing his butt to try and make a trade deal after the moves that he's made. Do you believe him?

SCHNEIDER: Well, I saw the Israeli prime minister was in the Oval Office a couple of days ago. Israel, in anticipation of Trump's move, had eliminated their -- whatever tariffs they did have in place. They took them to zero.

Prime Minister Netanyahu came to the Oval Office hoping to get relief from the tariffs and left with no relief, and in fact, only left with an announcement that the United States was negotiating with Iran. So, no, I don't believe him at all.

BOLDUAN: Before I let you go, a related different topic, though, you are spearheading and we're just learning about it just now. You're spearheading an effort starting today to try to force DOGE to report to Congress, essentially open up its books. It's called the DOGE Accountability and Transparency Act and would require DOGE to submit an impact report to Congress weekly.

Why go this route, Congressman, in trying to hold DOGE accountable?

SCHNEIDER: Well, I think everyone's watching what Elon Musk is doing. Elon Musk wasn't elected by anyone, hasn't been vetted by anyone, wasn't approved by the Senate. And yet he and his minions are going through and literally taking a chainsaw, their terms to our government, not pruning the branches, but cutting the trees at the trunk, closing Social Security offices, IRS offices in the moment when people are trying to file their taxes and get the refunds.

We should know what DOGE is doing. The DOGE Accountability and Transparency Act or the DATA Act that I introduced with my colleague Stephen Lynch would require Elon Musk and DOGE to present to Congress and the American people what they're doing, what impact it's having on the government, what benefits they expect to get and what's actually being realized. This is just good business.

Elon Musk says he's a businessman. He has proven it with his other businesses, what he's doing with the government, it's different.

We should know what he's doing, why he's doing it and what impact it's having. He says he's being transparent. If he wants to be transparent, come to Congress, answer questions and let the American people know what he's doing.

BOLDUAN: Let's see where, if anywhere, that this gains traction in the Republican controlled House. I appreciate your time, Congressman. Thank you so much for it.

SCHNEIDER: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, the head of the IRS now resigning after the agency signed a deal to share data with immigration authorities.

And now that President Trump's targeted tariffs have set in overnight, new estimates are coming in of just how much and how quickly these moves could impact prices for all Americans, including even your cup of coffee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think everyone is going to kind of feel the pain, the pain from this, because it's like your latte is probably going to go up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right, breaking overnight, the acting leader of the IRS leaving. Sources say she made the decision after a recent data-sharing deal between the agency and ICE. Melanie Krause is the latest senior leader to leave the agency and one of many who allegedly refused to sign on to that deal.

Let's get right to CNN's Rene Marsh to explain what this all means. Good morning, Rene.

RENE MARSH: Good morning, John. Well, the acting head of the IRS really shocked employees when she announced yesterday that she had been stepping down. Many inside the agency thought that she didn't push back on DOGE enough and many of their directives.

But yesterday, sources tell me that Melanie Krause, IRS's acting commissioner, who has only been in this role since February, is leaving in part because of that data-sharing deal that you just mentioned. On Monday, IRS and DHS finalized this agreement to provide sensitive

taxpayer data to enable ICE to locate and deport undocumented immigrants.

Now, the agreement allows for ICE to submit names and addresses of suspected undocumented immigrants to the IRS. The IRS will then cross- check that data with its own data in an attempt to confirm that information. They'll be specifically targeting those under deportation orders, who are under criminal investigation.

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