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New White House Trade Policy Could Reshape Global Economy; Netanyahu, Security Cabinet to Discuss Gaza in Hours Ahead; Trump Lashes Out Over Epstein Files; Trump Says No Breakthrough in Putin- Witkoff Meeting; Low Humidity, High Temps Fueling Fire Bigger Than Paris; Royal Ballet And Opera Cancels Production In Israel; Estonian Theater Company Puts New Spin On "Romeo And Juliet". Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired August 07, 2025 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:31]

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And ahead right here on CNN NEWSROOM.

President Trump's new tariffs are now in place. And he announced a few new ones, too. The president now says he will meet with Vladimir Putin sounding confident of ending the war in Ukraine after his top envoys meeting with the Russian president. And for $30,000, you can basically fly underwater with this new underwater jetpack.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Hong Kong this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kristie Lu Stout.

STOUT: OK, just moments ago, the Trump administration's new and higher tariff rates kicked in for nearly every country in the world. If the U.S. has a trade surplus with the country, they will now face a universal 10 percent tariff. And about 40 countries with which the U.S. has a trade deficit will face 15 percent levies. All governments that did not reach agreements with the U.S. before its self-imposed Thursday deadline will face some of the highest duties.

Brazil is getting walloped with a 50 percent tariff, even though it imports nearly $7 billion more in American products than it exports in goods to the U.S. But Donald Trump is upset with the Brazilian government for putting his strongman ally, the former president Jair Bolsonaro, on trial for an alleged coup and the tariffs are retribution.

Now, Brazil's current president, Lula da Silva, says for now he won't be negotiating with the U.S. because President Trump does not want to talk and, quote, "I'm not going to humiliate myself."

India is also facing a steep hike. Its tariff rate is currently at 25 percent, but will double in a few weeks as punishment for buying Russian oil, which the White House says is funding Russia's war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the U.S. also plans to impose a new 100 percent tariff on all imported computer chips and semiconductors. But President Trump says that there's a way to avoid that. Build on American soil.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In the United States of America, there's no charge, even though you're building and you're not producing yet in terms of the big numbers of jobs and all of the things that you're building. If you're building, there will be no charge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: All right. A lot to get to. A new economic reality is upon us.

CNN's Marc Stewart joins us live from Beijing.

Marc, so good to see you on this day. We know that Trump is slamming India with more tariffs for buying sanctioned Russian oil. Will China get hit as well?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a possibility that President Trump is reigniting at least through his most recent remarks, Kristie. If we look at this U.S.-China trade dynamic, at first the United States was targeting China's manufacturing sector, then rare earth minerals became a point of focus. And now the target seems to be Russian crude oil. After all, Russia is China's number one supplier of crude oil, which, as you mentioned, has been sanctioned globally.

This is not the first time, though. The administration has thrown out the suggestion that it would impose hefty tariffs on China for its purchase of these energy sources. Let's listen to the most recent remarks from President Trump. A bit vague, but not closing the door on the suggestion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It may happen. I mean, I don't know. I can't tell you yet, but I can -- we did it with, we did it with India. We're doing it probably with a couple of others. One of them could be China.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: This is something that the administration has brought up before. China has responded in part, calling it an act of coercion. All of this happening as that August 12th trade truce between the U.S. and China, Kristie, is set to expire. This could be yet another wrinkle.

STOUT: Yes. August 12th, right around the corner. It's only Tuesday next week.

And Marc, as Trump wages this tariff battle with the world, what's the view in Beijing? How is China capitalizing on this moment?

STEWART: Well, even before Trump 2.0, Kristie, China has really tried to portray itself as the strong and stable force politically and economically.

[00:05:04]

As you mentioned earlier, Brazil is facing very hefty tariffs now on imports into the United States. That includes coffee. We just heard remarks from Chinese officials telling Brazilian coffee makers, coffee bean growers to come to China. The market is open. Perhaps an act of soft power, but a very symbolic message that the world is available for trade with China, Kristie.

STOUT: Marc, always appreciate your insights. Keen to get your thoughts on Southeast Asian tariffs. And we'll talk about that in the next hour.

Marc, take care.

Now to Los Angeles and Bill Lee, who is the chief economist at the Milken Institute and the former managing director of Citigroup, joins us now.

Bill, nice to see you.

WILLIAM LEE, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MILKEN INSTITUTE: Thanks for having me, Kristie.

STOUT: Now, this new economic era is here. Months ago, it seemed improbable that most countries would accept Trump's terms and accept his tariffs. So how did he do this?

LEE: I think President Trump has been trying to reshape the international trading regime by convincing everyone that if he can't have trade in goods, you can substitute with trade in factors of production like capital, and you get the same benefits of gains from trade. So what he's trying to tell everyone is be a partner with the U.S. Invest in the United States, put your capital here, create jobs, and you'll gain through higher profits and your country will gain with higher income.

And if you choose to compete with the United States, you'll face a high tariff wall. So that's the basic principle behind all these tariffs. And I think President Trump has been saying to the world open up your markets so that we can all benefit from increased trade. And the non-tariff barriers are really the issues that he really wants to focus on, that are more severe than the tariffs themselves.

So President Trump has managed to get everyone on board because this sounds like a good deal. You either partner with us or you compete with us and face tariffs.

STOUT: Yes. He used forceful rhetoric, open deadlines, also targeted pressure on entire sectors. But how effective will these tariffs be? You know, the U.S. and the Trump administration, they have stated quite clearly from the beginning their objectives including and not limited to bringing manufacturing back to America, and also encouraging foreign investment in strategic sectors like semiconductors, like chip manufacturing. Will that happen as a result of these tariffs?

LEE: Well, we heard in the press conference with Tim Cook today that there was a lot of commitments from many countries and many companies to produce high tech products here in the United States. Now, a lot of people say, well, these are commitments and you never know what people actually come up with. And it's going to take several years for these commitments to show up. And by then, President Trump will be out of office. And people are very doubtful about whether that will happen or not.

I think President Trump, in saying, in fact, in talking about the semiconductor tariffs, said you get 100 percent tariff or you produce here and you get zero tariffs. And by the way, if you decide not to invest here over the next several years, and there's no evidence that you're really sincere in your commitments, I'm going to charge you, and for all the tariff arrears that you didn't pay all these years. So I think President Trump is really threatening to be very forceful in enforcing the commitments. And I think a lot of countries actually will commit because capital flows into United States because the capital earns the highest returns in the country that has the greatest innovations. And the United States has proven that it is an innovation center vis-a-vis the rest of the world.

STOUT: Yes, but there are some special cases, you know, that are resisting the pressure. I'm thinking about India. You know, talks have broken down. There's a 25 percent tariff for buying Russian energy on top of 25 percent tariffs. You know, trade volume between the U.S. and India had been surging. But India is resisting here. What could be the economic fallout?

LEE: That's right. There are some special cases like India and Switzerland, where several of the -- several of the sectors actually are exempt from tariffs. So India, for example, high tech goods and pharmaceuticals are exempt from those tariffs. And one of the unfortunate things about President Trump is that he's used a lot of tariff policies to achieve non-economic goals. And he loves tariffs so much that he keeps using tariffs.

And in a way that's diffused the power of these tariffs to effectively induce the behavior that he wants, which is to partner with the U.S. and invest in the U.S.

STOUT: Yes, I mean, for Donald Trump, tariffs are a lever. It's a way for him to have leverage on the geopolitical stage.

Bill, I also want to ask you about Brazil. Brazil also facing 50 percent Trump tariffs. Brazil's president is speaking out. He says talking to Trump would be a, quote, "humiliation." You know what could we see next? Could we see retaliatory tariffs from Brazil? How could this play out?

[00:10:06]

LEE: I think President Trump has been using these tariffs to achieve these non-economic goals, and to try to change behavior. In case of Brazil, one of the behaviors he pointed to very explicitly was the behaviors of trying to displace the role of the dollar in international transactions. The BRIC countries have been trying to create a currency of their own. And President Trump says, look, the dollar is the medium of exchange for the world. It is the most efficient medium of exchange, and you need to stay with the dollar.

So he's trying to incentivize that behavior as -- and so I think the use of tariffs for these non-economic purposes, these political purposes, as I said, diffuses the power of tariffs. And I think in my mind that's using tariffs to accomplish too many goals. The theorem in economics is if you have a policy goal, you have one tool to meet that goal. We use that one tool to meet several goals., you're going to miss out on a lot of them.

STOUT: Bill Lee, we thank you for your wisdom and for joining us at this very critical juncture in global trade. Thank you very much and take care.

LEE: Thanks for having me.

STOUT: Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with his Security Cabinet in the hours ahead, as reports say he's looking to urge them to back a, quote, "full conquest of Gaza." But the idea of expanding Israel's military campaign is facing growing opposition. In fact, sources say that the country's military chief is warning against a full takeover of the enclave. And Israel's opposition leader calls it a, quote, "bad idea."

Ben Wedeman reports from Rome.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to be pushing ahead with plans to ramp up military operations in Gaza, reportedly aiming to reconquer the entire territory at a time when the death toll in Gaza is mounting steadily. Health officials there report that within a 24-hour period between Tuesday and Wednesday, almost 140 Palestinians were killed, the highest number in weeks, many of them killed while seeking aid.

U.S. President Donald Trump, when asked about Prime Minister Netanyahu's plan to reconquer Gaza, replied that it's up to Israel. And that appears to be a green light. The prospect of intensified military operations has alarmed the United Nations, which warns of even more catastrophic consequences for the people of Gaza. Also alarmed of the families of the Israeli hostages who fear an escalation would put their loved ones in even greater danger.

The head of the Israeli opposition, Yair Lapid, met with Prime Minister Netanyahu Wednesday and told him reconquering Gaza is a bad idea. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza isn't easing up. Another five people have died from hunger or malnutrition, according to health officials. Criticism continues to be leveled at the U.S. and Israeli backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operates several food distribution centers that have been the scene of pandemonium, with more than a thousand Palestinians killed trying to get aid since May, according to the U.N. Israel is allowing a variety of countries, including Jordan, Germany,

France, the United Arab Emirates, the U.K. and others to airdrop food into Gaza. A system of delivery the U.N. has criticized as costly, chaotic and dangerous. The airdrops have allowed, however, some journalists to get a panoramic view of Gaza or rather what's left of it.

I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Hong Kong. And still ahead, an army sergeant goes on a shooting spree at a U.S. Military base targeting some of his fellow soldiers. Plus a Democrat hoax and some other choice words, President Trump lashes out at the persistent focus on the Jeffrey Epstein case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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STOUT: Welcome back. Now authorities are trying to figure out the motive behind a mass shooting at a military base in the U.S. state of Georgia. They say an active duty Army sergeant identified as Quornelius Radford opened fire on his fellow soldiers, wounding five of them. The gunman was stopped by other soldiers and taken into custody. A law enforcement official says that Radford had a disagreement with one of the victims a day earlier, and President Trump reacted to the incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The Army Criminal Investigation Division is on site to ensure that the perpetrator of this atrocity, which is exactly what it is, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The entire nation is praying for the victims and their families. And hopefully they'll fully recover.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Officials say that the victims are all in stable condition and the incident is among more than 260 mass shootings in the U.S. so far this year. That's according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Now, a dinner meeting for top Trump officials to discuss their strategy in the Jeffrey Epstein case appears to have been moved or rescheduled.

[00:20:01]

Now it was supposed to happen at the residence of the Vice President JD Vance.

CNN's senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump lashing out again when asked by reporters about the Epstein case, about the Epstein files, particularly, he was asked about a dinner that CNN reported on, hosted by Vice President JD Vance, in which the major responders to the Epstein case would all be sitting down together and were expected to talk about the response to the Epstein investigation, particularly the rollout of information.

Here's what he said in the Oval Office.

TRUMP: Look, the whole thing is a hoax. It's put out by the Democrats because we've had the most successful six months in the history of our country. And that's just a way of trying to divert attention to something that's total bull (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

HOLMES: Now, Vance has denied CNN's reporting. He did so again on Wednesday, saying that Epstein wasn't going to be discussed. But just a quick breakdown of what CNN's reporting actually was. And it came from multiple sources within the White House, around the White House, close to all these key players.

Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was going to have dinner with Vice President JD Vance, as well as the Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and the head of the FBI, Kash Patel. Part of the reasoning for this dinner was to get everybody on the same page and aligned amid this Epstein fallout, and amid the scandal. The last time that we talked about a meeting between Bondi, Wiles and Patel, it ended in rage as Dan Bongino, the deputy FBI director, stormed out of the meeting after being accused of leaking stories about Bondi.

All of that was based on the rollout of the information around the Epstein investigation. So right now, it is important to the White House. It is important to the sources around the White House that they present a unified front. And this is particularly important given what we are seeing right now, which is the White House is weighing a decision of whether or not to release transcripts or even audio from a conversation between Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Ghislaine Maxwell.

The reason why this is so key is that they want all of their players on the same page and operating as one if they are going to make a decision like this. One thing to keep in mind here is the White House themselves, they were frustrated with some of the rollout, and particularly how it led to so much pushback when it came to that information around the Epstein case. They are trying and have been trying to take control of the narrative, to take control of the optics and be on the offensive.

And that starts with having a strategy in which all the key players, which would include Kash Patel and Pam Bondi, are on the same page.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE) STOUT: U.S. President Donald Trump says there is a good chance that he will be meeting very soon with Russian President Vladimir Putin, followed by a trilateral meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Now the White House says that the talks could happen in the next week or two, with several locations under discussion. Ukraine's president welcomed the news of potential talks, but he had these words of caution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It seems that Russia is now more inclined toward ceasefire. The pressure on them is working, but the main thing is that they do not deceive us in the details. Neither us nor the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Now, President Trump's comments about possible ceasefire talks followed a meeting in Moscow between Russian President Putin and the U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff. Now Mr. Trump says that there had been no breakthrough between the two at the meeting, and he declined to comment about the timeline for a ceasefire deal.

Fred Pleitgen has the details from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff to the Kremlin Russian state media with special wall-to-wall coverage.

"We begin with urgent news," the host says. "Just at this moment, President Putin is meeting with U.S. special envoy Witkoff."

One expert warning not to make the U.S. president into an adversary.

"We need to avoid getting Donald Trump in the ranks of sincere enemies," he says. "He himself does not want to be our sincere enemy. Trump is saying, Dear Russia, let's do something so that I don't look like a loser. Russia can give him this and not force him to introduce these sanctions he himself does not need them."

President Trump is demanding serious movement towards a ceasefire in Ukraine.

TRUMP: Well, I'm here to get us out of it.

PLEITGEN: And threatening major sanctions against Russia by the end of this week if there's no progress. But while the Russians were laying on the hospitality, the head of Russia's Direct Investment Fund taking Steve Witkoff for a walk in a Moscow park after earlier picking Witkoff up from the airport and then posting this photo on social media. After an almost three-hour meeting with Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin

framing the talks as little more than an exchange of positions.

[00:25:09]

"On our part in particular, some signals were transmitted on the Ukrainian issue and corresponding signals were also received from President Trump," this Kremlin aide says. "The situation now is that our president has full information. That is our signals, signals from President Trump."

Both the Kremlin and the White House say they understand just how important today's meeting is. The Russians, of course, want to prevent any massive sanctions against their economy by President Trump. At the same time, they are still eyeing generally improved relations between Moscow and Washington.

(Voice-over): But the trajectory seems to be heading in the opposite direction. The Trump administration announcing new tariffs against India, one of the main clients for Russian oil, shortly after Steve Witkoff motorcade left the kremlin for the journey back to the U.S.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: France is seeing its biggest wildfire in years. Flames have scorched acres of land near the Spanish border, torching an area bigger than Paris.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:30:58]

STOUT: Welcome back. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. And let's take a look at today's top stories.

The new and long-threatened U.S. tariffs kicked in about 30 minutes ago. Dozens of trading partners now face levies anywhere from 10 to 50 percent on their exports to the U.S.

India is facing a 25 percent tariff that is poised to shoot up to 50 percent in three weeks.

U.S. President Donald Trump says there is a, quote, good chance that he'll be meeting, quote, very soon with the Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

This comes after President Trump says there was no breakthrough during a meeting in Moscow between Putin and U.S. envoy, Steve Witkoff.

Now, five U.S. service members are in stable condition after being wounded in a mass shooting at their military base. Authorities say an army sergeant opened fire at Fort Stewart, Georgia on Wednesday before other soldiers subdued him. The suspect is now in custody. No word yet on a motive. Some 2,000 French firefighters are working to slow a fast-moving wildfire. It's already scorched an area bigger than Paris. The fire, it started on Tuesday, but it has already left one person dead and spread across some 13,000 hectares.

This is the biggest fire to hit France this year. Melissa Bell reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: French authorities continue to battle what's being described as one of the largest wildfires in France in decades. A wildfire that has surprised everyone by the speed and the pace with which it's gathered force.

It began on Tuesday afternoon. Some 2,000 firefighters brought in to fight it since. But over the course of the first 24 hours, it was some 16,000 hectares that had been burnt already. A combination of hot temperatures, low humidity levels in the plant and vegetation, and also very fast winds that have helped spread the flame.

The French Prime Minister and the French Interior Minister made their way to the old region that's been struck by this fire to the south of France, just above the Spanish border to announce that all would be done to try and bring it under control.

But so far, it is a fire that has continued to spread at a pace of about a thousand hectares per hour. And that, of course, has led to fears as night falls on Wednesday night. And the air operations around the wildfire, the (INAUDIBLE) that bring in the water that'll have to stop overnight, will therefore see many hours where the fire can no doubt continue to spread.

This is, as French authorities have said, another wildfire that is the result of global warming and another very hot and dry summer that had led them to fear the worst.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And you're watching "CNN Newsroom."

And still to come.

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(MUSIC)

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LU STOUT: It is a heavy metal spin on a Shakespeare classic, quite literally. We'll show you a take on Romeo and Juliet that you just got to see to believe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [00:35:50]

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now, Britain's Royal Ballet and Opera is canceling its planned production of Tosca in Tel Aviv next year. Nearly 200 staff members wrote an open letter rejecting the project, accusing Israel of engaging in crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Last month, an RBO dancer held up a Palestinian flag during a performance at London's Royal Opera House. The RBO's chief executive says the decision to cancel the production in Israel was made before the protest letter was received out of concern for the safety of its members.

Now, one production that did go on as scheduled is this offbeat take on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. It's produced by a theater company in Estonia.

Now, just use your imagination here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: No. Okay. An open mind here, folks. If you missed it, those excavators, they were playing the roles of Tybalt and Mercutio in their famous sword fight scene.

In fact, every role in this show is portrayed by some type of heavy machinery or vehicle. Romeo's Montague family is called the Motorettis. And Juliet's Capulets, they're known as the Carburettis.

[00:40:17]

The theater company says getting the machines to convey emotion was a challenge, but it was well received by the audiences. You just got to embrace that.

Now, finally, I want to show you a piece of underwater technology that is gaining popularity, except those who got the cash to pay for it.

Now, the CudaJet, that's the name. It's essentially this underwater jetpack which propels the person wearing it through the water for as long as they can hold their breath. The price tag here, almost $30,000.

Now, there are some definite risks to using this device, which get this. It comes with only a 90-minute battery life. But the CudaJet's inventor says it stands apart from other similar technology. I think you should just stick to using in a swimming pool, folks. Just be safe. Be smart.

Thank you for watching "CNN Newsroom." I'm Kristie Lu Stout. I will be back with more news at the top of the hour.

"World Sport" is next.

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