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China Could Face Higher Tariffs For Buying Russian Oil; Volodymyr Zelenskyy Warns Against Deception In Possible Cease Fire Talks; Donald Trump Says There's A "Good Chance" Of Meeting With Vladimir Putin "Very Soon"; Gaza's Health Ministry Reports Highest Death Toll In Weeks; Low Humidity, High Temps Fueling Fire Bigger Than Paris; Report Finds Worst Coral Bleaching on Record at Great Barrier Reef; U.S. Hockey Player, Mascot Encounter Bear in Alaska. Aired 2- 2:45

Aired August 07, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:41]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world, and everyone streaming us on CNN Max, I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, new sweeping U.S. tariffs are in effect. We will look at how it could reshape the global economy as the trade war heats up. Also:

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's a good chance that there will be a meeting very soon.

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CHURCH: First, a handshake between the U.S. Special Envoy and Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Now Donald Trump suggests he could meet face to face with his Russian counterpart as soon as next week.

Australia's stunning, Great Barrier Reef in peril, coral loss at its worst level since records have been kept.

And it's certainly not your typical bear chase, we will explain.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. Well, after months of false starts and extensions, the Trump administration's historic new tariffs are now in effect, and could mark the biggest change to the global economy in nearly a century.

If the U.S. has a trade surplus with a country, it's now facing a universal 10 percent tariff. And dozens of countries with which the U.S. has a trade deficit are dealing with 15 percent levies. Those marked in dark blue on this map have been hit with the highest tariffs. They include much of Southeast Asia, as well as Brazil, which is at 50 percent. Switzerland at 39 percent and both Libya and South Africa are at 30 percent. India is facing 25 percent tariffs for now, but they're poised to double by late August as punishment for purchasing Russian oil.

So, let's bring in CNN's Marc Stewart live from Beijing. Good to see you, Marc.

So, President Trump is hitting India with a 25 percent tariff now and an additional 25 percent very soon as punishment for buying Russian oil, as we mentioned. Why didn't he target China as well, though, given it too buys Russian oil?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Rosemary. Good to see you. Well, I think that the picture may be changing based off of remarks made just last night by President Trump now opening the door yet again to imposing additional tariffs on China for its purchase also of Russian oil.

Remember, India is an ally, and the White House did not hesitate to levy these additional tariffs. China is a known adversary of the United States. So, the possibility, based off the remarks last night from the White House, seemed to indicate that these additional tariffs against China may be coming. It's something that the administration has floated around before. It's something that China has condemned.

If we look at the timeline of all of this, it is on next Tuesday, August 12th, when this trade truce between the United States and China is set to expire. No agreement, no extension has been reached, and now the talk of these additional tariffs off these fuel purchases may be back on the table.

You can see why the White House would want to target China, because Russia is China's number one supplier of crude oil.

But it's interesting, Rosemary, how we have seen this trade dialog shift. First, it was focusing on manufactured products from China, then rare earth minerals, and now these fuel purchases. So, it's something that we're going to be watching, certainly, from here in Beijing, as well as from Washington, Rosemary.

CHURCH: And Marc, how is China taking advantage of this moment as Trump tariffs are going into effect across the globe?

STEWART: Right. You talked about those skyrocketing tariffs involving Brazil. The message from China, really to the rest of the world, is that it's open for business and that it's a strong and stable trading partner.

It's interesting, in the case of Brazil, one of its most well-known exports of course, is coffee. Well, that's going to cost a lot more in the United States.

[02:05:02] So, we heard the Chinese government make overture and actually make announcements that it's opening up more trade routes with Brazil for coffee exports. So that's something we're certainly going to be watching.

You know, we have been able to talk to a lot of factory owners, a lot of Chinese businesses, and it's interesting, if we talk to them, they have expanded their business away from the United States into places like Europe and to Africa.

And Rosemary, this is something we saw well before Trump 2.0 and I think it's a theme we're going to see from China in the very near future, if not in the long term.

CHURCH: All right, we'll be watching to see what happens. Marc Stewart to bring us that live report from Beijing. Many thanks.

Well, Apple is spending big money to avoid new tariffs promised by Donald Trump. CEO Tim Cook was at the White House on Wednesday as the president threatened 100 percent tariffs on semiconductors and chips made in other countries. It's not clear when those might go into effect.

Cook says Apple will invest another $100 billion to make more iPhone components in the U.S. and avoid the levies. The company has already promised $500 billion to grow its U.S. footprint.

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TIM COOK, CEO, APPLE: As a part of this, we're launching Apple's American manufacturing program, it will spur even more production right here in America for critical components used in Apple products all around the world. And we're thrilled to announce that we've already signed new agreements with 10 companies across America to do just that.

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CHURCH: Cook acknowledges that iPhones will be assembled in other countries for some time. Experts cite the lack of a skilled technical workforce and higher label costs here in the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump says there is a good chance he will be meeting very soon with Russian President Vladimir Putin, followed by a trilateral meeting with Ukraine's president.

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TRUMP: We had some very good talks with President Putin today, and there is a very good chance that we could be ending the -- ending the round, ending the end of that road. That road was long, and continues to be long, but there's a good chance that there will be a meeting very soon.

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CHURCH: Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the news of potential talks, but offered words of caution.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It seems that Russia is now more inclined towards cease fire. 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

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CHURCH: President Trump's comments about possible cease fire talks followed a meeting in Moscow between Russian President Putin and U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff.

Mr. Trump says they made, "Great progress," but he added there had been no breakthrough at the meeting. He declined to comment about the timeline for a cease fire deal.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen has details from Moscow.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): 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 cease fire in Ukraine.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I'm here to get us out of it.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): 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.

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.

[02:10:03]

PLEITGEN: 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.

PLEITGEN (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's motorcade left the Kremlin for the journey back to the U.S.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

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CHURCH: So, let's bring in Anne Applebaum, staff writer for The Atlantic and author of the book Autocracy, Inc., and she joins us this hour from Poland. Appreciate you being with us.

ANNE APPLEBAUM, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: Thank you.

CHURCH: So, U.S. President Donald Trump told European leaders Wednesday he intends to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin very soon, potentially as early as next week, followed by a trilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

After his top envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin for three hours, Trump called the meeting highly productive and appears confident that he'll end the war in Ukraine. So, what did you make of all of this and what was actually accomplished here?

APPLEBAUM: So, of course, I don't know what was said in the private meetings. So, stipulate, I didn't have access to that.

I would be very careful, though, because remember, Vladimir Putin has never said in public that he wants to end the war now, in other words, he's never said that he's given up on his main goal. And his main goal is the destruction of Ukraine, the incorporation of Ukraine into some kind of Russian Empire or state, the removal of the Ukrainian government and changing it for a pro-Russian government, and he's never given up those goals.

In fact, very recently, in the last month or two, he said, once again, anywhere where there has ever been a Russian soldier, that territory belongs to Russia, could belong to Russia again. And of course, that includes Berlin, you know.

So, he hasn't made any public gesture at all. And in fact, at the same time, the United States has had a very uneven and unpredictable policy, which, from the Russian point of view, looks unserious.

So, for example, even while President Trump is talking about new sanctions, the old sanctions, the sanctions that were laid on by the Biden administration that were designed to prevent parts and components for the Russian weapons industry from getting into Russia. These are being gradually lifted because they require constant updating and constant renewing. There was a congressional report earlier this week pointing out exactly that.

So, it's a -- it's actually fairly murky. It's not -- it's not clear whether the Russians think there's a real challenge from the United States or not.

CHURCH: Right. And as we just heard, of course, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy, responded to these developments by saying that Russia seems more inclined toward a cease fire and that the pressure on Moscow is working. But Zelenskyy warned not to be deceived by Russia. What do you say to all of that?

APPLEBAUM: Well, I mean, of course, Ukrainians, and not just the Ukrainians, have a lot of experience of Russians saying one thing, or Putin in particular, saying one thing and then doing something else. So, any -- you know, any public statement would have to be taken with a grain of salt. Any announced cease fire would have to have some kind of enforcement mechanism. And any plan to end the war would also have to include some kind of security guarantee for Ukraine. Some -- you know, because the Ukrainians know that the war could start up again at any moment.

But again, you know, Putin has not said that he wants the war to end. And certainly he has not said that he wants it to end on the current -- you know, the current front line. He's still -- he and people around him are still repeating their main goals, as they have done for the last three years.

CHURCH: And of course, President Trump has imposed 25 percent tariffs on Indian goods coming into the U.S., and will apply an additional 25 percent very soon for buying Russian oil, essentially punishment, and it's economic sanctions like this on both Russia and its trading partners that are designed to put pressure on Moscow to sign on to a cease fire deal in Ukraine before Trump's Friday deadline.

Will this pressure from these types of secondary sanctions end up working and actually doing that do you think? I mean, presumably Russia wants to avoid that, so they're giving the appearance of certainly doing that or moving in that direction.

APPLEBAUM: Well, once again, secondary sanctions would also have to be consistent and understandable and part of some kind of clear regime. And you know, Russia's biggest trading partner is not India, it's China. And so why announce sanctions on India, but not China?

[02:15:03]

And also, it looks like the sanctions on India are connected to other things the president doesn't like about India, or India's trade relationship with the United States.

So, it's not an entirely clear signal -- it's not an entirely clear signal. Will these last? Will they be like other sanctions that the president places on countries and then lifts again, you know, none of that makes sense?

I mean, and once again, he's very reluctant to put any sanctions on Russia, and the sanctions that exist on Russia are being de facto removed because they aren't being renewed and new companies aren't being added to them and so on.

So, I'm not sure whether this is a signal that will be sufficient for Moscow. I mean, I can see how it might upset the Indians, but I'm not -- I'm not sure it's what the Russians are listening for as a serious gesture.

CHURCH: Anne Applebaum, thank you so much for joining us, and I do want to mention your September cover story for The Atlantic on Sudan's devastating civil war. We do hope that you will come back again to share your reporting. Appreciate it.

Opposition grows in Israel as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu weighs whether to expand military operations in Gaza, we will have the details just ahead. Stay with us.

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CHURCH: The Israeli protesters holding images of starving children rallied against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reported plans for a full conquest of Gaza. They said an expansion of the war would not only bring more death to Palestinians, but also to the Israeli hostages still being held.

Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with his security cabinet in the hours ahead to discuss the next steps in Gaza, despite the growing opposition to the idea of expanding the war.

CNN's Ben Wedeman reports from Rome.

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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 air drop food into Gaza, a system of delivery the U.N. has criticized as costly, chaotic and dangerous. The air drops 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.

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CHURCH: 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 Radford had a disagreement with one of the victims a day earlier, officials say three of the victims underwent surgery, and all five are now in stable condition.

The incident is among more than 260 mass shootings in the U.S. so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

France is seeing its biggest wildfire in years. Flames have scorched acres of land near the Spanish border, torching an area bigger than Paris. That story and more just ahead.

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[02:29:25]

CHURCH: Hawaii's mount Kilauea erupted on Wednesday for more than 12 hours according to the U.S. Geological Survey, it's had periodic activity over the last few months and has become one of the world's most active volcanoes.

Scientists took samples of the magma for chemical analysis amid the dangers of the eruption, and experts warned of what's called Pele's hair, that sharp strands of volcanic glass which can puncture the skin and they can be launched up to three kilometers or around two miles away.

Well, some 2000 French firefighters are working to slow a fast-moving wildfire that's already scorched an area bigger than Paris.

[02:30:00]

The fire started Tuesday but has already left one person dead and spread across some 13,000 hectares. It is the biggest fire to hit France this year. Melissa Bell has more.

MELISSA BELL, CNN 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 the 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 Aude 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 Canadairs 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.

CHURCH: Rising temperatures are making things even more difficult as nearly 3,000 firefighters battle a huge wildfire in Southern California. The Gifford Fire has burned more than 36,000 hectares across Santa Barbara and other counties. It's just 9 percent contained. Well, one scientist says the devastation looks like a wildfire underwater. Just ahead, a new report paints a dire picture for the Great Barrier Reef. More on that after a short break.

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CHURCH: A new report reveals Australia's Great Barrier Reef suffered its biggest ever decline last year after a marine heat wave triggered widespread bleaching. CNN's Chief Climate Correspondent, Bill Weir explains why this could have an impact far beyond the iconic natural wonder.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: This is a really, really grim report, not just for scuba divers and snorkelers, but for anybody who subsists off seafood. Coral reefs are the nurseries of the ocean. If they go, 25 percent of marine life goes. And we knew last year was going to be bad. There were bleaching events virtually around the world. But this new science out of Australia confirms the worst fears for so many that between a quarter and a third of the hard coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef was lost in the three main sections last summer in that record shattering heat wave, underwater heat wave.

They described the devastation almost like wildfire ripped through these undersea ecosystems. There was some hope in recent years that because some sections of the Great Barrier Reef had rebounded that it was durable and it was sort of a cycle, and it was used by climate denialists, which I'll mention in a second. But, this new paper says a lot of those fast-growing rebound corals were the most vulnerable, died in this recent heat wave. Some 70 percent -- some reefs were lost their life there as well.

And so while Australia grapples with how to do -- how to protect this reef, there have been talks about using marine cloud brightening to create shade, which is a very controversial thing. But just the basic science of understanding the hardy corals has been stymied in the United States under the Trump Administration. So many experts in ocean acidification and coral bleaching have been let go, and their work has been buried in favor of this new critical review of climate science put out by Chris Wright in the Department of Energy, which says, "Elevated concentrations of CO2 make the oceans less alkaline. This is possibly detrimental to coral reefs, although the recent rebound in the Great Barrier Reef suggests otherwise."

This is the document that's informing climate, energy, environmental policy in the United States in favor of hundreds, thousands of papers from other respected peer-reviewed scientists. And it doesn't even acknowledge this record-breaking bleaching event, the most recent. But knowledge is power and there are plenty of scientists around the world trying to stay focused on this problem. But as we're seeing with this report and the status, if you look at the line chart going back to the Great Barrier Reef, how much has been lost, this is a timed test.

Bill Weir, CNN, New York.

CHURCH: A national hockey league player and his team's mascot had a close encounter with a bear while fishing in Alaska.

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JOHN HAYDEN, AMERICAN ICE HOCKEY PLAYER, SEATTLE KRAKEN: We got a bear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I got to break you off now.

HAYDEN: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Sam, we got a bear. We got to move down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God.

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CHURCH: John Hayden of the Seattle Kraken and Buoy, the mascot, were fishing when a bear ran toward them. And it was time to put their athletic skills to the test.

[02:40:00]

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HAYDEN: I want to blame it on Buoy. It was pretty interested in his, his whole look, so we got out of it OK. But, it was -- it was a close call. That last little sprint, I was worried.

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CHURCH: In the end, the bear accomplished its goal, scaring them away from the fish. Well done.

Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is coming up next. Then, I'll be back at the top of the hour with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stick around.

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