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Early Start with Rahel Solomon
New U.S. Treat Could Bring Tariffs On China To 104 Percent; Deadly Storms Bring Devastating Floods Across South, Midwest; E.U. Ready to Negotiate, But Willing To Play Hardball; Trump: "Not Happy" With Russia's Strikes On Ukraine. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired April 08, 2025 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to our viewers joining us from the U.S. and all around the world. I'm Rahel Solomon. It is Tuesday, April 8th, 5:00 a.m. here in New York.
And straight ahead on EARLY START.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't mind going through it because I see a beautiful picture at the end.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, the U.S. is driving itself into a recession.
LARRY FINK, CEO, BLACKROCK: We are probably in a recession right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I tell everybody, don't take a chance. If it's going to flood, get out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's kind of devastating on that part. You know, it's -- it's under siege, basically.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The water was up to my thigh, ice cold.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a great day to be a Gator.
TODD GOLDEN, FLORIDA GATORS HEAD COACH: I'm proud to be the head coach of Florida. I'm proud of the way our players performed. We're pretty dang good also, and we found a way to do it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just great to win like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: But our top story this morning, after days of massive losses with trillions of dollars wiped from worldwide markets, President Trump is refusing to hit pause on the tariffs that have ignited a global trade war. He's also not providing any firm answers on whether he's open to negotiations on trade deals, even with allies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REPORTER: There have been some mixed messages from your administration. You're talking about negotiations, and yet others in your administration are saying that these tariffs are actually permanent. What is it actually?
TRUMP: Well, it could be -- they can both be true. There can be permanent tariffs and there can also be negotiations because there are things that we need beyond tariffs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: One of his key allies and advisers is calling on everyone to calm down, making the bold claim that despite all of this economic chaos and confusion, there will be no recession.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER NAVARRO, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR COUNSELOR: It's finding a bottom now. It's finding a bottom now. But look, here's the thing. It -- it's going to shift over and its going to be companies in the S&P 500 who are the first to produce here. Those are the ones that are going to lead the recovery. And it's going to happen. Dow 50,000 I guarantee that. And I guarantee no recession.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Now, the CEO of asset manager BlackRock apparently disagrees. He's among a growing number of billionaires and other top business leaders who are coming out against the president's tariffs. And this self-created crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FINK: Most CEOs I talked to would say we are probably in a recession right now.
MODERATOR: Right now?
FINK: Right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Trump has been promising a return to a golden era of manufacturing. But a former U.S. treasury secretary is putting a different historical spin on what's unfolding.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY SUMMERS, FORMER U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: Markets are responding to what may be the most damaging economic policies the United States has enacted since the Second World War.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SOLOMON: Okay, let's take a look at the global markets right now. U.S. futures are green on the screen. Thats certainly nice to see. After the last three days, the three-day losing streak that we've seen.
Dow futures look set to open at least right now at 5:00 a.m., 2 percent higher, Nasdaq about 1.4 percent, and the S&P, 1.5.
Taking a look at the Asian pacific markets also doing some bouncing back. The FTSE 100 -- well, that was Europe but that was up about 2 percent, if I'm not mistaken.
Taking a look at the Asian markets now. Nikkei is up closed up about 6 percent. Hang Seng about 1.5. Shanghai, 1.6.
Now, those gains in Asia come just hours after the Chinese commerce ministry firmly denounced President Trump's threat to raise cumulative tariffs on China to more than 100 percent. That could happen as early as this week.
Let's bring in CNN's Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong for us.
Kristie Lu, great to have you.
Trump ratcheting up clearly the global trade war with this new tariff threat. How is Beijing responding?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rahel, well, Beijing is responding this way. It is calling Trump's 50 percent tariff threat, quote, a mistake upon a mistake. And it is vowing to fight until the very end.
It was on Monday when we heard from U.S. President Donald Trump again, when he ratcheted up the global trade war, lashing out at China for striking back and threatening a new 50 percent tariff against Beijing if Beijing doesn't remove its retaliatory 34 percent tariff.
China is holding firm, and China is pushing back. We heard earlier today from the commerce ministry of China issued a very defiant statement with this expert. Let's bring it up for you, the expert saying this, quote: The U.S. threat to escalate tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake, which once again exposes the blackmailing nature of the U.S. China will never accept it if the U.S. insists on its own way, China will fight to the end, unquote.
[05:05:04]
The ministry also called for all tariff plans to be dropped, and called for dialog to settle differences.
Earlier, we heard from the spokesman of the Chinese embassy in the United States, who took a more measured tone, using language that we've heard time and time again during ongoing trade battles between U.S. and China. This is what Liu Pengyu said in a statement. He said this to CNN, quote: We have stressed more than once that pressuring or threatening China is not a right way to engage with us. China will firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, unquote.
Now, China watchers are watching all this very, very closely and believe that China is going to hold firm and China is not going to budge. It's not going to give up its threatened retaliatory tariffs of 34 percent set to kick in later this week on April the 10th. In fact, this is what Ryan Haas, a scholar at Brookings, had to say. He posted this on X just a few hours ago. It's very interesting analysis.
He said this: I am skeptical that Beijing will blink on President Trump's recent tariff escalation threats. Chinese leaders understand holding firm will be economically costly. They are preparing the public to tolerate pain. Politics may drive decisions, unquote.
So, Rahel, China apparently not expecting any trade breakthroughs, not expecting any off-ramps here. Not only that, China is digging in.
Rahel, back to you.
SOLOMON: Yeah, certainly. If they say were willing to fight to the end, it doesn't sound like they're willing to budge. Not at this point, at least.
Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, Kristie, thank you.
All right. Let's turn to some other big news this morning. The severe weather in the U.S., deadly rain across the South and Midwest finally gave way on Monday, but the danger for many still remains. Floodwaters inundated hard hit communities like this one in southern Indiana, the result of days of rain from storms that have killed at least 22 people so far.
And parts of Kentucky, a state that is no stranger to devastating floods. The widespread flooding triggered evacuations and water rescues.
The flooding also hit parts of Ohio, bringing water levels to unprecedented heights, according to some residents, there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I tell everybody, don't take a chance. If it's going to flood, get out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's kind of devastating on that part. You know, it's under siege, basically.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The good news is we are at the crest. The bad news is the crest came up a little higher than we were hoping.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the highest I've seen the water in my lifetime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Meteorologist Derek Van Dam has this report.
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DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: This is a slow motion disaster that were watching unfold in real time. Even though the heaviest rain that caused the flooding you see behind me has come to an end, it is going to take days for the water to recede from the rivers and the streams.
This is really impactful footage. You can see communities that have been cut off, some areas that have never experienced flooding did so with this latest round of heavy rainfall. Look at Frankfurt and Monterey, Kentucky, portions of Western Tennessee hit particularly hard, transforming lives in a matter of moments.
There was a stretch of over 800 miles of heavy rain that fell from the sky, basically from the Ohio River valley southwest towards Ark-La- Tex. This area here, where you see that shading of pink and white, that's' indicating rainfall totals in excess of a foot in some locations, particularly western and northern Kentucky, western Tennessee, parts of Missouri and Arkansas.
All in all, there have been over a dozen river gauges that have reported major flood status, and that will continue to fluctuate as this water continues to move downstream and crest further downstream as well.
These rainfall totals are impressive. We're talking nearly 15.6 inches in Benton, Kentucky. Equally impressive in Hickory, Kentucky. But look at this, Memphis, Tennessee, a highly populated area registering over a foot of rain since the middle of last week.
So, this system, it's exiting off the east coast. Thats the good news, right? No more heavy rainfall, at least in the foreseeable future for these hardest hit areas. But the slow-motion disaster means that flooding will be a concern as the waters continue to crest in the surrounding rivers and streams.
Back to you.
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SOLOMON: Israel's prime minister met with President Trump on Monday. Benjamin Netanyahu said that he is working with the U.S. on another deal to secure the release of more hostages. The two leaders also discussed Trump's, quote, bold vision of Gaza's future. Netanyahu committed to enabling the Palestinians to, quote, freely make a choice to go wherever they want, but didn't specify if that choice included remaining in the enclave.
President Trump, reiterating his desire for U.S. control of Gaza.
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TRUMP: You know how I feel about the Gaza Strip. I think it's an incredible piece of important real estate. And I think it's something that we would be involved in. But, you know, having a peace force like the United States there, controlling and owning the Gaza strip would be a good thing, because right now, all it is, is for years and years, all I hear about is killing and Hamas and problems.
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And if you take the people, the Palestinians and move them around to different countries, and you have plenty of countries that will do that, and you really have a freedom, a freedom zone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Countries in the region have rejected a forced displacement of Palestinians, which could amount to a war crime.
Still to come for us, how European cheese, olive oil and other culinary staples might be harder to find after Trump's tariffs.
And a change of tone from U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. How another child's death from an ongoing measles outbreak is forcing the vaccine skeptic to reconsider his stance.
And later, March Madness, crowning its champion after Florida and Houston battled it out in the NCAA championship game. Coming up, the ending that had fans on the edge of their seats.
We'll be right back.
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SOLOMON: Donald Trump's tariffs plans include a 20 percent duty on most products coming from the European Union. That includes Italian cooking staples that many Americans rely on. That could also cause problems for Italians as well.
Barbie Latza Nadeau explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. is the second largest consumer of this, Italian produced olive oil, made in the Tuscan Region. Its products like this that will be affected by U.S. tariffs announced by President Trump. But it won't be consumers who are affected, at least not yet. It will be production lines that are hit hardest.
Extra virgin olive oil producers export about 100,000 tons to the U.S. each year, and the U.S. is Italy's third largest trading partner. Products like Parma hams turn a multi-million dollar business a year now subject to 20 percent tariffs. These extra costs are likely to be handed down to the consumers in the long run. Eventually, even here in Italy.
Producers are worried that if exports to the U.S. slow down to a lack of demand for made in Italy products, they will have to make cuts and that could mean a drop in supply. Even here in Italy, meaning shelves like this could soon be bare. (END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: All right. Our thanks to Barbie there.
The E.U. is considering its options as new tariffs loom. The European Commission president says that the bloc will explore markets beyond the U.S. for new trade opportunities.
Ursula von der Leyen says that she still hoping to strike a deal with the U.S., despite Trump disparaging the E.U.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The E.U. has been very tough over the years. It was -- I always say it was formed to really do damage to the United States in trade. Thats the reason it was formed.
URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDET: We stand ready to negotiate with the United States. Indeed, we have offered zero for zero tariffs for industrial goods, as we have successfully done with many other trading partners. Because Europe is always ready for a good deal. So, we keep it on the table. But we are also prepared to respond through countermeasures and defend our interests.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Okay, let's get to Nic Robertson, who joins us live from London.
Nic, great to see you.
Von der Leyen saying that we will focus like a laser beam on the 83 percent of global trade that is beyond the U.S. Sounds like the E.U. is looking for new friends.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: They are. And take this also in the context of the sort of shock that they've had to their common view on U.S. position in supporting Europe in defense that's been shaken. So, this comes on top of that.
So, they are, yes, looking elsewhere, and indeed, they say that they struck deals with Mexico and Switzerland. They're looking to Indonesia, India, Indo-Pacific countries. But the European Union is also as is it is in its nature, taking its time. It wants its decisions and responses to these tariffs to be considered, to be proportionate, to be strategic.
You know, President Trump has not down this zero for zero on industrial goods that Ursula von der Leyen was talking about, that zero for zero tariffs. President Trump has talked about $350 billion deficit that could be offset by the European Union buying additional energy supplies from the United States. This was something that actually came up at the beginning of the Ukraine war. And Europe physically isn't capable or would struggle to take such large energy imports from the United States and process them. All of that said, the European Union is considering its response to
the -- to the tariffs, to this 20 percent horizontal tariff. But let's backtrack a little bit. We're expecting a decision to come tomorrow on the 10th of February, steel and aluminum, 25 percent tariff that Donald Trump announced that the European Union would be hit by.
What would it do? It went and had consultations with industry leaders on this issue. It then put that to governments. Those responses are being considered right now, and they will be from the European Union expected tomorrow, a response to that 10th of February announced 25 percent tariff on aluminum steel.
Then you had later in March, you had the 25 percent tariff on the auto manufacturing industry. That is out to consultation with the -- in the European Union right now. Again, with industry experts, industry leaders on that front.
And when it comes to those 20 percent horizontal tariffs, that is also out for consultation at the moment. But when we talk about consultation what does that mean?
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Well, they'll look, for example, at soybean imports from the United States. Is that an area where the European Union could look to source that product somewhere else, and therefore send a very targeted and direct message to the agriculture industry in the United States, hoping that that would therefore put pressure on President Trump. What they're not doing is doing what Chinas doing and ramping up, you know, an angry war of words and tariffs at the moment.
SOLOMON: Nic, is it clear that that there's a strong coalition among different European countries to follow von der Leyen's lead here and stay the course?
ROBERTSON: You know, look, there's a lot of emotion involved and it depends, you know, who you talk to and in which country and on what, where their interests lie. I think the idea that she is trying to lead with this cautious approach is an idea that has traction, it has traction. Inasmuch as the mechanisms within the European Union don't really allow it to -- to make very rapid decisions.
But yes, there are differences on -- on how this should be approached. I mean, people have looked towards Giorgia Meloni as being the European Union leader who can actually communicate perhaps more effectively and better with Donald Trump than other European union leaders. But collectively, they work together, they stick together, and that's where their strength is. They're hoping they may get some brakes cut on the pharmaceuticals side, obviously.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Hoping for some strength in numbers. Nic Robertson, thank you.
Still to come, President Trump is expressing frustration with Moscow and the continuing strikes on Ukraine. Coming up, we'll have the latest on the conflict. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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SOLOMON: Welcome back.
President Trump is apparently unhappy with Russia's continued attacks on Ukraine. That's what he said during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, adding that it wasn't a, quote, good situation. The president has been aggressively pursuing a cease fire deal between the two countries since entering office. He had even vowed to end the war in just a single day while he was on the campaign trail, but talks have stalled, and last week, Russia launched one of its deadliest strikes on Ukraine in months.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen, following these developments from berlin.
Fred, good morning to you. What's the latest here?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Rahel.
Well, first of all, President Trump seemed a little bit more muted also on the possibility of that ceasefire coming through any time soon. I think one of the things that he said in that meeting with Netanyahu, where the press was of course, present as well as he said, I guess there seems to be progress in all of that. So, that's certainly a lot different than what we've been hearing in the past, where the president has been saying that he believes a lot of progress has been made and that they might be very close to a ceasefire.
But of course, as far as that attack in Kryvyi Rih is concerned, which the Ukrainians say was the single largest death toll of children ever in an attack since the full on invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022, the Ukrainians are now calling for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council. That -- that meeting is set to take place today. And one of the things that the United Nations has said that they found extremely shocking about what happened there in Kryvyi Rih, was that apparently a weapon they say exploded into shrapnel above the people who were on the ground? Of course, apparently many of them there were children.
I think 20 people have now confirmed to have been killed. Nine of those are children, some still very much in critical condition. The Ukrainians are accusing the Russians of using a missile with cluster munitions in that area. Of course, that is an area weapon that really causes a lot of damage in a wide area, and that was used in the center of a town.
The Russians continue to say that that is not the case. They are calling this a precision missile strike. They say that they were targeting a meeting of Ukrainian commanders and also foreign advisers as well. And they claim that that strike was successful.
So, all of that is still going on. The Ukrainians say they want a strong international support to what they call Russian aggression. Again, the Russians are saying that this was a pure military strike and are justifying it. At the same time, the Ukrainians now, for the first time, are confirming that they have forces on the Russian side of the border, on top of the ones that we already knew about in the Kursk region.
This is in the Belgorod region, which is south of Kursk. The president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, coming out last night in one of his addresses and saying that those forces are fighting there in the Belgorod region. The Ukrainians are justifying that by saying that they are trying to stop the Russians from infringing on Ukrainian territory in that area, on the Sumy region of Ukraine and on the Kharkiv region of Ukraine as well.
So, they say that that presence there is justified as the Russians appear closer and closer to ousting Ukrainian forces a little further up north from their territory. The Russians saying that they've been making considerable gains there in the past couple of weeks, Rahel.
SOLOMON: Fred Pleitgen reporting live for us there in Berlin -- Fred, thank you.
President Trump said Monday that direct talks are underway between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program. He added that a, quote, top level meeting would take place on Saturday, but conflicting reports are emerging from Iranian media.
According to a semiofficial outlet, Iran's foreign minister is due to begin indirect talks with White House Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff, mediated by Oman. Now, Iran resumed its nuclear programs, which Tehran claims is for peaceful purposes in 2018. That's after Trump scrapped the Obama era nuclear deal during his first presidency.
All right, straight ahead, the impact of tariffs on big dairy. I'll speak with an industry leader who says that they could end up helping U.S. milk producers. We'll be right back.
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