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Early Start with Rahel Solomon
Impact Of Trump's Tariffs On Milk Producers; High Court Allows Trump To Use Obscure Law For Deportations; RFK Jr. Makes Vaccination Push After Second Texas Child Dies. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired April 08, 2025 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[05:30:00]
RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: 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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[05:35:00]
SOLOMON: Welcome back.
The Trump tariffs have already cost investors trillions of dollars and ramped up the odds of a global recession, but the U.S. president is refusing to budge in his trade strategy, and he's also been cryptic about whether he'll negotiate deals with other countries or if the tariffs are permanent. Now, despite the uncertainties, some industry leaders are seeing a silver lining to all of the trade turmoil.
Let's bring in Gregg Doud who is the president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation. He was also the chief agricultural negotiator in the office of the U.S. trade representative during President Trump's first term. Gregg, great to have you this morning.
You have said that tariffs can be an effective tool as a negotiating tool, but it's not clear to you -- but is it, rather, clear to you if that's what's happening here. Because when asked about this yesterday President Trump didn't really offer a lot of clarity. Take a listen to what he said.
(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?
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, it could be -- it can both be true. There can be permanent tariffs and there could also be negotiations because there are things that we need beyond tariffs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: So how do milk producers make sense of that as they try to plan what's right for their business? How do you see it?
GREGG DOUD, PRESIDENT AND CEO, NATIONAL MILK PRODUCERS FEDERATION: Well, let's look at the European Union, and I think this is a great example of what the president is talking about. In agriculture with the EU we have a $23.6 billion trade deficit. We import in the United States $3 billion in dairy products from the European Union.
Total U.S. dairy exports are about $8.3 billion a year, but only $167 million of that goes to the EU. So we import $3 billion in dairy from the EU. We export $167 million. That's pathetic. And our exports to the European Union in agriculture are the same that they were in 1980, so that's 45 years of obfuscation -- our inability to have access to the European consumer and the European market because of concoctions of all kinds of excuses made up by the folks in Brussels. Yet when they come over to the United States, they sure don't have any problem enjoying our cheese or having a steak.
SOLOMON: Hmm. No, I take your point about the trade imbalance and it's certainly about a conversation. What I'm asking though is without the clarity from the White House about whether this policy is permanent or whether it's a negotiating tool, how do your members -- how do milk producers decide and make decisions on what's right for them?
DOUD: Well, the answer is -- I'm glad to hear the president say that because that's my opinion is both. You use it as both leverage --
And the other situation that we have here in the United States and have had for a long time, and ambassador -- my old boss, Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, has described it very well -- is every country in the world is trying to gain the United States in terms of our tax policy, our regulatory policy, our fiscal policy, exchange rates, their currency, et cetera. How do you level that playing field? Just a little bit of tariff is how you make that even.
And so it's a combination of factors to compete in the world. And goodness knows there is a lot of competition going on economically in the world.
SOLOMON: Um-hum.
DOUD: I think that starts with China. It's the two biggest economies in the world. And that's -- this is a conversation about how do we make this whole discussion in terms of economics more equitable.
SOLOMON: Hmm. I hear a bit of optimism from you about sort of the long-term impact of this. I'm curious if when you're talking to dairy farmers, if you're talking to your members, are you getting that same sense of optimism that people are willing to stay the course and play the long game here? Give me a sense of what you're hearing.
DOUD: So we're about two-thirds of all the milk produced in the U.S., so we are the farmer-owned cooperatives. And what's going on in the United States right now in dairy is unprecedented to any food product anywhere in the world. We have about $8.3 billion in new investment and processing in dairy in the United States, whether it's cheese, or ice cream, or fluid milk. An unbelievable amount of new investment made by our farmers, private sector, some foreign investment.
Everybody in the world realizes in terms of growth in dairy production in the world that's going to come from the United States, not from Europe. New Zealand is kind of maxed out. The United States is where the future is in growth. We are gearing up for that and we are absolutely optimistic about the future of the dairy industry in the United States.
SOLOMON: Gregg, I want to play for you a clip from Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina. This was April 1. Take a listen.
[05:40:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): Anyone who says there may be a little bit of pain before we get things right need to talk to my farmers who are one crop away from bankruptcy. They don't have time. So we've got to be crisp on this implementation, otherwise we could do damage that's irreparable to farmers and businesses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Gregg, your response to the comments there?
DOUD: Well, I think there's a real challenge for the soybean folks. There's no question about it is that they've got a lot of competition from Brazil -- the primary market. About 100 million tons of 167 million tons of world trade is China, and that's a real challenge for everybody in the corn and soybean business today and the fact that the Chinese economy is soft and demand is flat there. And so there aren't a whole lot of options for the folks on the soybean side of the equation today -- no question about it.
SOLOMON: OK, we're going to leave it here but Gregg Doud, we appreciate you coming on this morning. Thank you.
DOUD: Thank you.
SOLOMON: All right. And still to come for us, the U.S. Supreme Court says that the Trump administration can continue deporting alleged members of a Venezuelan gang but not the way they've been doing it so far. We'll have the latest straight ahead.
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[05:45:40]
SOLOMON: Welcome back. I'm Rahel Solomon, and here are some of the stories we are watching for you today. China is promising a fight to the end. This is after the Trump administration threatened an extra 50 percent tariff on Chinese imports after China imposed retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. last week. The Chinese Commerce Ministry slamming what is calls unilateral bullying and the blackmailing nature of the U.S.
Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla will celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary in Rome on Wednesday. The royal couple is currently on a four-day state visit to Italy and the king is expected to address the Italian Parliament. They are scheduled to meet the Italian president later today and visit the Colosseum.
March Madness ending in a nail-biting win for the University of Florida Gators after falling behind by 12 points in the second half to the Houston Cougars. Florida took back the lead with just under a minute left in the game. The Gators have now been crowned NCAA champions and take home their third national title. Congratulations to the team.
All right. Stock markets around the world are finally on the rise after that major sell-off tied to Trump's tariffs.
Here's a look at what's happening right now in Europe. A green across the board from Paris to Europe. The FTSE 100 up about 1.8 percent; German Dax, 1.4 percent; and CAC 40 -- let's call it 1.2 percent.
Most Asia-Pacific indexes closed higher as well, also green across the board. Japan's benchmark NIKKEI up six percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1 1/2 percent.
Taking a look at where U.S. futures stand at 5:45 on a Tuesday morning, also green across the board. The Nasdaq, which if I'm not mistaken eked out a slightly positive day yesterday as well, closed up -- right now up 1.2 percent in premarket trade, the S&P about 1 1/2 percent, and the Dow up two percent although still clearly off that 40,000 mark there.
Now, that's all despite the ongoing fears over the economic fallout of the tariffs -- the big fear being a possible recession.
The Canadian prime minister issuing this warning yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: The situation at the heart of this is uncertainty about U.S. policy, or to make it worse is greater certainty that U.S. policy will be self-harming to the American economy and therefore the global economy if the U.S. doesn't walk back from this tariff policy. So the U.S. is driving itself into a recession and pressure on the world if the U.S. doesn't change course.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: CNN's Alayne Treene picks up the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, we have some new reporting about some of the behind-the-scenes conversations that are taking place as this tariff turmoil continues to roil global markets.
We're learning now that shortly after those tariffs went into effect starting Saturday morning the president's treasury secretary Scott Bessent actually flew to Mar-a-Lago to deliver a message to President Donald Trump. That message was that his team needs to get on the same page and be more unified in how they are explaining these tariffs to the American people. But also to more clearly explain what the endgame is -- and essentially, that is better trade deals with other countries.
Now, I've had multiple conversations today with Trump administration officials -- White House officials -- and they tell me that the president is willing to negotiate. He does want to make deals with other countries. However, part of that is really trying to milk these other countries for what they're worth.
And what they're anticipating, and already we've seen this and White House officials are saying 70 countries at this point have come to the White House -- have been speaking with Trump administration officials about wanting to open broader talks on how to find an off-ramp to these tariffs.
Now, I think one thing that has been clear in my conversations as well is that there is definitely some mixed messaging. On the one hand you have people like Peter Navarro, one of the president's trade advisers, saying that these tariffs are not a negotiation. And then you have people like Bessent and others who are saying that the president is going to be negotiating.
We heard from the president himself today in the Oval Office saying that he wants to have a negotiation with Japan and that he spoke with the prime minister Monday morning and that they are going to continue those talks. He called them high-level talks.
[05:50:00]
But all to say behind the scenes as well some officials really do believe that they need to get some sort of wins on the board. They need to show the American public that there is -- you know, it's worth being patient on this. They need to get them to buy into this tariff plan, particularly, of course, as we're seeing the markets continue to be scattered. People's 401ks shrinking. A lot of concerns about what is happening to people's wallets.
That is the message from the White House -- all to say though no one that I've spoken with here believes that these tariffs are going -- or these tariff deals or negotiations could be finished and wrapped up on the near future. They do believe that it's going to take some time for them to work out.
Really, what is the president's ultimate goal? And I'm told his top priority here is what he believes is erasing the deficits that America has with other countries. And that does really mean breaking the way that global trade has been done for 70 or so years and rebuilding it in Donald Trump's image.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: All right, Alayna. Thank you.
The U.S. Supreme Court says that for now, at least, President Trump can continue to use the obscure Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged members of a Venezuelan gang. That law was written more than 200 years ago to be enacted during times of war against invaders. It says that those found liable can be "apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed as alien enemies."
The president and his cabinet were quick to applaud the ruling. He posted online that it was "A great day for justice in America!"
Here is more from CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: This is a win for the Trump administration because the majority here -- the six conservatives justices said that the deportation process under the Alien Enemies Act can continue -- can resume for now. The liberals wanted to keep it all on pause.
First of all, all nine justices agree that any deportee under this act does have a right to go to the courts and to challenge it. And the second part is they have to be given reasonable advance notice so that they actually, as a practical matter, can get to the courts and not be whisked away in the middle of the night like was originally done in this case.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: Now, as Elie said, the liberal justices dissented from the unsigned decision, as well as Justice Amy Coney Barrett who partially dissented. The ruling is only temporary while the matter is litigated in the lower courts.
After the death of a second child from measles in Texas the Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has a history of diminishing vaccines, is stressing the importance of vaccination.
CNN's Meg Tirrell has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MEG TIRRELL CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. went to Texas on Sunday to attend the funeral of this school-aged child who died from measles, the second death in this measles outbreak. The first was another school-aged child. They both were unvaccinated.
And we know of this child that they were previously healthy -- had no previous reported underlying health conditions. The cause of death was measles pulmonary failure. And we know that measles can cause pneumonia as a complication of severe disease, which is one of the reasons this virus can be so dangerous.
Now, this is a large and quickly growing outbreak that's really centered in West Texas. That state now reporting 481 cases in this outbreak, 56 hospitalizations, and these two deaths. But this has also spread to nearby states -- to New Mexico and also to Oklahoma and up to Kansas. There's also one death under investigation in New Mexico.
And you can see from this line graph that cases, particularly in Texas, are growing very quickly. An epidemiologist suggests that the fact that there are possibly three deaths in this outbreak suggests there are likely many more cases that haven't been counted -- possibly into the thousands. And so there's a lot of concern that this outbreak is going to continue and will be very large.
Ninety-eight percent of the cases in Texas were in people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccine status is unknown. And there's been a lot of push to see a more wholehearted endorsement of vaccination, particularly from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who is known as an anti-vaccine advocate. Also from the CDC where -- which has not been communicating to the degree that we are used to in outbreaks of this kind.
However, over the weekend Secretary Kennedy did post on social media, "The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine." So that is a step in the right direction health experts says, but they also want to hear him go farther to say that the vaccine is safe, and that people should get it as the best way to prevent measles and to stop this outbreak.
They're also concerned about misinformation. He put in another social media post lauding doctors on the ground in Texas who are providing unapproved treatments for measles. They stress that really, vaccination is the best way to prevent this and the best way to stop this outbreak.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: Still ahead, a nearly 100-year-old Galapagos tortoise gives birth at the Philadelphia Zoo. Still to come, why it's critical to the survival of the species.
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[05:59:20]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NCAA ANNOUNCER: It's a great day to be a Gator. They win the national title.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: March Madness there going down to the wire after a narrow win over the Houston Cougars, 65-63. The Florida Gators have now been crowned NCAA Champions. Now, early on Florida struggled to score against Houston's defense but in true tournament fashion the Gators rallied for a comeback down the stretch. With under a minute left in the game Florida took the lead and held it, stopping Houston's final scoring attempt. The championship win marks the Gators' third national title.
All right, a rare glimmer of hope for the endangered Galapagos tortoise. The Philadelphia Zoo says that their nearly 100-year-old mating pair became first-time parents at the end of February.
