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One World with Zain Asher
Shockwaves As Trump's Reciprocal Tariffs Take Hold; China Slams Vance Over "Chinese Peasants" Comments; Israeli Soldiers Reveal Plan Behind Gaza Buffer Zone; Coffee Prices Expected To Spike As Tariffs Rise; Florida Small Business Owner Sues Trump To Stop Tariffs; Judge: White House Punishment Of AP Is Unconstitutional; Bezos' Blue Origin To launch All- Female Crew Monday. Aired 12:00-1:00p ET
Aired April 09, 2025 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:26]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Donald Trump's trade war is in full effect and the whole world is waiting to see what happens next.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: The second hour of ONE WORLD starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm telling you, these countries are calling us up, kissing my ass. They are -- they are dying to
make it here. Please, please, make it here. I'll do anything. I'll do anything, sir.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Basking any attention, President Trump says more than 70 countries are clamoring for a deal as the E.U. and China retaliate against
Trump's tariffs.
ASHER: Also ahead, the tariffs and you. One analyst says if production moves to America, the iPhone will triple in price.
And later.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIOLA DAVIS, AMERICAN ACTRESS AND FILM PRODUCER: EGOT president. I like that. Anthony, that's how you address me from now on.
ANTHONY ANDERSON, AMERICAN ACTOR AND COMEDIAN: Yes, yes, yes, yes. Miss EGOT president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: What can't she do? It's got a ring to it. Viola Davis on her brand-new movie and how she makes her younger son proud.
ASHER: All right. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. You're watching the second hour of ONE WORLD. And we begin with sell-offs, strike-backs, and censure, as new U.S.
tariffs go into effect around the world.
China is by far the biggest target. Chinese goods have been hit with a staggering 104 percent U.S. tariff. Beijing has announced 84 percent tariff
on U.S. imports in retaliation.
The U.S. Treasury secretary says China's move will backfire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: They have the most imbalanced economy in the history of the modern world. And I can tell you that this
escalation is a loser for them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Despite economists warning that the U.S. could be now barreling towards a recession, Donald Trump has a succinct message for anyone who's
concerned. He's saying, be cool. That is what he posted on social media earlier today as countries scramble to hold talks with the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Many countries have. They've ripped us off, left and right. But now it's our turn to do the ripping.
We've had talks with many, many countries, over 70. They all want to come in. Our problem is, can't see that many that fast.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Anna Stewart is following all the developments from London, where markets closed in the past hour following a day of sell-off. So just in
terms of E.U. reaction, they're retaliating by imposing tariffs on $23 billion worth of American goods. They're doing it in a staggered way. So
some tariffs will go into effect in April, others in May, others in December.
But just in terms of specific. We only know that they're imposing tariffs on goods, not services. What more do we know than that?
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not services yet. And really, this is a drop in the ocean in terms of what could be to come because this is a
response to the tariffs purely on steel and aluminum, which is what the U.S. hit it with back in, I think, early or mid-march, so some time ago.
It takes the E.U. some time to work on all of these, which means still to come is a retaliation on the car tariffs and on the 20 percent across the
board tariff that was implemented earlier today.
In total, the US has implemented tariffs, I believe, of $420 billion worth of exports to the U.S. That is around 70 percent of the E.U.'s total
exports. So yes, they've retaliated today as expected. There is a lot more to come in the pipeline.
But the E.U. also said in their announcement, these countermeasures can be suspended at any time, should the U.S. agree to a fair and balanced
negotiated outcomes.
So as ever, leaving that door open for negotiation, one of the many blocks in many countries that are so-called kissing the, I'm not even sure I'm
allowed to say that word on air, as --
ASHER: You're not allowed to say it. You're not allowed to say it, Anna.
GOLODRYGA: Unless you're quoting maybe.
ASHER: You want to keep your job, do not say that word, OK?
But, yes, one of the many countries that would like to see a deal rather than retaliation, but retaliation is where we're at. China, the E.U., and
plenty more to come.
ASHER: All right, Anna Stewart. Thank you for keeping it clean. PG-13 on our air.
GOLODRYGA: I think you could have said it, Anna. I think you had it you.
ASHER: Don't listen to her. Don't listen to her.
GOLODRYGA: Thanks, Anna. We got the message.
Well, Robert Koepp is director of the Asia-Pacific Geoeconomics and Business Initiative at Chapman University, and he joins us live from Orange
County, California. Thank you so much for taking the time.
[12:05:06]
We heard Treasury Secretary Bessent --
ROBERT KOEPP, DIRECTOR OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC GEOECONOMICS AND BUSINESS INITIATIVE, CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY: Thanks for having me.
GOLODRYGA: -- on multiple venues today speaking on television and at a banking convention in Washington, D.C. And he noted that China is the only
country that has significantly escalated in response to these tariffs.
And he went as far as to comparing China's economic model to, quote, a scene in Disney's Fantasia with brooms carrying buckets of water they keep
producing and producing and dumping and dumping and then warned any country that it threatened to cozy up to China, as a result of these tariffs, that
it would be cutting their own throat.
Walk us through your reaction to that depiction of China's economy.
KOEPP: Well, it is colorful, I'll give it that. And there is some truth to it, as much as there's also a lot of hyperbole.
So the issue at the very heart of the US-China trade dispute, and really China's issues with all its trading partners, is it has amassed an
overcapacity of manufacturing. Giving China more manufacturing made sense when it was lower value added items and we were all very enthralled by the
prospects of globalization. But over time, China has really kept a lock hold on that. So that's what the secretary is getting at with the metaphor.
And I would say he's got a point that I don't know if it's as bad as sort of deadly image of slitting their throats or something, but there's
definitely going to be repercussions. Because as China now, it's inconceivable. It can export too much, except for the absolutely most
critical items.
At 104 percent tariff rate, it is going to look for other markets. And so it will effectively be dumping. I think he's correct in that assessment.
ASHER: And just give us your sense of who you think is going to blink first between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump here. Somebody has to. Somebody has to.
Who will it be?
KOEPP: Well, I think it's going to be more like this. There'll be hard stares and maybe they'll look askance. But it's basically, in my
estimation, heading towards a stalemate.
Neither can really afford, neither Trump nor Xi Jinping, to, maybe they'll blink, but to actually flinch in a way that would show they're
capitulating, it's just not politically viable for either side.
And what also allows that to happen is there's so much of the rest of the world they can trade with. But that's more in America's favor than China's
actually, for the reasons we were just discussing.
So I guess you could say in a sense it would be China blinking, but it would be blinking with that kind of trying to find other markets and
response. But I don't see them coming down from the position they put themselves in because it would make them look weak.
They're going to have to find some other negotiated solution that would be, you know, new free enough of markets without doing something on tariffs
specifically and then one side saying, OK, well, because you're opening your market in some other way, then maybe we can back down. But I don't
think that's in the cards for the near-term.
GOLODRYGA: When you look at this 84 percent retaliatory tariff now from China in response to 104 percent from the United States, I mean, it's
staggering just to think of these figures and all coming together within a matter of days.
China also went a step further and put further export controls on 12 U.S. companies. And there is talk of them specifically targeting Republican
states, making it hurt for states that voted for Donald Trump.
You say at the end of the day, perhaps it is China that will come out the loser first or blink first here, however you want to frame it. But no
doubt, however China decides to respond will have an impact on the United States as well.
I mean, talk about just these 84 percent tariffs and the continued list of unreliable entities they're putting export controls on.
KOEPP: Yes. So it's undeniable that there will be damage in the United States. I don't mean to say that somehow the U.S. is going to come out of
this unscathed. And you're absolutely correct.
In fact, I would also underscore another point. The way China sort of strategizes its retaliation, targeting Republican states. Also, rather
interesting twist, putting export controls on U.S. companies now in China. So I mean, the reason they often go to China is to export from there.
Also, self-debilitating in certain ways, but it's more nuanced is the main point I'm making, and it's more targeted. So, I think in that regard, you
can say that, yes, it's definitely going to be having this impact where the Chinese are very intentional in what they're doing.
[12:10:04]
I think that the main distinction between what the U.S. is doing is it's just blanket tariffs, right? It's just -- it has this strange formula that
really isn't even tariff based per se. It's on the basis of trade imbalances. And then it does some mathematics and says, OK, so this should
be your tariff rate.
But it's very blunt force where target -- where the targeting from China is more specific. So I think in that sense, China has a bit of an edge. And it
could indeed inflict some pain on the Republican base.
But overall, the net effect, I think, is going to be more on China and less on the U.S., even with the US is more blunt and seemingly less
strategically planned out tariff regime.
ASHER: We know that China is really trying to strengthen its ties with other Asian economies in the region. There is a lot of fear about Chinese
goods flooding the European Union and what sort of effect that would have on Europe. A lot of people are fearful of lower prices in Europe.
Just explain to us how China is going to sort of look for other markets for its cheap goods.
KOEPP: Right. So China is now at a state where it's making most of what the world wants and it does it in good quality and it does it at great prices.
So that's an attractive proposition.
But the problem is it's going to mitigate the effect of what the U.S. tariffs mean. It's going to really want to expand those markets or go into
new markets where it isn't yet.
And so what China can do, not only because it has this excess capacity, but the government has been subsidizing industry overall. It varies in certain
respects.
But in general, there is a policy to subsidize industry and pump in money, especially to any firms that have state enterprise relationships, state-
owned enterprises, or are affiliated with government entities, which there is a considerable number.
So China is basically going to be able to approach, say, the E.U. and other markets and say, here's all this great stuff for your consumers. And unless
the other countries have developed some sort of policy and response, which in this kind of situation often does amount to then having to raise
tariffs, they're going to be flooded with these sorts of goods.
Nice for consumers, but not good for their own manufacturing base. And it also is deflationary. And although we talk a lot about inflation, inflation
is definitely problematic for any economy.
Deflation is, in some ways worse, because it depresses your economic outlook and wages and so forth. So there could be a lot of repercussions
here. And I think it's basically indicating that the E.U. and other markets are going to have to start thinking quite a lot about how they want to deal
with China, because it is going to be the second order effect of this trade war.
And that could then increase their desire to, like I said, raise tariffs. And then that's where you really do have a global conflagration of trade
tensions.
GOLODRYGA: All started by one man and so many economists have said unnecessarily so, but here we are.
Robert Koepp, thank you so much. We appreciate it.
KOEPP: Thank you.
ASHER: And as if all the fighting over tariffs wasn't bad enough, U.S.- China relations are also being strained today by a controversial comment from the U.S. Vice President, JD Vance.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Beijing is slamming Vance for remarks he made about so- called Chinese peasants. The whole thing has gone viral on Chinese social media sites. Our Will Ripley has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JD VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, good morning, everybody.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The American hillbilly versus China's so-called peasants. It all started with
this.
VANCE: And to make it a little bit more crystal clear, we borrow money from Chinese peasants to buy the things those Chinese peasants manufacturer.
From Chinese peasants.
RIPLEY: Vance's Chinese peasants comment reaching Beijing within hours. The government's response, swift and scathing.
LIN JIAN, SPOKESPERSON, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY (through translator): It's both astonishing and lamentable to hear this vice president make such
ignorant and disrespectful remarks.
RIPLEY (voice-over): On China's tightly controlled internet, government censors are allowing Vance's interview to go viral, amplifying the outrage,
igniting anger and sarcasm.
"Have you said thank you for the money we lent you?" A reference to China being the second-largest foreign holder of U.S. government debt. And that
infamous Oval office exchange with Ukraine's president.
VANCE: You should be thanking the president.
RIPLEY (voice-over): One hashtag about the Chinese peasants remark shot to the top of China's Twitter-like platform Weibo with millions of views and
counting. Many comments boasting of China's modern achievements.
"Look, this is their true face, arrogant and rude as always. We may be peasants, but we have the world's best high-speed rail, the most powerful
logistics, and leading AI and drone technologies. Aren't such peasants quite impressive?"
[12:15:03]
Former "Global Times" editor, Hu Xijin, posted on Weibo, "This true 'peasant' who came out of rural America seems to lack perspective. Many
people are urging him to visit China and see reality with his own eyes."
Many in China are interpreting Vance's comments as describing all Chinese people, some even referencing Vance's memoir and movie.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many times you've seen this?
RIPLEY (voice-over): As one social media post put it, "The author "HILLBILLY ELEGY" is calling Chinese peasants? Really?"
RIPLEY: Incidentally, "HILLBILLY ELEGY" was translated into Mandarin. It's actually a bestseller in China. But the vice president's sound bite has
spiraled into yet another war of words between the U.S. and China. Many Chinese are calling his remark proof of what they call American arrogance
as if U.S.-China tensions weren't bad enough over things like tariffs, technology, Taiwan.
CNN has reached out to JD Vance's office for comment and so far, nothing.
Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: Still ahead on ONE WORLD, this Florida business owner is the face of a legal battle against Donald Trump's tariffs. Later this hour, we'll talk
to her about why she filed her lawsuit.
Also ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Residential buildings, greenhouses, sheds, factories, you name it, it needs to be flat. That's the order.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Israeli soldiers are revealing the systematic destruction of Palestinian property to create a buffer zone in Gaza. We'll bring you that
report.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: Ukraine's second largest city, a frequent target of Russian strikes, has once again come under attack. You can see in this video firefighters
working to put out a huge blaze.
GOLODRYGA: And the date and location of the video could not be verified, but it comes after Kharkiv's mayor says that Moscow launched a massive
drone assault on his city Tuesday that caused a series of explosions. He says three people were injured.
ASHER: Meantime in Gaza, an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Gaza City killed at least 29 Palestinians, including children, local health
authorities say. Israel says it was hit -- it hit rather a senior Hamas militant.
Medics say dozens of people were injured, with many believed to be trapped under the rubble.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They have nothing to do with fighting. They are children. They are innocent. They are women staying at
their homes. They have nothing to do with fighting. Why would they hit them? Why didn't they warn them to leave and say they wanted to target this
or that? All of them are children. All of them are children and women.
[12:20:17]
GOLODRYGA: Israel's military has transformed every bit of territory in Gaza within a kilometer of the Israeli border into a wasteland.
ASHER: IDF soldiers who are deployed to the enclave are revealing how the military systematically carried out the destruction of civilian
infrastructure to create the buffer zone.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond has this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Inside Gaza, swaths of land closest to the Israeli border have been turned into a
wasteland. Nearly every building within about a half a mile of the border fence has been destroyed. We filmed this footage a year ago while
demolitions were still ongoing.
Over time, the Israeli Military has razed about 22 square miles of Palestinian land, creating a buffer zone on about 16 percent of Gaza's
territory.
It is a no-go zone for Palestinians, some of whom have been killed after setting foot inside the unmarked perimeter.
Now, for the first time, an Israeli soldier sat down with us to describe how the military systematically destroyed civilian infrastructure to create
this buffer zone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of them, the buildings were destroyed completely and some were still standing. And our job was to make more of the first
kind.
DIAMOND: But the fact that there were still building standing meant that the mission wasn't done.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. And we destroyed them one by one in a very methodical fashion, area by area.
DIAMOND (voice-over): A sergeant first class in the fifth infantry brigade, he was called up to reserve duty on October 7th and was later deployed here
in the industrial zone of Gaza City's Shuja'iyya neighborhood, protecting combat engineers as they bulldozed buildings and rigged others to explode.
We've blurred his face and changed his voice because he risks reprisals for speaking out about a policy the Israeli military has never officially
acknowledged.
DIAMOND: Was it clear to you that this was not the actions of one commander or one --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, definitely. Definitely. I know other units were doing the same up north and then down south. I know it came from up high.
DIAMOND: What did they tell you about the mission to raze these buildings and establish this security zone?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One was that as a lesson from October 7th, we're going to have a larger buffer zone larger than before.
And the other was that on October 7th, this industrial zone was used as a launching ground.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Over the course of the war, this one-time economic hub was flattened. This video which CNN geolocated shows the destruction of
Gaza's only Coca-Cola factory.
But it's not just factories. In the town of Khuza'a, hundreds of homes were leveled with a clear zone of destruction spanning about one kilometer from
the border.
"Residential buildings, greenhouses, sheds, factories, you name it needs to be flat. That's the order." A sergeant major who served in Khuza'a said.
Except for the UNRWA school and that small water facility, the directive was nothing left.
He is one of a dozen Israeli soldiers who describe the demolitions and enforcement of the buffer zone to Breaking the Silence, an Israeli watchdog
group that verifies and publishes soldiers' testimonials.
Some also described how the buffer zone has been turned into a kill zone for Palestinians. A sergeant first class in the armored corps described the
rules of engagement, adult male, kill, shoot to kill. For women and children, shoot to drive away.
People were incriminated for having bags in their hands, a warrant officer in the IDF said. Guys showed up with a bag, incriminated terrorists. I
believe they came to pick hubeiza, an edible plant. But the army says no, they're hiding. Boom.
JANINA DILL, CO-DIRECTOR, OXFORD INSTITUTE FOR ETHICS, LAW AND ASRMED CONFLICT: A kill zone is in essence. The announcement of a party to the war
that they won't take feasible precautions. That they won't verify the status of an individual before attacking them. And that definitely violates
international law.
DIAMOND: Is this kind of widespread destruction of civilian property to create a buffer zone legal under international law?
DILL: It needs to be a legitimate military objective and operational objective. And the only way to achieve it would be to destroy the civilian
property.
At that scale, that's simply not quite plausible. If there is no military necessities, then that fulfills the criteria for a war crime.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The Israeli military did not respond to CNN's request for comment. More than 6,200 Palestinian buildings have been damaged or
destroyed within one kilometer of the Gaza border, according to satellite analysis, including here in al-Bureij, where homes and acres of farmland
were destroyed.
For 40 years, Abdul Aziz Al-Nabahin grew olives, oranges, and guavas on that land, but that has all been ripped away from him.
"When they announced the 40-day truce, we went back. We found the house destroyed, the trees were bulldozed."
[12:25:04]
But he has lost so much more. Abdul-Aziz says his son Mahmoud (ph) went to collect firewood near their home when he was shelled by an Israeli tank and
killed.
The Israeli military did not respond to CNN's requests for comment.
"They knew they were only collecting wood, not resisting or fighting, just a cart with wood clearly visible. Still, they were targeted. The Israelis
did this intentionally."
Even now, he says, they will kill anyone who goes there.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Well, the IDF has since confirmed to CNN that it has established a, quote, broad military presence in the security zone adjacent to Israel,
which it called a vital component to prevent another October 7th-style attack. Saying the actions are in accordance with international law.
It said in a statement, quote, these actions are essential in order to prevent Hamas and other terrorist organizations from operating in the area
while ensuring the security of IDF forces and Israeli communities.
ASHER: Eight people, including five children have died from cholera in South Sudan as they walked for hours in search of medical treatment.
GOLODRYGA: Now it comes after USAID cuts forced local health services there to close. This is according to the U.K. based charity, Save the Children.
The deaths last month are the first to be directly attributed to those cuts by U.S. President Donald Trump. A cholera outbreak was declared in South
Sudan last October.
And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:30:12]
ASHER: Welcome back to ONE WORLD. I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga.
The escalating trade war isn't just rattling the global economy. It is causing a rift among two of Donald Trump's closest advisors.
ASHER: Yes. Elon Musk is fiercely opposed to the tariffs while Trump trade advisor, Peter Navarro, champions them. Navarro claims that Musk's
opposition is only because of his Tesla cars include a lot of foreign-made parts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER NAVARRO, U.S. SENIOR TRADE ADVISER: We all understand in the White House and the American people understand that Elon's a car manufacturer,
but he's not a car manufacturer. He's a car assembler in many cases.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: That comment clearly got under Musk's skin. He says that Tesla's actually contain more American made parts than many other American
vehicles. Musk took to X calling Navarro a moron and said, he quote, he is dumber than a sack of bricks.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Musk then, if that wasn't enough, took the insults up a notch. He said comparing Navarro to bricks was unfair to the bricks.
The White House is shrugging all of this off and seems unconcerned about the public squabble.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Look, these are obviously two individuals who have very different views on trade and on tariffs. Boys
will be boys. And we will let their public sparring continue. And you guys should all be very grateful that we have the most transparent
administration in history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: All right. Well, brace yourself. A prominent tech analyst warns that the price of an Apple iPhone could soar to around $3,500 if production
is moved to the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN IVES, GLOBAL HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH WEDBUSH SECURITIES: This is an economic Armageddon that's coming for the U.S. consumer and the economy.
And I've talked to tech executives around the world, and when it comes to U.S. tech, I mean, I think this is something that could send the U.S. tech
industry back a decade. And I think recession is now starting to get baked into the market.
Reality is that it's all the hearts and lungs of the supply chain is in Asia.
You build that in the U.S. with a fab in West Virginia, New Jersey, there'll be $3,500 iPhones.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Well, for years, Apple has relied on other countries like China to manufacturing its iPhones in order to maintain its profit margins and to
keep prices lower for consumers.
ASHER: Many other American-based companies outsource production of their products as well. However, the Trump administration promises that as a
result of its sweeping tariffs, that a number of manufacturing jobs will eventually be re-shored to the U.S., employing millions of Americans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: But are we going to make iPhones in the United States?
NAVARRO: Some of what we're going to do.
INGRAHAM: Are we going to make?
NAVARRO: Yes. We're going to -- we're going to able to do it through more automation. And there's going to be plenty of jobs for robots, plenty of
jobs for humans.
I'm telling you, Laura, this is going to be a golden age.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: The price of a new iPhone is not the only worry that consumers face. A lot of analysts are warning that your favorite cup of coffee is also
expected to get more expensive as well.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. CNN's Isabel Rosales spoke with some coffee shop owners in the U.S. who blame a potential spike in prices on President Trump's trade
war.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We love coffee. America runs on whatever coffee company.
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Americans may soon have to start rethinking their morning beverage routine, as President Trump's new
tariff policy is about to brew up trouble for the coffee industry.
DONALD REESE, COFFEE MAN COFFEE SHOP REGULAR: It's hurting like every big person that will say a 10 percent increase is a lot. It might not be a lot
to our administration, but to us, every day we drink it, is a lot.
ROSALES (voice-over): Coffee beans can only grow in tropical climates. So the U.S. imports its coffee beans mostly from Brazil, Colombia, and
Vietnam, along the coffee belt. It cannot be grown in most of the U.S. except for primarily in Hawaii.
DEVIN HUNTER, CO-OWNER, COFFEE MAN COFFEE SHOP: This right here is the last shipment of coffee beans from Honduras that will get before the 10 percent
tariffs come into effect.
ROSALES (voice-over): Devon Hunter, the co-owner of Coffee Man in Atlanta, tells us coffee from Brazil is already up nearly 30 percent over the past
year because of unfavorable growing conditions. And now these tariffs make it a one-two punch.
ROSALES: Is it more of a matter of this just being slightly aggravating? Or is this like a five alarm fire?
HUNTER: It's going to affect every coffee shop in America, I think, you know. Every coffee roaster, every coffee shop, it's going to affect
everyone. So I think everyone is going to kind of feel the pain -- the pain from this because it's like your latte is probably going to go up.
ROSALES (voice-over): President Trump says part of the incentive behind tariffs is to produce more things in America.
HUNTER: That's nice in theory, except that coffee can't really be grown in America. So it's like, wish they maybe had thought that through and there
could be some exceptions for coffee.
ROSALES: But here's the problem. The USDA forecasts will consume nearly three billion pounds of coffee beans. Yet only 1 percent of it can be
sourced domestically. That's according to the nation's largest trade organization.
[12:35:02]
Experts tell CNN, there's simply no way we can just grow more coffee here in the United States. We have to import.
ROSALES (voice-over): Hunter says, unless something gives over the next month, he'll likely be forced to raise prices.
ROSALES: Some people would say, well, you as a business should absorb that 10 percent, not pass it along to the consumer. What do you say to that?
HUNTER: If we try to absorb it, we might not be able to exist as a business.
ROSALES (voice-over): It's now mad scramble to stockpile beans at pre- tariff prices.
HUNTER: I'm making our Vietnamese cold brew, so it's a coffee that we rose from Vietnam and it has a really nice smoky flavor.
ROSALES (voice-over): And even tariff shopping coffee nations, which means that a whopping 46 percent tariff, Vietnam doesn't make the cut.
HUNTER: Yes. That one hurts a lot because Vietnamese is one of my favorite coffees. That's the one that I'm having to look at the most. We're not
going to be able to contract any coffee from Vietnam. We just may not be able to do it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: This is so painful. We were just talking about how much we love coffee and almost everything we love. The prices are just bound to go up.
The new import tariffs could be devastating also for small businesses, which account for 99 percent of all businesses in the United States.
One entrepreneur in Florida says, she could be paying an additional $350,000 this year alone because of the tariffs.
ASHER: Yes. It has her wondering whether these tariffs are even legal. It's a question she's now taken to a federal court in Florida in the first major
lawsuit looking to block tariffs on China.
Time now for The Exchange. Joining me from Florida is that small business owner, Emily Ley, the founder and CEO of the stationery company,
Simplified. Emily, thank you so much for being with us.
Before we get to this lawsuit that you're filing, you and a lot of small business owners in the United States right now are faced with a really
difficult choice, whether to pass on these higher prices we're going to see to consumers or absorb the cost yourself, just in terms of limiting your
profit for the foreseeable future. Just explain to us how you're navigating that and what sort of options you have at this point.
EMILY LEY, FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SIMPLIFIED: Thank you for having me. It's truly catastrophic to businesses like mine. And like you
mentioned, it's been impacting us for years. We've paid $1.17 million since 2017.
And we're actually looking, as of last night, at paying close to $850,000 this year. That's going to be a loss of American jobs. It's going to mean
higher prices for consumers. It's devastating.
GOLODRYGA: So, what are the grounds of your lawsuit that you are filing? Because, you know, you're doing it as a small business owner. Yesterday, we
reported that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is also considering filing a lawsuit against the president for these tariffs.
Just walk us through your legal argument.
LEY: Absolutely. Well, I have partnered with the New Civil Liberties Alliance, and they're a nonpartisan group that specializes in government
overreach.
And our argument here is that Congress was not involved in the implementation of these tariffs. And by law, Congress should be involved.
And what that means is that people like me, consumers, business owners, we never got the chance to speak up, to make our voices heard. And to let our
representatives know what these tariffs would actually do to our businesses, our teams, and our futures.
ASHER: Yes. Donald Trump is actually imposing these tariffs using a clause relying on a national emergency. But a lot of legal experts are questioning
his authority to do that. As you point out, it is Congress' job to actually approve tariffs.
Just in terms of going back to what you said about coping with the costs, I mean, I want you to explain to us the sorts of differences for small
businesses who are dealing with this, who don't necessarily have the same financial flexibility that large companies do.
LEY: Yes. I have been in business for 17 years. I employ eight additional women, including myself, who are remarkably hard workers. And we always say
we're a small but mighty team. We make beautiful planners and paper goods and initially tried to make them in the United States, but we just can't do
it in a profitable way. The infrastructure doesn't exist.
And so when I hear this argument that this is a short-term pain for a long- term gain, we won't survive it. Many other businesses can, you know, pivot and do other things potentially. But for us, it's really looking like, you
know, what do we do here? Do we shut our doors?
GOLODRYGA: Emily, where are the majority of your goods manufactured right now?
LEY: We work with two different manufacturers in China.
GOLODRYGA: So when you heard this news, you know, over the past decade or so, we've seen some of the larger companies move their services and their
plants to other countries in Asia where they could also produce goods at a cheaper cost, but not in China specific.
[12:40:01]
Did you ever think about similar options for yourself?
LEY: We did. And I'm glad you brought that up. That is something that we've been researching over the last couple of years. And the same infrastructure
that exists in China for what we make doesn't exist in these other countries, not with the bells and whistles we have on our products. It's
truly a specialized district or area there in China that does this.
Unfortunately, the countries that we've been looking at that do have anything similar are now being hit with tariffs as well. And so our backs
are really against the door.
ASHER: All right. Emily Ley, live for us. Thank you so much. Please keep us updated on how things go.
LEY: Thank you.
ASHER: A lot of people are hoping that, you know, there is a deal at some point, but obviously there is going to be lot of uncertainty and pain
before that happens. Emily, thank you.
GOLODRYGA: Thanks, Emily.
And still to come for us, a federal judge weighs in on Trump's ban against the "Associated Press." What the White House has been ordered to do, that's
just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEAVITT: It is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America. And I'm not sure why news outlets don't want to
call it that, but that is what it is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: A win for the "Associated Press" as a federal judge says it's unconstitutional for the White House to punish the news organization for
using the name "Gulf of Mexico" after the U.S. president renamed it, the Gulf of America.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Earlier this year, President Trump stripped "AP's" access to the White House events, the Oval Office, and Air Force One for using the
name Gulf of Mexico.
The Trump-appointed judge is giving the White House one week to appeal before he restores "AP's" access.
For more on this, let's bring in CNN's Brian Stelter. And, Brian, no doubt a win for the "AP" here, even though they've got to wait a week for the
appeals process.
But the bigger message this sent, one would imagine that the White House, they have a team of lawyers that would have deducted that this would have
been the decision from a judge, even a Trump-appointed judge.
So that suggests that there was a broader theme here, and that was to send a message, perhaps having a chilling effect on journalism in total. I'm
just wondering how you're interpreting this.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Right. Two words come to mind, slippery slope. This is a very slippery slope, because if the "AP" had
caved to Trump's demand and started referring to the gulf, the way Trump wanted, and only as Trump wanted, then we would have seen pressure on other
news outlets as well. And it wouldn't have stopped at the word gulf or the phrase Gulf of Mexico.
[12:45:12]
The "AP" is doing what lots of global news outlets are doing. They are referring to the Gulf of Mexico and also acknowledging Trump's order to
rename it the Gulf of America within the United States.
You know, it's now a contested body of water. So the "AP" is reporting the news accurately, but that accurate reporting is what enraged the Trump
White House. And it was clear they wanted to have a fight over this. They wanted to cause a fight, even if they were going to lose in court.
Now, I think the big question is whether the Trump White House will go along with this court order. We have seen other cases where the Trump White
House has not complied with court orders. There are numerous battles underway.
So, starting this weekend, we will find out if the Trump White House goes ahead with this or if they find other ways around this order. Will they try
in other ways to punish the "AP?"
Frankly, my fear is that they are going to start to clamp down on media access more broadly. And that way they can say, we're not just punishing
the "AP," we're just -- we're avoiding all of you journalists. That is one fear now as a result of this.
ASHER: Yes. You make a good point because there has been some hesitancy, shall we say, among the Trump administration to abide by certain court
orders. You think about the planes going to El Salvador carrying those deportees.
And also, they have a murky relationship in terms of really respecting the First Amendment. You think about what's happening on college campuses
across the United States right now.
When you think about Donald Trump's first term, obviously, he went to war quite aggressively with the media. I mean, this time around, obviously,
we've only seen a couple of months of Donald Trump's term.
The focus has been on immigration and, of course, tariffs with this trade war. But what are you anticipating in terms of Donald Trump's relationship
with the media this time around, Brian?
STELTER: This time around, it's about actions, not words. He's identified about a dozen major pressure points. And he's trying to apply pressure
simultaneously in every direction, whether that's using the FCC to threaten media companies or investigate media companies, whether it's filing
lawsuits against owners of news outlets.
He's using all those different pressure points and so are his aides and allies. We are seeing journalists push back, however, and just continue to
do the work no matter what. I think that's an important part of the story as well.
You know, with the White House press corps, they are still doing the work every day, asking the key questions every day. Even though in the "AP's"
case, this cost them a lot of money having to go to court, it's lost them some competitive advantages, you know, it's created a more polarizing
brand. Perhaps that's part of what Trump wants out of this, right? Just to signal that there is no real independent arbiter of what is true.
I would say the through line of Trump's strategy, it is to create an alternative parallel news media that just toes the line and promotes his
agenda. That's why he brings in Breitbart and One America News, really explicitly partisan brands that are now part of the press pool on any given
day. That way, he's able to enjoy softball questions and not just hardballs from the press.
GOLODRYGA: Well, and there have been other networks that have acquiesced and settled lawsuits as well. So the fact that "AP" didn't, you know, maybe
this is a test case for other networks and outlets in the future.
Brian Stelter, thank you. Good to see you.
STELTER: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: And a quick programming note here on ONE WORLD, a big interview for us tomorrow. We'll have Janet Yellen, the former U.S. Treasury
Secretary and Chair of the Federal Reserve, to get reaction to President Trump's new tariffs. It will be her first interview since the tariffs have
been put in place. That is tomorrow. Be sure to tune in for that.
And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:50:14]
ASHER: Blue Origin is set to launch a new mission, just a matter of days, that they hope will be one giant leap for womankind. CNN's Isabel Rosales
takes a look at the historic mission.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lift off.
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the first time in more than 60 years, an all-female crew is set to blast off into space. Blue
Origin's star-studded NS31 mission is scheduled to launch from West Texas on April 14th, on board the New Shepard vehicle. Among the six-person crew
are singer Katy Perry, journalist, Gayle King, and Lauren Sanchez, pilot and fiance of Blue Origin founder, Jeff Bezos.
The crew is set to travel just past the Karman Line, the point widely recognized as where outer space begins, and will experience a few minutes
of microgravity before descending back to Earth.
Crew member and former NASA rocket scientist, Aisha Bowe, spoke to CNN about her hope that this landmark voyage will inspire more women to shoot
for the stars.
AISHA BOWE, BLUE ORIGIN CREW MEMBER: To see six women who are all incredibly unique, who are very inspiring in their own right, come together
and globally on a campaign, I think what you're going to see is not only more women, but more people know that they can too become one of us, and
that they also can reach and work in these fields.
ROSALES (voice-over): This will mark the first all-female space mission since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova's solo mission back in 1963.
But the historic mission has also faced criticism, including from actress Olivia Munn. While co-hosting on NBC's "Today" show with Jenna Bush Hager,
Munn questioned the purpose of the mission and its cost.
OLIVIA MUNN, ACTRESS: What are they doing? Like, why? You know what I mean? Like, I'm just saying this. OK. I know this is probably not the cool thing
to say, but like there are so many other things that are --
JENNA BUSH HAGER, HOST, "TODAY WITH JENNA AND FRIENDS":: In the world.
MUNN: -- so important in the world right now.
HAGER: Yes. Yes.
MUNN: Like, they aren't asked. I mean, there's one astronaut, right?
HAGER: One astronaut.
MUNN: But like, what are you guys going to do up in space? What are you doing up there?
ROSALES (voice-over): One crew member, researcher and civil rights activist, Amanda Nguyen, will conduct experiments about women's health
during the 11-minute flight. Nguyen will make history becoming the first woman of Vietnamese or Southeast Asian descent in space.
Since their first successful crewed spaceflight in 2021, Blue Origin has had 10 crewed missions, bringing more than 50 people to the edge of space,
including Star Trek actor William Shatner, who was brought to tears by the experience.
WILLIAM SHATNER, ACTOR: I hope I never recover from this.
ROSALES (voice-over): Isabel Rosales, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Well, Hollywood powerhouse, Viola Davis, is sitting on top of the world, living out a childhood fantasy in her latest film.
ASHER: Yes. The Oscar winner portrays an American president in the new Amazon Prime thriller "G20." The film centers on Davis' efforts to protect
her family and other world leaders when the G20 summit in Cape Town, South Africa is attacked.
Davis recently spoke about the importance of representation in film and her close bond with co-star, Anthony Anderson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVIS: EGOT president, I like that. Anthony, you -- that's how you address me from now on.
ANDERSON: Yes, yes, yes, yes, Ms. EGOT President.
DAVIS: Feels beautiful to be able to give this image to the world. That's what it feels like. You know, I have to tell you when I was growing up when
I had no images. I grew up in Central Falls Rhode Island. And I remember the first image I had of a bad ass black woman on television was Teresa
Graves in "Get Christie Love."
Whenever she would arrest someone and she was like, you're under arrest, baby. And I was like, oh, my God. Oh, my goodness. And she would throw men
off balconies. And, you know, when you see it, you can believe it. When you see it, you can see yourself in it. I want people to feel worthy.
[12:55:11]
I think that -- I think that people always -- especially I'm not saying black women because I think that we're strong powerful people. But what I
want to do in my work is to make people feel like you are worthy as is. That you were born whole. Because there's so many messages in the culture
that make us feel less than or can make us feel less than.
And we look for evidence that we're worthy. I want to be the evidence.
ANDERSON: We've always had a great relationship.
DAVIS: Yes.
ANDERSON: Just, you know, on the same network, traveling in the same circles, having the same --
DAVIS: Seeing each other's and gifting sweet. I didn't want to mention that. We like -- we like the free stuff.
ANDERSON: We like the free stuff.
DAVIS: I want you to tell the world that we like some free stuff.
ANDERSON: Yes, that's where we really bonded over the last 10, 12 years.
DAVIS: What you got, Anthony? Yes. You better go over that table over there.
ANTHONY: Hey, they got that $10,000 on massage chair they're giving away, Viola. Go on over.
DAVIS: Yes. I'm going to get that.
ANDERSON: OK.
DAVIS: Bye, Anthony.
ANDERSON: Don't forget the (INAUDIBLE) toilets over there. So that's been our relationship -- I forgot about that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: I could let them go all day long. We love Viola. Viola Davis is just one of 21 EGOTs in history, meaning she's won an Emmy, a Grammy, an
Oscar, and a Tony. Top that one, Zain.
ASHER: My gosh. I can't. She's phenomenal. I've listened to her speak in public. She is amazing. So inspiring.
That does it. I'm Zain Asher. Appreciate you watching.
GOLODRYGA: I'm Bianna Golodryga. "AMANPOUR" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
