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One World with Zain Asher

CNN International: Dow Drops As Reality Of Trade War Damage Settles In; Trump Orders 90-Day Pause On Tariffs, Except On China; EU Pauses Retaliatory Steps After Trump's 90-Day Hold On Tariffs. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired April 10, 2025 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAIN ASHER, HOST, "ONE WORLD": President Trump's tariff whiplash rattles the world.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, HOST, "ONE WORLD": One World starts right now.

This hour, we'll have our exclusive interview with Janet Yellen, the former U.S. Treasury Secretary and Chair of the Federal Reserve, to get her

reaction to President Trump's trade war.

ASHER: Plus, a Russian-American woman sentenced to 12 years in a Russian prison is now on her way back to the U.S. We'll have details on the

overnight prisoner exchange.

GOLODRYGA: And golfers are on the green as the first major of the year tees off in Augusta. We're live with CNN Sports Andy Scholes with a look at who

has hopes of winning that iconic green jacket.

Hello, everyone. Live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga.

ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher. You are watching One World.

Reality check one day after global markets responded with euphoria to Donald Trump's tariff U-turn. The mood is certainly shifting to see just

how much damage has been done.

GOLODRYGA: And how lasting that damage could be. After staging a historic rally on Wednesday, Wall Street stocks are sinking lower. Right now, you

see the Dow down about 2.5 percent, S&P 500 down over three percent, and the NASDAQ down nearly four percent. It's a much different picture for

European markets, which continue to make gains. Now, earlier, we should note, the EU announced that it will put its own tariffs against the U.S. on

hold, and says that it wants to give negotiations a chance.

ASHER: And Asian markets has closed higher after soaring earlier in the day. That includes the Shanghai Composite, despite the 125 percent U.S.

tariff on Chinese imports being now in effect. Beijing has also slapped an 84 percent retaliation levy on American goods, but says the door to dialog

with the White House is open if it is based on mutual respect.

On Wednesday, the U.S. President escalated his trade war with the world's second largest economy, while putting a 90-day pause on what he calls

reciprocal tariffs against other countries. Here is how he described his abrupt decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line. They were getting yippy. They

were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: CNN's Anna Stewart is in London for us, and Alayna Treene is live at the White House.

Alayna, let's start with you. How is the White House responding this morning? We heard from President Trump's top economic advisor hitting the

airwaves this morning. What are they saying?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right. We did hear from his Director of the Economic Council -- National Economic Council, Kevin

Hassett. He said that actually roughly 15 countries have so far put forward specific, or in his words, explicit deals on the table. Those are ones that

they will be considering in the near future.

But look, I think today is really going to be a moment for the Trump administration and his top officials to get on the same page. They're about

this hour actually to have a Cabinet meeting. We were told that was arranged by the Chief of Staff Susie Wiles' office, and part of that will

be to have them share their viewpoints and decide where to move forward and how they want to prioritize this. Now, of course, one of the key questions

is, what are they going to do as it relates to China? Because the President paused -- had a 90-day pause on all of those reciprocal tariffs yesterday,

except for China. He did the opposite. He actually increased those tariffs to 125 percent.

Now, one key thing, and I think this is a big question, and these are things that we are hearing behind the scenes in our conversations with

White House and Trump administration officials, is what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday. He said that one idea that has been put

forth is to try and make deals and really prioritize deals with allies in the region, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam. We know that top economic

officials here at the White House have had conversations with leaders of all of those countries. He had said that perhaps they can make deals and

then approach China as a group. So, that's one idea that could come up during that Cabinet meeting and in further conversations on this today.

But, just to be clear, Bianna and Zain, I think we can't lose sight of the fact of what a stunning reversal this was yesterday, because for days

before, weeks, really, before the President made that announcement, his entire team was saying that he is not going to back off, that this is not a

negotiation, that this is a serious, long-term strategy, and then, of course, we saw him make that announcement yesterday. Part of what we had

heard from behind the scenes is that the bond market, and what was happening in the bond market in the immediate night before he had made that

announcement, is what really changed the President's mind, had donors, business leaders, other officials calling him, having conversations with

him about this.

And so, I think it's important to keep that in mind, as we look at the big picture here. But, today, the main goal, of course, is to figure out what

comes next. What deals will they be making?

[11:05:00]

What deals will they be prioritizing, and then how are they going to try to move forward with some sort of way to negotiate with China, when right now

we know they are not speaking.

ASHER: All right. Alayna Treene live for us there. Thank you so much.

Let me bring in Anna Stewart. So, Anna, we've been seeing European stocks rallying, not just on the news that the Americans are pausing these tariffs

for 90 days, but also the fact that the Europeans were going to reverse the retaliatory tariffs that they put into effect yesterday as well. Take us

through that.

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look at that rally. It's pretty strong, and that's largely because, of course, European markets were actually

closed when the 90-day pause was announced. So, they didn't have a rally yesterday. We're seeing it here, and I think it is being sustained as well

by the fact that the EU is also going to pause for 90 days, although the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that while they will pause

for 90 days, if negotiations are not satisfactory, our countermeasures will kick in. So, bit of a warning there.

But, I think for European investors, this is possibly the first time that it's actually felt like almost a reality that perhaps the U.S.

administration will negotiate with them. Up until this point, the EU has, for instance, offered zero for zero tariffs on industrial goods, on autos,

and that's frankly being ignored. So, perhaps this is an opportunity.

Very different story elsewhere in the markets. Of course, Wall Street has opened lower today. The relief rally there is over, and by a number of

metrics, even from JPMorgan not shifting their outlook in terms of recession, keeping it at 60 percent. Some of these assets suggest that

people are still pricing in the likelihood of a recession. Oil prices steeply lower at this stage, about 4.6 percent lower, under the $60 a

barrel. It could finish today at the lowest it's been since April 2021. We're also seeing that the U.S. dollar fell sharply, and the bond deals,

the 10-year bond deals in the U.S., which, of course, President Trump was concerned about, we haven't seen much of a shift there.

So, we've had this huge reversal. But, actually a lot of the fears, a lot of the yippyness (ph), if that is even a word, is still out there.

GOLODRYGA: A lot of golf players will know exactly what that word means.

ASHER: It's a word now. It's a word now, Anna.

GOLODRYGA: It's a Wall Street word now.

Anna Stewart, thank you so much.

Janet Yellen served as U.S. Treasury Secretary from 2021 until earlier this year. Before that, she ran the U.S. Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018, the

first woman to hold both of those high-profile jobs, and she joins us now for an exclusive interview.

Secretary Yellen, thank you so much for joining us. Welcome to the program. So, there has been a collective sigh of relief now that that 90-day pause

has been announced, not including the 10 percent tariff. But, there is still so much uncertainty about what comes next. The Economist headline

this morning reads this, "Trump's incoherent trade policy will do lasting damage. Even after his backtracking, the President has done profound harm

to the world economy." Do you agree with that assessment?

JANET YELLEN, FORMER U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY, AND FORMER CHAIR, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE: I completely agree with it. Of course, it was a relief

that the reciprocal tariffs that would have affected more than 180 countries, that a pause was placed on those. But, still, even if they never

go into effect, the U.S. and global economies have suffered a huge protectionist shock. We have enormous, almost prohibitive tariffs on China,

which is one of our most important sources of imports. Very substantial tariffs still on Canada and Mexico, on the auto sector, and a 10 percent a

general tariff that applies to most countries around the world. And economists calculate that, at this point, average tariff levels are now in

the 20 percent to 25 percent range. At the beginning of the Trump administration, they were just over two percent.

So, even if the reciprocal tariffs are abandoned, we have the highest average tariff rate since 1934, and this is going to raise the costs that

households in the United States face. One credible estimate that came out this morning that takes into account yesterday's actions, estimates across

to the typical American household of the existing tariffs of about $4,000, which is enormous. It will have a significant impact on the price level and

an adverse impact on the United States and on the global economy.

ASHER: Janet, one of the things that we were covering a few months ago was the fact that Donald Trump had made several very, very controversial

nominations to lead very serious Cabinet positions.

[11:10:00]

However, when Scott Bessent was nominated, there was really this sort of collective sigh of relief on Wall Street, where a lot of people thought,

Wow, you finally have a grown-up in one of the most important Cabinet positions at the White House. Obviously, this man is a very successful

hedge fund manager. When you look at what is happening right now, here you have somebody who had the same job as you, somebody as Treasury Secretary,

essentially trying to convince the American people that a global trade war would actually benefit them, but it would benefit Main Street. What advice

do you have for your successor?

YELLEN: Well, my advice to my successor and to other senior economic officials is that all of them should be explaining to the President why his

policies are so damaging to the American economy, and why they will harm American workers and households, as well as people around the world. And

economists are really in agreement about this. It coincides with the headline that you read to me just a few minutes ago, and they should make

sure that the President understands this reasoning, understands what impact it has been having on markets, why it's so dangerous, and that there needs

to be a coherent public message about the rationale for tariffs that have been put in place and how the approach that's being implemented achieves

those goals, and that hasn't happened.

I don't know what's happening inside the Trump administration. But, my hope would be that although my successor has been supporting President Trump's

approach, that he is giving good advice behind closed doors.

GOLODRYGA: Secretary Yellen, interest rates on U.S. Treasury bonds typically go down during crises like this, as investors flock to what they

view as a safe haven. That didn't happen this time, and it's reported that that's one of the reasons that President Trump even put a pause on these

tariffs. Let me ask you, have foreign investors lost faith, in your view, in the credibility of the United States?

YELLEN: Well, I think they're asking hard questions about the credibility of U.S. policy and what role the U.S. will have going forward in the global

economy, whether or not we'll have predictable economic policy and remain a strong, positive global force. And we saw that playing out over the last

several days. As you mentioned, normally when uncertainty is so high, as it is now, people go to safe havens. They want to be more secure, and they buy

safe haven assets.

And Treasuries, U.S. Treasuries are the classic safe haven asset. So, you would expect to see Treasury yields decline, and when that happens, the

dollar would typically go down. But, what we saw instead is that yields rose meaningfully, and that -- this seemed to suggest both the downward

pressure on the dollar and the downward pressure on bond prices that investors were questioning whether or not Treasuries really are a safe

haven, and this could be very damaging. It caused highly leveraged hedge funds that hold U.S. Treasuries to begin to sell their holdings, and that's

something that could really begin to trigger financial instability if there is a massive sales of U.S. Treasuries.

So, my understanding is that this is something that was an influence on President Trump in getting him to pause the reciprocal tariffs, and it's

certainly something that should be of concern.

ASHER: Secretary, I want to talk about another one of your successors, Jerome Powell.

[11:15:00]

Jerome Powell's term ends in 2026. So, in about a year or so. If you go back to Donald Trump's first term, he tried to sort of make very kind of

controversial picks for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, as I'm sure you'll remember, including Stephen Moore, including Judy Shelton. These are

people who have very extreme views and are extremely controversial. He failed that time around. How concerned are you on that front, if he is able

to succeed on some of those controversial picks this time around?

YELLEN: Well, I am concerned because I see the Fed as a tremendous source of stability in economic policy-making. The Fed is independent. It prices

its independence. It focuses squarely on carrying out its dual mandate for price stability and maximum employment, and it's been very predictable and

I believe very thoughtful and sensible in its policy approach. And this really relies on good appointments of all of the officials who serve on the

Federal Open Market Committee. I think that Jay Powell has done an excellent job of leading it.

And yes, certainly in the past, President Trump has attempted to appoint individuals with ideas that are, I mean, I think dangerous and certainly

not mainstream. But, it is a Committee that's important and to be successful -- I mean, a chairman doesn't dictate policy. A chairman needs

to convince other members of the Committee to support that person's -- the chairman's recommendations, and this is currently a Committee with deep

economic and market expertise. And I think simply, if President Trump was successful in replacing Powell with someone who I had very non-mainstream

ideas, I would really wonder if that person could successfully chair the Committee and produce a coherent monitory policy.

ASHER: What would be the consequences of that? What would be the consequences of that if one of Donald Trump's sort of more controversial

picks ended up becoming Chair?

YELLEN: I think it might make it quite difficult for the Federal Open Market Committee to act in a predictable way that market participants could

understand. But, currently, the Federal Reserve's so-called reaction function, how it responds to incoming data to achieve its goals, is pretty

well understood by markets, and there is clearly a strong commitment to price stability. Politics don't matter at all in the Committee's decision,

and this is something that is conducive to good market performance and market stability.

GOLODRYGA: And we've heard Jay Powell say that he plans on finishing out his term as well, despite not so subtle pressure in the form of posts on

social media from the President in the last few days that now would be a good opportunity and chance for him to lower interest rates. He has yet to

do that.

Secretary Yellen, I don't have to tell you that this is a President, this is an administration that has been quite scathing in their assessment of

how you and your colleagues under President Biden handled the economy. They constantly bash your work. I just want to play an example of some of that

scathing commentary for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Biden left us a mess. He left us tremendous inflation, tremendously high cost of products. He left us a mess. Right now, we're like chicken

that's being plucked at from all over the world. We're not going to let that happen anymore.

STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF: We inherited from Joe Biden an economy in total free fall. There has been zero jobs growth for

American workers in four years. In other words, all jobs growth had gone to foreign workers. That is a depression, not a recession. That is a

depression for the American worker. We had an economy that was in a state of calamity and catastrophe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Secretary Yellen, how do you respond to that? Now is your chance to correct the record.

[11:20:00]

YELLEN: Well, I would point out to you that The Economist magazine described the U.S. economy as the envy of the world. President Trump

inherited an economy where growth was very strong. The labor market was functioning very well with low unemployment and outstanding record of job

creation, the absolute opposite of the clips that you just played, and inflation, while not yet at the Fed's two percent goal, was coming

meaningfully down, and even this morning, we saw a CPI report that doesn't yet contain any evidence of a tariff effect, and showed remarkably low

inflation getting closer and closer to the two percent goal. So, we had a very well-functioning economy, and President Trump has taken a wrecking

ball to it.

GOLODRYGA: You're now back to being a professor. I have to ask you, how would you grade how the Trump administration has handled the economy thus

far?

YELLEN: I'm afraid I could not give it a passing grade. I'm sorry. I think policy has been -- this is the worst self-inflicted wound that I have ever

seen in the administration impose on a well-functioning economy. It is -- if you take the whole complex of Trump policies, tariffs that, as I just

said, could cost the average household up to -- around $4,000 a year.

The DOGE cuts in services, whether it's for our veterans, Social Security, the Internal Revenue Service, the agencies, the public interacts with a

spending plan that is likely to involve huge cuts in Medicaid and food stamps that -- or income families particularly rely on all in order to

support tax cuts that mainly benefit the wealthy, you had an administration that said it's worker-focused, and I really can't think of an overall

economic agenda that could be more devastating on every front, from tariffs to cuts in government services to leaving very large deficits, taking

policies that will expand the deficit when we need to see exactly the opposite. This is going to be devastating for American households and

workers.

GOLODRYGA: And quickly, the likelihood of a recession due to President Trump's economic policies, in your view?

YELLEN: Well, it's clearly risen. And in addition to the tariffs and the negative likely impact on consumer spending, we have a huge uncertainty

shock. No one knows where any of this is going. We're now in a huge war with China, and the tariffs that have been imposed on China are what I

would call prohibitive. They're going to result in massive impacts on the United States and the global economy. No one knows where these policies are

headed. President Trump says he wants to create manufacturing jobs. What firm is going under these circumstances with this level of uncertainty is

going to undertake a long live investment? And the shortage, the decline in investment spending and consumer spending could easily trigger a recession.

So, I think the odds have meaningfully risen. I wouldn't want to predict we will have one, but I'm certainly concerned about it.

ASHER: What a difference three months make. When you think about what happened when you left office, the U.S. had a strong, resilient economy.

Yes, there were inflationary pressures, but it was still strong and resilient. You look at where we are now, bond yields rising, the S&P and

the Dow in correction territory. You've got companies like Walmart and Delta who are refusing to issue guidance for the year. And you have

JPMorgan saying that there is now a 60 percent chance of a recession in this country. On top of that, Goldman Sachs saying there is a 45 percent

chance of a recession as well.

[11:25:00]

Janet Yellen, former U.S. Treasury Secretary and former Head of the U.S. Federal Reserve, thank you. What an honor. Thank you so much for joining us

today. We really --

YELLEN: Thank you for having me.

(CROSSTALK)

GOLODRYGA: Please come back.

ASHER: Of course. Please come back.

GOLODRYGA: Thank you so much, Secretary Yellen.

YELLEN: Happy to do so. Thanks so much.

GOLODRYGA: All right. Ahead on One World -- she made a lot of news there.

ASHER: She did. She did.

GOLODRYGA: Ahead for us on One World, on her way home, how a Russian- American woman was freed from a Russian prison as part of a prisoner swap.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: A Russian-American woman is headed back to the U.S. after being released from a Russian prison. That's according to U.S. Secretary of State

Marco Rubio. Amateur ballerina Ksenia Karelina was serving a 12-year prison sentence after making a donation of just over $50 to a U.S. charity

supporting Ukraine.

GOLODRYGA: Karelina was exchanged for Arthur Petrov, a Russian-German citizen. You can see him in this footage of his release. He was being held

in the U.S. on charges of smuggling, wire fraud, and money laundering.

ASHER: Let's bring in CNN's Nic Robertson, joining us live now. Nic, what more do we know?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah. These charges against Arthur Petrov, the bottom line underneath them all, is he was

supplying micro electronic parts to Russia to -- for Russia to be able to put them in weapons that they were using in Ukraine. So, pretty significant

charges. Whereas, the ballerina, Ksenia, was actually just picked up by the Russians because they discovered that she'd given a $50 donation while she

was living in the United States. She is Russian-American, given a $50 donation to Ukrainian charity. And therefore -- and then was sentenced last

summer for treason for 12 years. So, wrongfully detained, that's what Marco Rubio said, now on the plane on her way home.

We know that the sort of genesis of this particular exchange began when Marc Fogel, the American teacher, was released in a similar prisoner

exchange earlier on in the year, in February, and that began to open the door to these confidence-building exchanges. And I think it's perhaps

significant that this confidence-building exchange, this is how it appears, has happened on the same day that U.S. and Russian diplomats are discussing

how to get their embassies functioning better.

[11:30:00]

The U.S. position is, they're complaining to the Russians that they are denied any local staff. They had to fire 200 local staff in the embassy in

Moscow in 2021. So, the relations appear to be thawing, and of course, this comes under that umbrella of President Trump wanting to get a ceasefire in

Ukraine, but at a time when President Putin seems to be resistant to that. So, how much this improves, this prison exchange will improve that

relationship, isn't clear, but typically, that's what we've seen in the past, that it's designed to encourage better relations.

ASHER: All right. Nic Robertson live for us there. Thank you so much.

GOLODRYGA: Still to come for us on One World, more on Donald Trump's trade war. We'll speak with an expert on U.S. relations with China, about the

possible end game in this standoff with Beijing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: All right. Welcome back to One World. I'm Zain Asher. Here are some international headlines we are following for you today.

El Salvador says it shares intelligence with the U.S. regarding gang members. The security ministry tells CNN it provides complete records on

Salvadorians in the United States who are wanted by law enforcement back home. Last month, the Trump administration deported more than 270 alleged

gang members who are now held in El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison.

An Israeli strike killed at least 23 Palestinians, including children in Gaza City on Wednesday. Gaza's Civil Defense says dozens of people are

still believed to be trapped under the rubble of what was a four-storey residential building. Israel's military says it struck a senior Hamas

militant.

Happening just moments ago, the U.S. House approved a budget blueprint, a key part of President Trump's sweeping agenda.

[11:35:00]

Speaker Mike Johnson delayed the vote last night after failing to get enough Republican support, but ultimately he was able to convince most of

the remaining holdouts to support the plan for now.

And stock markets around the world are rallying after Donald Trump paused almost all of his aggressive tariffs, except for the ones he is imposing on

China. Chinese officials say they are open to talks with Mr. Trump about easing the trade war, but say they will not back down if he continues to

escalate.

All right. Still ahead, the death toll has risen in the tragic nightclub roof collapse. The latest, after the break, on the search for survivors in

the Dominican Republic. We will have that story and more, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: We've been discussing Donald Trump's 90-day pause on tariffs and what happens next.

For more on the impact of Donald Trump's will he or won't he tariff threats, we are joined now by Dmitri Alperovitch. He is an expert in

geopolitics and cybersecurity. His book, "World on the Brink" looks at the race between the U.S. and China to dominate the 21st century. Dimitri,

thank you so much for being with us. Before we begin, I do want to play some sound from Donald Trump discussing negotiating with China. Let's play

and I'll ask you a question on the back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: China wants to make a deal. They just don't know how quite to go about it. It's one of those things they don't have quite -- they're proud

people, and President Xi is a proud man. I know him very well, and they don't know quite how to go about it, but they'll figure it out. But, I told

him, if you retaliate, we're going to double it, and that's what I did with China, because they did retaliate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Donald Trump is right about one thing, and that is, this is not just about economics. This is also about politics. Of course, the Chinese do not

want to appear weak. They don't want to be appearing to be caving in to the Americans. Just to explain to us, though, from your perspective, how does

this end? Who ends up blinking first, do you think?

DMITRI ALPEROVITCH, RUSSIA & CHINA GEOPOLITICS EXPERT, & AUTHOR, "WORLD ON THE BRINK": That's right. I think Xi Jinping does not want to be seen like

every other leader that's calling Donald Trump and wanting to make a deal, and he is going to try to hold out as long as he can. But, the problem he

has got is that 125 percent tariffs, which are still in place in China. Literally, a week ago, it would have been considered an economic equivalent

of a nuclear war. I mean, this is complete decoupling territory, if these tariffs stick. So, I think at some point there is going to be a deal.

[11:40:00]

There might be a pause in the short term while they work out exactly what type of deal there will be. Remember, even though Xi Jinping is proud, he

does have a history of doing a U-turn almost instantaneously when he realizes the policy is no longer sustainable. He famously did that on zero-

COVID policy, which he kept in place, the quarantines in China for three years, and then all of a sudden, one day, they were gone, just like that. I

think you might see the same situation here. He needs to find a way to save face, though, and not look like he is caving.

ASHER: When it comes to the economics of all of this, just explain to us how much pressure China is under economically. Obviously, this comes at a

pretty tricky time for them, because their economy has been going through slower growth periods. You touched on the whole zero-COVID policies and the

fact that they were in place for three years. Obviously the economy suffered from that as well. On top of that, you're dealing with declining

population. Their real estate market is also in a bind as well. Just give us a sense of how much China economically is going through a tough time

right now.

ALPEROVITCH: Oh, this is a huge problem for them, not just the tariffs, but as you mentioned, the real estate, which was 30 percent of the economy, is

in huge decline, huge stagnation. You have enormous debt levels, almost 300 percent of GDP debt levels across China, mostly at the local level. You

have the economy that's really being perpetuated, not by consumer spending, as it is in the United States, but by exports, and if those exports are in

danger because of those tariffs, it's going to be a huge problem for them.

And by the way, the secondary effects, if the U.S. market is largely cut off from them, it doesn't just mean that it's only the U.S. that they're no

longer able to export, but it likely means redirection of supply chains to place like Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, that will likely try to access

(ph) to other places that are currently markets for China. So, this is enormous issue for them.

ASHER: You talk about exports. We know that China is already trying to sort of devalue their currency a little bit, just to try and make those exports

cheaper. In terms of how they've prepared for this, because obviously, for the Chinese, this didn't come out of nowhere, right? They were here for

Donald Trump's first term, and they saw what he campaigned on. They knew that if Donald Trump won the election, that this was likely going to be the

case. How have they prepared for this moment, do you think?

ALPEROVITCH: I don't think they have. Look, 125 percent tariffs, no one expected this. Even during the campaign, Donald Trump talked about maybe 60

percent tariffs.

(CROSSTALK)

ASHER: 60 percent. Right. Right. Right.

ALPEROVITCH: He'll say, hi, you're now more than double. There is no way to prepare for that. There is no way to prepare for almost instant decoupling

from the U.S. It can be done. Xi Jinping knows that. I mean, the ramifications on America, of course, will be massive as well. There is no

way to decouple from China without a huge, huge pain. So, that's why I think there is incentives on -- incentive on both sides to come up with a

deal.

ASHER: And when you look at Donald Trump's dramatic about-face, a lot of people are pointing to the fact that he saw what happened, not just with

stocks, but in the bond market as well, seeing bond yields rise there. That put enough pressure on him to sort of reconsider. Although some people were

saying this was the plan all along, it's hard to know what is real and what is not real. But, just in terms of seeing what's happening in the American

economy, how much pressure do you think Donald Trump is under to make a deal with Xi?

ALPEROVITCH: Look, I actually think he wants to make deals, right, big, beautiful deals, as he calls it. He likes the fact that every country is

now calling him and offering various things of value, or potentially going down to zero tariffs, as is the case with some buying more American

products. So, he loves that. I think he is an ultimate deal maker in his mind, and this is what he wants to achieve.

ASHER: I think what's really interesting is comparing how the EU went about retaliating compared to China. China, obviously, it was almost instant,

like for like, tit for tat, more or less. When you look at the EU, obviously they moved much more slowly, and that is partly for political

reasons. We're talking about negotiating with 27 different countries, and obviously they have to all vote. But, just in terms of the fact that just

yesterday, they were still trying to respond to the steel and aluminum tariffs (inaudible). They hadn't even gotten around to the reciprocal

tariffs or the auto tariffs yet.

When they announced the $23 billion in retaliation, they didn't really mention what specific goods that would be on or the actual tariff rate, and

they did leave the door open to revoking those tariffs at any moment in time, if there was any kind of movement with negotiation. Obviously, it

worked out for the Europeans much better than it worked out for the Chinese. Just explain to us what we're learning, and we learned a lot also

from the Mexican President on this front too. What are we learning about how best to negotiate with Donald Trump?

ALPEROVITCH: Look, it's everyone. It's Canada. It's Mexico. It's Europeans. It's Vietnam. It's Israel. We know that playing game of chicken with Donald

Trump is probably not the best idea that he will escalate. And look, the Chinese could have been at much lower tariff rate, as painful as it was

versus 125 percent today.

[11:45:00]

So, in the game of chicken with the United States, in a game where the Chinese economy is so export dependent, they'll get hurt much worse than

the United States. Obviously, it will be incredibly painful to the United States. I don't want to minimize that. So, they did not play it smartly. I

think they're just too proud, too arrogant to try to back down, at least for now, and that's why you're seeing the response that you are.

ASHER: All right. Dmitri Alperovitch, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

All right. The search for survivors in the deadly nightclub roof collapse in the Dominican Republic has now come to an end, but the recovery of

bodies continues. Authorities say the death toll from Tuesday's collapse now stands at a staggering 221 people. The cause of the disaster is not yet

known.

CNN Contributor Stefano Pozzebon has more from Santo Domingo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fernandez Reyes Reyes, Joel Manuel Santana Peon (ph).

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): The names read out loud by forensic doctors, each of them alive and cut short. More than 100 bodies

have been recovered, but dozens yet to be identified in the rooftop collapse of a nightclub in Santo Domingo, a growing death toll cutting

through the soul of this nation. The Jet Set was an iconic venue. Monday night, many local celebrities had come here to celebrate its 50th

anniversary. Several are now being mourned, including two former Major League Baseball players, a Latin music star, and the governor of a local

province. Dominican President Luis Abinader declared three days of national mourning to commemorate the victims.

Outside the venue, relatives search for the names of their loved ones in lists hanging on a field hospital. I've lost two brothers. This is a

national tragedy. We are just heart broken, says this man. The rescue operations continue in the dark. There are still people to be found, a race

against time, even when hope is fading fast. A small group of faithful singing their pain and refusing to let go.

Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Santo Domingo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: We will be right back with more after this quick break.

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[11:50:00]

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ASHER: The golfers have hit the green for the Masters tournament in the first major of the year, and while the pros are teeing off today, some of

their kids were caddies during the Masters par -- so cute, during the Masters Par 3 on Wednesday. Check out how excited they were as they ran

onto the course, but it was Keegan Bradley who made the day when he hit the first hole in one. He threw his boys into the air to celebrate, and his

son, Cooper, ran to the hole, grabbed the ball and proudly showed it to the crowd.

From the kids to their dads, this morning, the 89th edition of the Masters got underway at the Augusta National Club in Georgia. World number one

Scottie Scheffler is the favorite. He is aiming to become the fourth player to win the Masters in back-to-back years, but he admits he is struggling a

bit with the course (ph) famous as well as and a bit of hay fever as well.

Let's find out how things are shaping up right now. Who better to ask than our very own Andy Scholes? So, Andy, so, Scottie Scheffler has won it

twice. He has won it twice out of his three attempts. He is only a decade into his professional career. It would be really quite something. It would

actually be a miracle, almost, for him to win it three times.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah. He teed off just a little while ago. I was out there on the course, big gallery watching Scottie Scheffler try to

defend his Masters title here this year. He got a big ovation when he teed off. And he started off well. He is two under through six so far, and he is

just so hard to bet against him at this point, especially here in Augusta. Scheffler, he won last year, and he won in 2022. He has finished in the top

20 in each of his five starts here in Augusta. So, it's a good chance. He is going to be at or near the top of that leaderboard this week.

And if he is able to win a second straight green jacket, he would become just the second golfer ever to actually win three out of four, joining Jack

Nicklaus. And Scheffler has just been on quite the run. He has been ranked number one now for 99 straight weeks. The only other golfer ever to do

that, Tiger Woods. And Scheffler, though he hasn't won this year yet on tour, but he said earlier this week, he knows what he needs to do in order

to claim another green jacket.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, MASTERS CHAMPION IN 2022 AND 2024: When I think about getting ready for this week, when I step on the first tee on Thursday, I'm

going to remind myself that I've done what I needed to do to play well, and it's all about going out and competing now. And so, I really try not to

look too much into the past. I try not to look too far into the future. I just like to stay in the present and just go one week at a time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yeah. And Zain, Scheffler, going to need to do well, and all the guys today need to do well, because each of the last 19 winners here at the

Masters have shot under par in round number one.

ASHER: And Andy, just in terms of Rory McIlroy, I mean, a lot of people are following his journey. What more can you tell us about that?

SCHOLES: Yeah. Well, Zain, every single year it seems like, when we get here to Augusta, we say, is this finally going to be the year that Rory

breaks through and wins that green jacket and completes the Career Grand Slam? This is actually his 11th try now at trying to do it. His Master

drought is going on 10 years. Rory, though, he has been playing great. He says he is in the best competitive point in his career right now. He has s

already won twice so far on the tour this season, and he says he is going to take a different approach coming into this Masters. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RORY MCILROY, 4-TIME MAJOR WINNER: I need to treat this tournament like all the other tournaments that I play throughout the year. And yeah, look, I

understand the narrative and the noise and there is a lot of anticipation and build up and coming into this tournament each and every year, but I

just have to keep my head down and focus on my job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yeah. We'll see if Rory can finally get it done here this weekend. He tees off in round one at 01:12 Eastern. But, whether he wins or loses,

the McIlroy family already had a pretty special moment this week here at Augusta. During the Par 3 contest yesterday, where they have all the kiddos

running around, Rory's daughter Poppy with the shot of the Par 3. Look at the perfect touch here, and then this ball is just going to keep rolling

and rolling and rolling 25 feet all the way into the cup. Shane Lowry and his daughter, they were so excited about it. They were jumping up and down,

going nuts. Poppy herself was kind of just in disbelief at what she just did.

But, Zain, Poppy, four-years-old, has already made a better putt than I have in my entire life.

ASHER: Oh, my goodness. So adorable. Yeah. I mean, this part of it is just -- I mean, just seeing the kids with their parents, the kids being caddies

here, just adorable, Andy.

SCHOLES: Yeah. It's cuteness overload at the Par 3 contest.

[11:55:00]

ASHER: All right. Andy Scholes live for us there. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

All right. Stay with us. We'll have much more One World after this quick break.

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END