Return to Transcripts main page
One World with Zain Asher
CNN International: Trump Says He Will Negotiate Tariffs With Japanese Officials; U.S. Retail Sales up 1.4 Percent In March From Prior Month; Nvidia Takes $5.5 Billion Hit as U.S. Clamps Down On Chip Exports To China. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired April 16, 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": China employs a new tactic to hit back of the U.S., as the trade war escalates.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, HOST, "ONE WORLD": One World starts right now.
China now restricting exports of rare earth minerals that are vital to American businesses. We'll speak with two U.S. mineral company executives
about the impact.
ASHER: Plus, new developments in the case of a man mistakenly deported to El Salvador, the White House doubling down on its defiance.
GOLODRYGA: And chaos erupts at Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene's town hall In Georgia, people tased and several others escorted out.
Hello, everyone. Live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher. You are watching One World.
President Donald Trump wants to personally oversee a trade deal with Japan.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah. Trump says today's White House meeting with Japanese officials will deal with tariffs, the cost of U.S. military support for
Japan, and what he calls trade fairness.
ASHER: Yeah. Meantime, California's Governor Gavin Newsom says that Donald Trump's use of emergency powers to impose tariffs is hurting people and
businesses in his state. About 40 percent of California's imports come from Mexico, Canada and China, three of Trump's biggest targets for tariffs.
GOLODRYGA: We found out earlier that Americans went on a major spending spree last month, buying things like cars before Trump's tariffs kick in.
Retail sales for March climbed 1.4 percent from the previous month. Something similar seems to have happened in China in the first months of
the year. In the first quarter, their Chinese GDP grew by faster than expected 5.4 percent. That news giving the Shanghai stock market index a
lift Wednesday. It closed up about a quarter of a percentage point.
ASHER: Now, all of this as microchip developer Nvidia warns of trouble on the horizon. The American giant expects a $5.5 billion hit from new U.S.
rules on chip exports to China.
All right. Let's have a closer look at all of these fast-moving developments. We're joined live now by Vanessa Yurkevich in New York. But,
let's begin with CNN Senior White House Producer Betsy Klein.
So, Betsy, just some other news that we're watching today, and that is American officials meeting with Japanese officials. Obviously, the tariffs
in this trade war is key. This is a high-stake meeting for the Japanese. Just explain to us what we can actually expect to come out of this meeting.
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Yeah. That's exactly right. You'll recall, Zain, back when the President announced that 90-day pause on
some tariffs, the goal there was ostensibly to allow them some time to negotiate bespoke trade deals with different countries. And we also learned
from top officials that there was this potential goal of getting together with some of China's neighbors, as we are seeing this intensifying trade
war with China, including maybe South Korea, potentially Japan, to strike a regional trade deal and then come to the negotiating table with China.
So, to that end, a very notable moment for President Trump here planning to attend in person this key meeting with top Japanese officials, announcing
in a post to social media earlier this morning, quote, "Japan is coming in today to negotiate Tariffs, the cost of military support, and "TRADE
FAIRNESS". I will attend the meeting along with Treasury & Commerce Secretaries. Hopefully something can be worked out which is good (GREAT!)
for Japan and the USA!"
Now, of course, Japan is a major trading partner for the U.S. It's also the top source of foreign direct investment to the United States in 2024,
according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, and Trump is heading into this meeting with a key win. We learned this morning that Honda is
announcing that it will shift production of its Honda Civic Hybrid car to Indiana, Zain and Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: And Betsy, we also know that the Prime Minister of Italy will be at the White House as well, meeting with officials there.
Let's turn to domestic news. The largest state economy, actually the fifth largest economy in the world, just looking at the figures, California, and
its Governor Gavin Newsom now announcing that it will be suing the Trump administration over these tariffs, something that he described as wreaking
chaos on the Golden State.
[11:05:00]
What has the reaction been thus far?
KLEIN: Yeah. The no response directly from the White House at this point. Of course, we've asked officials for comment, but really a notable moment
and the first major, significant legal challenge to the President's tariffs. Newsom is going to file this argument later today in a federal
court, and he is arguing that the tariffs pose, quote, "immediate and irreparable harm to California, the largest economy, manufacturing and
agricultural state in the nation." He says that the President's tariffs have disrupted supply chains, inflated costs, and he claims that it has
inflicted billions of dollars in damages. Now, California, as you mentioned, is a massive, massive trading economy. It made up nearly $675
billion in two-way trade last year. So, a very significant move here.
The lawsuit essentially says that President Trump does not have the legal authority to enact tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China. Of course, the
White House believes that they do, in fact, and the President leaning into those powers there. But, we're going to be watching this quite closely.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Betsy Klein, thank you.
ASHER: All right. Let's bring in Vanessa Yurkevich. One of the stocks that we're watching, just in terms of looking at the markets is, of course,
Nvidia. Just one of the reasons why they're being hit, I believe they're down about seven percent right now, is because of -- the Trump
administration is essentially restricting Nvidia from importing, or rather, exporting certain types of chips to China. Just walk us through what we
know so far, Vanessa.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, and that's largely why you see markets down today. Not -- they're not really
paying attention to the retail sales report, which we'll get into in a bit, but really they're looking at what is happening with Big Tech, and Nvidia
now, according to them, the U.S. government is saying that there are now restrictions in place in order for them to export now to a key market of
theirs, which is China. So, it is costing Nvidia now about $5.5 billion because of these extra costs now that they're going to have to work
through.
And essentially, this is sort of what the administration has been forecasting, when you talk about non-tariff related barriers. This is not a
tariff, but this is another trade measure, sort of acting against China, but of course, affecting Nvidia. And you're seeing that stock, as you
mentioned, I believe it's down about seven percent now. You also have a couple of other chip-making companies like ASML, a Dutch chipmaker that has
also forecasted sort of a murky outlook ahead. And so, you have Wall Street paying attention to these sort of big players in the tech space and not
feeling too confident about how they're going to be moving forward.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, and something we'll be keeping a close eye on.
Something else that caught our attention this morning, retail sales, Vanessa. Obviously, this is a backward-looking indicator, but it suggests
that Americans were very nervous about the impending tariffs and went on a shopping spree of sorts, similar as we noted in the introduction there, as
what China and Chinese consumers had been reporting in their first quarter GDP report.
YURKEVICH: Yeah. It's backwards-looking, but it was showing that Americans were being forward-looking. They were anticipating these higher tariffs
that were coming. And this report really showed that in the month of March, spending surged, up 1.4 percent in the month of March, compared to what we
saw in February, which was 0.2 percent, and this was driven, pun intended, guys, by people buying a lot of cars and a lot of car parts. The March
sales for car parts, actually that number should be 5.3 percent. It's actually much higher than that.
But, essentially, people were spending a lot on cars because the President was forecasting for so long that these -- that cars, especially foreign
cars, were going to be hit by tariffs, and foreign car parts were going to be hit by tariffs. And so, people wanted to make sure that they were
getting their deals. We also heard from Ford Motor Company that said that they saw increased retail sales in the month of March. So, that very much
lines up with what we saw in this report.
Worth noting, though, that the big, big tariffs really came into effect in April, this month. So, maybe economists are suggesting we could see some
higher retail spending directed towards the beginning of this month. But, really, most economists agree that we'll start to see really consumers
starting to pull back, as a lot of these tariffs start to really entrench into our economy and our trading partners. And then, of course, in 90 days,
guys, who knows what's going to happen. We could see high tariffs again on other key trading partners that will affect key items like furniture and
clothing, things that Americans obviously buy a lot of, and we buy a lot of those two key items there on your screen, especially from Asian countries
like China, Vietnam, Taiwan.
[11:10:00]
So, those numbers on your screen could tick up, as people maybe try to get ahead of some of these higher costs that are coming down the line.
ASHER: Yeah. Consumer spending is such an important part of GDP, 70 percent --
YURKEVICH: Yeah.
ASHER: -- of GDP, it's huge. This is a very sort of consumer-driven economy. And so, when people start pulling back on their spending, as you
touched on, maybe not in April, but later on in the year, these tariffs go into effect, that is when the U.S. economy might be in trouble.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah. Less than 90 days now, right? We're at 80 something days at this point until we get some resolution here, hopefully.
ASHER: I love all the puns that you put in --
GOLODRYGA: Yes.
ASHER: -- driven, forward-looking, back -- I thought, oh, wow, it was like a song.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. You can't prepare it. You can't prepare it, Vanessa.
(CROSSTALK)
GOLODRYGA: All right. Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you.
ASHER: Thanks.
GOLODRYGA: Well, as you just heard, China's economy saw higher than expected growth in the first quarter before President Trump's tariffs
kicked in.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: China's first quarter GDP data is out, and it reveals growth in the world's second largest economy, just as
President Donald Trump dials up the tariff pressure. China's economy grew 5.4 percent year-on-year. It defied expectations. I remember, China is
facing multiple economic challenges, as it struggles to rebound from a post-pandemic slump, including low consumer spending, low consumer
confidence, high youth unemployment, and an ongoing property slump.
China has set an ambitious growth target of five percent for the year, but economists say that will be hard to reach, given the trade war. Trump has
jacked up tariffs on many Chinese imports to an astounding 145 percent, and China has hit back with retaliatory tariffs and other measures, including a
curb on rare earth exports, sparking fears of a prolonged trade war.
So, investment banks are slashing their China growth forecast for the year. UBS has lowered its forecast from four percent to 3.4 percent for the year.
The bank says this, quote, "We expect China's exports to the U.S. to fall by two thirds in the coming quarters and its overall exports to fall by 10
percent in USD terms in 2025. The latter also takes into account slower U.S. and global growth." Now, Citi adds this, quote, "We see little scope
for a deal between the U.S. and China after recent escalations."
Now, all eyes on whether Beijing will roll out any new stimulus. China's Politburo is set to meet later this month to set its policy agenda.
Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right. And a little bit later on in a show, we're going to be joined by the CEO of American Elements, Michael Silver, and the Executive
Director of U.S. Critical Minerals, Harvey Kaye, as Beijing plays a new card in the trade war with the U.S., restricting the exports of vital rare
earth minerals.
GOLODRYGA: And still to come for us, a U.S. judge chastises the Trump administration for not following her orders to facilitate the return of a
man mistakenly deported to El Salvador. We will have the latest in the fight to bring him back to the U.S.
ASHER: Plus, a U.S. Democratic Senator is heading to El Salvador, hoping to see Abrego Garcia himself. Will his efforts pay off? We'll have more on
that after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:15:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: The U.S. federal judge overseeing the case of a wrongfully deported man says there is no evidence the Trump administration is following her
orders to facilitate his return.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah. Now the judge is giving the White House two weeks to prove that it is working to bring back Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The Maryland father
who was mistakenly deported to his native El Salvador, and is now housed in a notorious mega-prison there. Abrego Garcia's attorney is calling the
latest orders by the judge "a win".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RINA GANDHI, ATTORNEY FOR KILMAR ABREGO GARCIASHER: The Supreme Court was clear. They must facilitate his release, not just his return physically
into the United States, but his release. So, what have they done to do that? I hope that's what we'll find through discovery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Katelyn Polantz is following all the latest details live from Washington.
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: The federal judge, Paula Xinis, she said before that the U.S. government must facilitate the
return of Abrego Garcia to the United States, so he could be deported to somewhere that's not El Salvador or his case looked at further. But, before
that, what she determined, after a hearing yesterday in federal court in Maryland, quite a tense hearing for the government, is that the updates
they're giving on how they're facilitating Abrego Garcia's return, that has not been enough for the judge, and so now she wants answers. This is the
classic type of thing that a judge would do, and Judge Paula Xinis says that she believes she has the Supreme Court at her back in ordering this.
So, what is happening now is that over the next several days, basically until the end of April, there is going to be fact finding, questions that
Abrego Garcia's attorneys will send to the Trump administration, document requests, and also they're going to be able to, according to the judge, put
officials from the Trump administration, the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, immigration authorities under oath to ask
them questions about the situation of this man who was removed from the country on a flight to El Salvador in mid-March. All of this is a question
of how much due process to someone like this, Abrego Garcia, a person who should be deported from the United States, according to the immigration
system, but cannot go there? How much more can he be looked at, especially by the courts?
The government, the Trump administration, they have said that they have tried to remove the domestic obstacles. So, they would send a plane if El
Salvador wanted to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. But, that isn't something that the President of El Salvador wants to do. And so, they
haven't done much more, and they haven't given much more information to the federal courts. So, now Judge Xinis is asking for those answers. This is
going to continue in court, and the question will remain over this case as well, how much will the Trump administration try to test their luck or push
back on judges' orders? They say the courts should not be directing how they conduct their foreign policy, especially with El Salvador in this
situation.
Back to you.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Thanks to Katelyn Polantz for that.
Well, Abrego Garcia's case is a flash point in President Trump's aggressive campaign to deport undocumented immigrants.
ASHER: Yeah. Democratic lawmaker, Senator Chris Van Hollen is traveling to El Salvador, calling for Abrego Garcia's immediate release. His trip comes
after President Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele met at the White House earlier this week, with Bukele essentially saying that he will
not send Abrego Garcia back to the U.S. Here is what Van Hollen said ahead of his departure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): This is a person who is here legally. He has never been even charged in a criminal case. He has never been convicted in
a criminal case. So, when the Vice President tweets out he is been convicted, that's just not true. I mean, you saw lie after lie after lie
coming out of the White House. They're gaslighting the American people on this case. So, they can say what they want. But, in the United States of
America, at least so far, we respect the rule of law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Lots to flush out here. Let's bring in former Republican Congressman Charlie Dent.
[11:20:00]
Charlie, it's good to see you.
So, despite this admonishment by the federal judge against the Trump Administration for, in her words, doing nothing to facilitate Abrego
Garcia's return to the United States, this is an administration that is defiant on the fact that, in their view, he is not coming back. We heard
the President and the Attorney General vocalizing those views over the past few days. Here is what they said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICASHER: If it's a home-grown criminal, I have no problem. Now, we're studying the laws right now. Pam is
studying. If we can do that, that's good. And I'm talking about violent people. I'm talking about really bad people.
PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: President Bukele said he was not sending him back. That's the end of the story. If he wanted to send him back, we
would give him a plane ride back. There was no situation ever where he was going to stay in this country. None, none. He would have come back, had one
extra step of paperwork, and gone back again. But, he is from El Salvador. He is in El Salvador, and that's where the President plans on keeping him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Charlie, why, in your view, is this a fight this President wants to have?
CHARLIE DENT, FORMER U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN, & SENIOR ADVISOR, "OUR REPUBLICAN LEGACY": Well, I have a rather cynical view of this whole
situation. I do believe that the President would love to talk about this issue ad nauseum, for a very simple reason. He would rather not be talking
about the economy, the volatility in the markets, small businesses and farmers scared to death. Of course, consumers worry about paying more for
sneakers and maybe up to $10,000 for a new car. And the whole issue of Liberation Day, people being liberated from their money. This is an issue
that is really front of mind for most Americans.
But, if we're talking about an El Salvadoran who perhaps has wrongly been returned to that country, and Trump is fighting about whether this man who
came to the country illegally should be sent back to the United States, he'll have that conversation all day, every day, for as long as the media
is willing to entertain him.
ASHER: And Charlie, just explain to us what this visit by Senator Van Hollen is supposed to achieve. I mean, he is going to El Salvador.
Obviously, it's important in terms of raising awareness. The cameras followed him to the airport, of course. Once he gets there, he is hoping he
will get to see Abrego Garcia. But, the bottom line is that President Bukele and President Trump, they're both saying there is no way that this
man is coming back to the United States. So, what can this visit really achieve?
DENT: Well, Senator Van Hollen is a good man, a very dedicated public servant. He is clearly listening to the family of this gentleman, and he is
responding to his constituents, who are -- this constituent, the wife of this man who is obviously very distraught, and he is doing his job as a
Senator and bringing greater attention to this issue. Again, as a political matter, it may not be a great thing, but he is doing his job as a Senator,
and it doesn't appear that he is going to be able to make progress in terms of returning this individual. That will likely be up to the courts to
further rule on this matter.
GOLODRYGA: Let me turn to another fight the President seems eager to have, and that is against U.S. universities for not working hard enough, in this
administration's views, to crack down on antisemitism and in some of their diversity programs. What do you make of this battle and the fact that now
you have Harvard, one of the first major universities to actually fight back, despite the $2.2 billion in federal funding that had been frozen, and
the President even threatening now to withhold their tax exemption status?
DENT: What I get from all this is, look, clearly, there were issues of antisemitism on some of our campuses, and they were not properly dealt
with. But, I think, again, the administration is overreaching here. The remedy is far in excess of what needs to be done. If they want to go after
antisemitism on campuses, which they should, well, they can use their civil rights division at the Attorney General's Office to do so. But, going after
Harvard's funds, or University of Pennsylvania, these schools that are doing advanced research in health, in medical research, on the brain,
cancer, advanced energy research, why would we punish those people because of the sins of some others, perhaps at that university. Again, I think it's
very unfair.
And what's even more concerning, these are private universities, and I'm all for greater diversity of thought at universities. But, how does the
administration intend to impose that upon Harvard or any other school in the Economics Department? How much Milton Friedman should be taught? How
much John Maynard Keynes? Well, how much Peter Navarro should we hear from on economics? These are the questions.
So, I mean, really, the government shouldn't be intervening to this extent in the affairs of a private university. And the tax exempt status, by the
way, should be -- that's going to be -- that's another can of worms that I wouldn't get near if I were this administration.
[11:25:00]
ASHER: You mentioned in your previous answer that really the only way to sort of secure the release and the return of Abrego Garcia is going by the
court system. I want to play some sound from Representative Maxwell Frost, and listen to what was said about that. Let's play that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MAXWELL FROST (D-FL): The administration is essentially saying we can deport anybody. We can send anybody, whether you're a citizen or not,
overseas, and once it's litigated, if the court tells us to bring you back, whether you're a citizen or not, we can just chalk it up to saying its
foreign policy, and the court has no business in foreign policy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: So, it's not just about Abrego Garcia. I mean, we just saw earlier this week the Palestinian student Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University
student, who is Palestinian, a green card holder, was actually arrested during his appointment for citizenship in Vermont. I mean, this idea that
you are deporting essentially green card holders who have been in the country for 10 years. So, it goes far Abrego Garcia. This idea of the Trump
administration consistently defying the courts and flouting the rules, the traditional rules and the laws of this country, just give us your response
to that, and where does all this lead?
DENT: Well, it seems to me that this administration is really trampling over the due process rights of a lot of folks. And you're right. Green card
holders, legal permanent residents, do have rights, and the administration really does seem to be running very rough shot over them. And that said,
the administration does have some authority, real authority, to deport people who are in the country unlawfully.
And -- but, I was also concerned to hear the President talk about sending U.S. citizens to maybe a prison in El Salvador. Well, again, I think that
would be wrong headed on many levels, but he is talking about street crime, and he used the case of somebody being hit over the head with a baseball
bat. Well, that's a state crime. That's under state law. And you -- those people would be imprisoned likely in county or state correctional
facilities. I mean, what authority does the President of the United States have to remove people from state prisons, citizens to another country?
So, again, I think that would -- that will go to the courts, no doubt, if that were to happen, and I suspect the courts would rule against the
administration. It's -- the question, the big question is, will the administration respect the courts' rulings in these matters?
GOLODRYGA: Yeah. I think you're on to something, though, because in these six minutes or so that we've had with you, the concerns about an impending
recession that most economists say would be a self-inflicted goal -- own goal by this administration was not discussed, right? Obviously, these are
very important issues as it relates to rule of law in this country, but it's perhaps a diversion for this President who doesn't want to talk about
why he is seeing his approval numbers going down right now.
Charlie Dent, thank you so much.
DENT: Thank you. Great to be with you.
ASHER: All right. Still to come, as China pressures Washington with restrictions on rare earth minerals, we will explore what it might mean for
consumers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. Welcome back to One World. I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. Here are some of the international headlines we are watching today.
ASHER: In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court in the UK has decided that the legal definition of women does not include trans women. The court
unanimously ruled that transgender women, even if they have a certificate recognizing their female gender, are not entitled to legal protections as a
woman under the terms of Britain's Equality Act.
GOLODRYGA: Lebanon's President says that he hopes to see Hezbollah lay down its arms this year. It's the first time he has commented publicly about a
possible timeline for the group's disarmament. The President said senior figures allied to Hezbollah agreed that Lebanon's own military should be
the only armed group in the country.
ASHER: And a new deadline in the battle over mistakenly deported man. The judge in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia giving his attorney until today
to prepare questions for the Trump administration about the steps it has taken to get him back from El Salvador. The judge telling Trump officials,
be ready to answer those questions under oath.
GOLODRYGA: President Trump is personally attending a meeting at the White House with Japanese officials to negotiate tariffs. His administration says
that it is working on tailored tariff deals with several dozen countries. Last week, Trump announced a 90-day pause on his so-called reciprocal
tariffs, while applying a universal 10 percent rate in the meantime.
ASHER: The U.S. President's trade war could be set for another escalation with Trump ordering a probe into the security impact of imports of critical
minerals. That includes rare earth minerals, which play a key role in tech devices, from smartphones to electric cars and military weapon systems. And
the supply of rare earth is dominated by China.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah. Beijing has already placed export controls on certain rare earths, demonstrating its capacity to inflict pain on the U.S., which
imports 70 percent of its rare earths from China. Now, China's reserves of rare earths are more than twice the size of those held by any other
country, and it accounts for more than 60 percent of the global rare earth mining.
ASHER: Let's take a deeper dive into how China's new export restrictions could impact the U.S. Joining us live now is the CEO of chemical supplier
American Elements, Michael Silver, and Executive Director of U.S. Critical Materials, Harvey Kaye.
Michael, let me start with you. Just give us your reaction in terms of how China is weaponizing these rare earth minerals, and what the impact could
be on your business and also on American consumers as well.
MICHAEL SILVER, CEO, AMERICAN ELEMENTS: Well, first, as to American Elements, some smarter than I in my company did a real smart thing, and
when they started restricting materials, they began first with gallium and germanium. We went forward on our raw material requirements, and we're
good. What the Chinese have actually done at this point is something they've done twice before, 25 years ago and 15 years ago, where they began
a restriction process which begins with a licensing requirement, which is what we're under right now.
So, we have 45 days to re-license our future shipments, which is what we're doing currently. We don't anticipate, certainly, any problems in 2025 for
materials. 2026, we assume we'll get our licenses, because we have a very good relationship there in China. And for the moment, we don't see really
any issues unless this goes a lot further, and in that case, the Chinese could easily do what they've done in the past, which is much different from
what everybody is talking about, the news about shutting down or cutting off the economies.
[11:35:00]
One thing they can always do is what they did in 25 years ago, was they dropped the prices actually to about a fifth, which closed out all of the
other operators. There were two at the time, (inaudible) and Molycorp (ph), and those two companies had to close their doors because the prices were
too low. They couldn't operate.
A second thing they can do, which is what they did 15 years ago, which is reduce the prices inside of China to a very, very low number, and then
charge the high prices, higher prices, or at least the current prices, or maybe a little more outside of China, thus encouraging companies to build
their plants inside of China, rather than, for example, the United States, in order to access those cheap rare earths. We had General Electric as a
customer back then, lost them to China because they moved their glass plants to China. So, those two activities is what might happen in the
future.
GOLODRYGA: Harvey, let me turn to you, because I know your company's goal is to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign sources for rare earth materials,
and I know you developed mining deposits in two U.S. states, specifically Montana and Idaho. Give us a realistic sense, though, of how close the
United States is to being self-reliant on rare earth materials.
HARVEY KAYE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, U.S. CRITICAL MATERIALS: I just point out the difference between what happened 15 years ago and what happens today.
15 years ago, it was used as an economic weapon, as Michael said, to reduce the prices, to dry up domestic production and so on. They played the long
game. Today, it's a geopolitical weapon, and it was just evoked in terms of tariffs.
From our perspective, we believe that critical mineral sovereignty by virtue of having supply and indeed processing here in the United States is
critical for defense and independence of action against China in the world. To that end, we have 336 claims in a place called Sheep Creek, Montana. It
has been judged by independent analyzes by both Idaho National Labs and activation labs as the highest grade rare earths ever found in America,
nine percent to 18 percent and we have a very substantial deposit of gallium, which is probably in the highest grade, 180 to 380 parts per
million, versus 60 parts per million in Green Land and Ukraine, and we are working with Idaho National Lab to develop environmentally benign
processing.
So, while we agree with what Mike said, we also believe that independence needs to be coming from our country in terms of critical minerals.
GOLODRYGA: But, how close are we getting -- are we to that point, Harvey?
KAYE: Well, that's a very interesting question, because what has accelerated that is a number of actions based upon decisions made by the
current administration. The first is the invocation (ph) of the Defense Protection (ph) Act. Secondly is an executive order requiring fast tracking
for national security purposes, and third is an executive order that has been implemented over the last three weeks or four weeks.
What that means is what would normally take an awfully long number of years to get permitted is now being fast tracked, utilizing things such as
categorical exemption, such as small mining exemptions and such as activity by the government in order to fast track permitting. We believe that it's
about for us at least a two year, maybe a three-year process in order to start extraction, but we have an objective of being able to produce gallium
and some rare earths that we would like to present either on the steps of the White House or perhaps the Pentagon by the first quarter of 2026, made
in America, processed in America, and provided for America.
ASHER: And Michael, just quickly, just walk us through -- I mean -- because a lot of our audience might not necessarily understand how critical these
rare earth minerals are to the U.S. economy. When you think about gallium, titanium, niobium, tungsten, just explain to our audience, just in terms of
their use in defense, in national security, in electric vehicles, for example, in electronics, how crucial --
[11:40:00]
GOLODRYGA: Pharmaceuticals.
ASHER: -- pharmaceuticals, how crucial are these rare earths to our everyday lives?
SILVER: They're absolutely essential. I mean, all the technology has been built on that. You notice there is a valley north of me here in California
that -- where all the computers were invented. What's the name of that valley? It's Silicon Valley. Material science is what drives all of the
technologies we have. And those are -- you named some of the key materials, but the ones you mentioned are not the critical minerals that are barely
being discussed. Those are commodities that operate under global commodity prices.
There is another category that we at American Elements call asymmetric commodities. Those are ones like the rare earth metals that are controlled
by a single nation. They just one out when plate tectonics push materials around, and China has a dominant position in rare earths. And as a result,
every company, if I may, including US. Critical Minerals and all the others that are being funded today, operate at the whim of China. If China wants
to drop prices, as they did in 2000, down to save $8 a kilogram for neodymium oxide, which is currently in the $4 to $6 range, and was before
that, they can use that to squeeze everybody out. If they want you to survive and force companies to go into China, they'll do a price
differential, which is what Mr. Kaye referenced about 15 years ago, and charge less in China than in the United States.
To me, the only way to deal with all of this is for us to get back into multilateral discussions similar to the WTO. There is no way to have mines
outside of China succeed if China doesn't want them to. They control the marketplace. It's an asymmetric commodity, and they have a sovereign
monopoly on these materials. It's similar to niobium in Brazil. Brazil is a lovely country. So, they don't mess with us. But, all the niobium pretty
much in the world is in Brazil. They would have a similar position with that material. So, rare earths are an asymmetric commodity that are
different from the others.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, and it's interesting because our viewers have become a bit more familiar with the term rare earth minerals, given the conversation now
with the war in Ukraine and even Greenland, and U.S. interest in Greenland. But, of course, as you note, China really is the behemoth here in terms of
who has oversight and control of the land where most of these minerals are found.
KAYE: They have the reserves.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah. Yeah. All right. Fascinating. Yeah. Quickly, Harvey. Yes.
KAYE: OK. The quickly is, there is 3,800 military uses for gallium alone. I believe that our country now realizes that they have to find a way for
critical mineral sovereignty. And I'm not disagreeing with Mike. I'm just saying that we need it here as well as there. Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah. Let's hope we realize that before we unleash this tariff war.
Michael Silver, Harvey Kaye, thank you so much.
ASHER: Thank you both so much.
GOLODRYGA: Appreciate the time.
ASHER: All right. Turmoil at U.S. town halls, outbursts, clashes with police, stun guns as well. Ahead, how community town halls in the U.S. are
erupting, winning over, really, over Trump's policies?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Well, fiery back and forth between voters and politicians is not new in the U.S., but the anger that's being expressed in a succession of
town halls now by Democrats and Republicans, this is something that's quite alarming and notable.
ASHER: Right. On Tuesday, in Acworth, Georgia, chaotic scenes broke out, my goodness, during a town hall headed by Georgia Republican Representative
Marjorie Taylor Greene. Police clashed with combative citizens, and twice they were seen using stun guns to subdue people who resisted being removed
from the meeting.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah. In a remarkable admission of the impact of today's politics, Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said she is often afraid to
speak out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R-AK): We are all afraid. OK? It's quite a statement. But, we are in a time, in a place where, I don't know, I certainly have
not. I have not been here before. And I'll tell you, I'm oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real, and
that's not right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: CNN's Ryan Young was at that tense town hall in Georgia. He joins us live now from Atlanta. I mean, Ryan, those pictures, that video, was really
stunning. I mean, we've seen a lot of very tense town halls, but this one was certainly one of the worst that I've seen. Just explain to us what
happened, and how did Marjorie Taylor Greene respond?
RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, she responded by standing still. You got to give her credit for not even moving off her spot
despite all this happening. We were standing right there, almost in the middle, that our camera position was right where everyone was being
funneled out through that door. So, we really got it up close. Look at this.
But, let me describe the room to you. As soon as you walked in, you could really feel the energy in the room for supporters and for people who were
against. Marjorie Taylor Greene, but there were 20 officers lining the room. Security was high. They had to hold this location secret for days
because they were concerned about the security threat. And there was at least another 45 to 50 officers that we did not see in the video that we're
not showing you. There was more than 100 people across the street. But, watch this video as the tasing starts.
What was interesting here is when the tasing starts, the men who were dissenting weren't being that loud. They were asked to leave, and they were
sort of resisting with their feet, nothing that got too physical. Some people were kind of shocked that at one point it went through this tasing.
You see, you can hear me even asking, do we have to go this far? The next man, he actually did more active resistance with his arm. Nobody could move
him. And the crowd actually started screaming, tase him, tase him, and then tased him.
Listen to Marjorie Taylor Greene talk about this, as she answered reporter questions about the death threats she is facing now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): I have the most death threats in Congress, and at times I have more death threats than even Speaker Johnson.
And it shouldn't be that way. America overwhelmingly voted in November for President Trump, Republican control of the House and the Senate, and how
people should handle their businesses in the voting booth. There is no reason for screaming, yelling, ridiculous, outrageous protesting. That
disrupts the entire event for every single person that is there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YOUNG: Yeah. She answered all our questions last night. What was very interesting about all this, though, you had more than 100 protesters across
the street. Sometimes you could hear them inside, and then you had the crowd that was obviously supporting her. She did get to the business at
hand. She did get a chance to talk some policy and how they want to make some cuts in the federal government.
[11:50:00]
But, obviously, with this large security presence, it was clear that things have changed and getting a little more dangerous. Guys.
ASHER: Oh boy. Ryan Young live for us there. Thank you. I mean, that video is just incredible on what's happening.
GOLODRYGA: And the words from Lisa Murkowski --
ASHER: Yeah.
GOLODRYGA: -- yeah as well saying this is not --
ASHER: Retaliation is real.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah.
ASHER: Right?
YOUNG: And it happened.
ASHER: She is just afraid to actually speak out, because she knows that -- well, she believes it's possible that she is going to get retaliated
against.
Ryan Young, thank you.
YOUNG: Thank you.
ASHER: Appreciate it.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Let's turn to some good news. Basketball fans get excited. The NBA Playoffs tip off on Saturday, but a few teams are fighting
right now just to make it. Coming up, our Coy Wire dribbles on to the court with all the details.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: The NBA's playoff picture is coming into focus after an undeniably thrilling end to the regular season.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah. The postseason began Tuesday with the play-in tournament, which features eight teams in four series. So, who won and who lost so far?
Let's bring in CNN World Sports Coy Wire with the answers here. So, who are we betting on? Who are we looking at?
COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: All of them, and then you can't be wrong. This is weird, right? I mean, it's a long season. Regular seasons over playoffs
haven't quite yet begun. So, it's like this postseason purgatory, where teams who were almost good enough to make their top six in their conference
have to battle for those last two playoff spots. We had the Warriors hosting the Grizzlies. Warriors are owing three in playoff chances. But,
this time, Steph Curry and Co. have Jimmy Butler, aka Playoff Jimmy, aka Play-in Jimmy. He has got so many nicknames. 38 points for him. And Curry
handled business too, 37 points, including some clutch three pointers down the stretch. Warriors win 121-116.
Grizzlies, they get one last shot to make the playoffs. They face the winner of today's Mavs- Kings play-in game, while the Warriors and Jimmy
Buckets clinched the seven seed in the West. They'll face the Rockets in round one. They have the fifth best odds to win it all. Here is Jimmy, aka
Robin, on his superhero teammate Steph Curry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY BUTLER, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS FORWARD: That's a Batman, if I've ever seen a Batman. Always coming to save the day. You're never out of any game.
And more than anything, he is just so poised. He is so calm, and he was a huge part of us getting to victory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Hawks and Magic last night as well in Orlando, and the Magic rejected Atlanta like they were in X, trying to friend them on Facebook, nine blocks
in this game for the defense that ranked first this season and blocks and points allowed, frustration boiling over for Hawks star Trae Young.
[11:55:00]
Look at him throw the ball at the ref there. He got a technical for that. Then he starts playing keep away with another ref, not giving him the ball.
He gets ejected, Zain and Bianna, for making a mockery of the game, according to the NBA. Hawks face the winner of today's Bulls-Heat play-in
game for one more chance at a playoff spot, but the Orlando Magic clinched their seven seed in the east in a 120-95 win. They'll face the defending
champs Boston in round one. I'm not sure, Ice Trae, he has a nickname too, should have been poking the bear at the rest like that, because they might
give him the cold shoulder when they go and try to book their spots. Zealous Zain and beaming Bianna, I'll throw it back to you.
ASHER: I like that. Our correspondents are (inaudible).
GOLODRYGA: I know. Houston native Jimmy Butler going to Houston Rockets. I don't know. I have --
ASHER: Charismatic Coy.
WIRE: Oh, I love it.
GOLODRYGA: You're still doing the name play. I'm thinking about how my Rockets can win --
WIRE: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: -- and they've got --
WIRE: I love that.
GOLODRYGA: -- Houston native in --
WIRE: Sports is fun.
GOLODRYGA: -- Golden State. So, we'll see. We'll see.
WIRE: OK.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Coy Wire, thanks so much.
WIRE: See you later.
ASHER: All right. Stay with One World. We'll have much more news after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
