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Quest Means Business
Trump Hosts Israel Prime Minister Amid Tariffs, Market Volatility, War In Gaza; Volatility On Wall Street As Trump Steps Up on Trade War; E.U. Offers Trump Zero For Zero Deal On Industrial Tariffs; Stocks In Asia And Europe Plunge As Donald Trump Vows To Keep Tariffs; Supreme Court Pauses Deadline To Return Man Wrongly Deported; Video Showing Final Moments Of Gaza Emergency Workers Casts Doubt On Israeli Account Of Killings; Market Turmoil Hits America's Retirement Portfolios. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired April 07, 2025 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00]
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I've seen things that you don't want to see. October 7th was a horrible day and it
will go down as one of the really bad days in the history of the world. It was a horrible, horrible thing that happened and they grabbed some of these
people.
I will give you an example. When I was with the 10 hostages a few weeks ago, I said, so how many are there? Fifty-nine. I said, oh, so 59. So we
can get 59. They sort of knew the territory pretty good. And I said, how are they doing? They said, well, only 24 are living, the rest are dead. And
these are young people, largely. Young people don't die. You know, young people have an amazing ability to live. They can live through horrible
things, but these are young people.
And when they said that 24 are living and the rest are dead, and, you know, I've had parents come up. Israeli parents, largely, we have some Americans,
and we had, I guess we have one left, Alex. We have the one left. But I've had Israeli parents come up to me at events and say, my son is there. I
said, well, how's he doing? Well, he is dead, but would you do me the biggest favor ever? Could you bring his body back home?
They talked about a young dead boy and a young dead girl like they were living. And that could have something to do with religion, that could have
something to do with, I guess maybe any parent would be, but I was surprised. They said, sir, my son is dead. It is just as important to bring
that body back home. I asked that question as if he were alive.
So you have a lot of them dead, and we will be able to bring them back. But it is a horrible thing that's happened. These are young -- largely young
people, some old ones too, frankly. And those people have lived in hell.
When they came up, the second group, they came out. They looked like they just got out of a concentration camp. They looked exactly like the pictures
that I see from the 1940s, the concentration camps. And then they got a little bit better, you know. But that second group, those people came out
and I said, this is unbelievable. We are going back into a chapter in history that is one of the worst ever. It is really very bad. Okay.
REPORTER: Mr. President, you said you said it would take two years to get American manufacturing fully up to speed in response to these tariffs. What
happens in the meantime? Should Americans be prepared potentially for years?
TRUMP: I will tell you what happens. We have now $7 trillion. Think of this, $7 trillion, of commitments from companies wanting to go and from
Apple to many, many companies --
REPORTER: But that takes times.
TRUMP: Many from Taiwan. What?
REPORTER: It takes time to --
TRUMP: Of course, it takes -- well, are you asking me a question or are you telling me, yes, it takes time. You know, you've got to build a thing
called a factory. You have to build your energy. You have to do a lot of things.
I am giving them energy. You know, we are going to let them build their own power plants. It will be their own, essentially, they are going to be in
charge of the power plant because our power is not reliable enough. You have a grid that's old and susceptible to a lot of things, including
bombing and weather and a lot of other things, and were going to give them record timing in terms of approvals of electric plants. Most of them want
to build electric plants.
We need massive amounts of electricity if we are going to compete with China and others. And interestingly, we are way ahead right now in the A.I.
race with China. But the way we lose that race is if we can't give them electric, but we have more plants being built, we have everything. We are
doing so great, and we want to keep it that way.
And tariffs will be an important part of it, but one of the other things, Lee Zeldin is doing a fantastic job, head of Environmental Protection and
he is doing very rapid approvals for people to get -- for big companies to -- that they are going to build a plant that's going to cost billions of
dollars, and we are going to get them their approvals. They have to be environmentally perfect, everything good, but they're going to be in record
time, a matter of months versus a matter of many, many years.
LIZA ROZOVSKY, HAARETZ: Yes, Liza Rozovsky, from Haaretz. Turkey claims it will stabilize the situation in Syria.
TRUMP: Turkey?
ROZOVSKY: Yes. Israel doesn't want Turkey to influence in Syria. What do you think? Do you think Turkey's influence in Syria can actually make it a
better, more peaceful country or vice versa?
TRUMP: Well, I have a great relations with a man named Erdogan. Have you heard of him? And I happen to like him, and he likes me. And I know the
press will get very angry. He likes Erdogan, but I do, and he likes me and we've never had a problem and we've gone through a lot, and we've never had
a problem. We've always got -- as you remember, we got our minister back from Turkey. You remember that?
[16:05:10 ]
And this was a big deal at the time, and we got him back. And I told the Prime Minister, I said, just Bibi, if you have a problem with Turkey, I
really think I am going to be able to work it out. You know, I have a very, very good relationship with Turkey and with their leader and I think we
will be able to work it out.
So I hope that's not going to be a problem. I don't think it will be a problem. Now, with that being said, I believe it was Turkey and I said that
to him. I said it, I said, congratulations, you've done what nobody has been able to do in 2,000 years. You've taken over Syria with different
names, but same thing.
I said, you've taken it over. He has taken it over through surrogates. He goes, no, no, no, no, no, no, it was not me. I said, it was you. But that's
okay. You don't have to say, well, it sort of. Maybe it was me, okay.
But what he did, he said -- look, he is a tough guy and he is very smart. And he did something that nobody was able to do. You know, you've got to
hand it to him.
Any problem that you have with Turkey, I think I can solve. I mean, as long as you're reasonable, you have to be reasonable. We have to be reasonable.
Thank you very much, everyone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, press. Head out. Head out, press. Thank you. Thank you. Head out that door. Thank you.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Well, there you are. You've been listening to Donald Trump speaking alongside the
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
I think they were talking for the best part of 45 minutes or so. It was very wide ranging, but frankly, we had heard most of it all the time. It
was -- there is the White House, the press pool, making sure he is not saying anything else just while we are listening there. I don't think
anything else is being -- no, no. There is not, no.
Kevin is with me. Kevin at the White House. Jeremy is in Tel Aviv.
To both of you, let's start with you. I am going to start with Jeremy, if I may. I mean, long graphic descriptions about the hostages and what he had
heard and what he had asked them, but it seems to me the only really new bit was, again, sort of with Iran. Iran must not get a nuclear weapon. And
when specifically pushed on the question of would he use military force or indeed endorse Israel, Israel's military force -- it was an interesting
answer, wasn't it?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: It certainly was. You know, the President is making clear that, he is not taking military action
against Iran off the table and certainly not taking supporting Israeli military action against Iran off the table either, but I think the biggest
piece of news as it related to Iran was the President saying that the United States and Iran will be having direct negotiations and that those
will begin this coming Saturday, which he said there would be a "very big meeting."
He didn't provide any real details about what that meeting would entail, but we know it follows an exchange of letters between the President and the
Supreme Leader of Iran. The President had sent a letter to the Supreme Leader via the United Arab Emirates. He received a response in the last
week, via Omani representatives who delivered that letter to the White House directly, and it seems that as a result of that correspondence, there
will actually be, direct talks, the first of their kind, it would seem, since the Iranian Revolution that they are engaging in direct negotiations
over Iran's nuclear program.
And the President obviously trying to set the table ahead of that by talking about the grave danger Iran would be putting themselves in if they
didn't agree to a deal.
QUEST: Kevin, to you at the White House, the only thing I noticed, particularly about tariffs, the Israeli Prime Minister didn't get any
relief on that. If he was hoping that he would come and sort of get a freebie in a sense, he was unlucky, but -- and also the U.S. President sort
of dashed any hopes of big, big side deals. He did not -- he dismissed the idea of a pause.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. He said he is not looking at the pause when he was asked about that, which was, of course,
the subject of some confusion earlier today in the markets, he was also asked about these mixed messages that you've been hearing from his advisers
about whether these tariffs are a negotiation or whether they are permanent.
And what he said was that both could be true. You could both have permanent tariffs, but you could also open up talks with these other countries. And
so I think, you know, when you hear the President say that, I think it just gives you a sense of the confusion that is surrounding all of this.
Certainly, he says that he wants to talk with these other leaders about new trade deals and new trade plans, but when it comes to easing these tariffs,
he is not offering any clear roadmap, let alone to his guest in the Oval Office, Benjamin Netanyahu, about what exactly they would need to do in
order for him to lift those new duties.
[16:10:17 ]
QUEST: And, Jeremy give me an assessment, please, from Israel. How much of a risk, a political risk, not that it matters much in a sense of one level
for Netanyahu to make this journey make a big ho-har about zero tariffs, eliminating the trade, the bilateral trade deficit, getting nothing, and in
some cases, almost getting a sort of a scolding in a sense, we give you $4 billion, you should be grateful for what you get.
DIAMOND: I don't think the political risk is all too high for Netanyahu and that's because of what else we saw in that meeting, which was this kind of
chumminess between these two men and it is important to note that it hasn't always existed. Yes, they are very alike in many ways, politically,
ideologically certainly Trump's support for Israel is something that Netanyahu has benefited from.
But Netanyahu has also gotten on Trump's bad side before as well, and yet today, they certainly seemed to be as close as ever as the Israeli Prime
Minister kind of, you know, lavished the President with praise in in his remarks, talking about everything he was going to do on the trade deficit,
certainly saying all of the right things as far as Trump is concerned.
You know, one of the things I was really looking to see was whether President Trump would press the Israeli Prime Minister at all on the issue
of the hostages, given the fact that so many of these hostage families have been making their appeals directly to President Trump, and instead, what we
heard was President Trump kind of giving Netanyahu some support on that front by saying that he believes that Netanyahu is indeed doing everything
he can to get out the hostages, which is certainly not a sentiment that is widely shared by the hostage families at all, and then just kind of
offering platitudes about the need to get the hostages out, the need to end the war in Gaza, but nothing concrete and certainly no pressure being
brought to bear on the Israeli Prime Minister that you might have expected as a possibility.
QUEST: Jeremy is in Tel Aviv. Kevin is at the White House. I thank you both, gentlemen, for joining us. Thank you.
As the President was talking, Wall Street closed out another extremely volatile session with people looking for any sign that Mr. Trump is going
to blink, but not finding it.
The Dow swung thousands of points over the course of the morning. Five down, four percent up, five percent down. You can see there that little
blip of green, short lived. It was a report that President Trump would pause his tariffs. The White House denied the rumor and the market fell.
The President painted a rosy picture of the U.S. economy on Truth Social. Let's go through exactly what he said. He bragged about low oil prices. He
said they've fallen. And actually, the reality is they've fallen because traders has got the global economy to slow and the low prices are harder to
turn a profit on both the U.S. shale, and of course, for Saudi Arabia.
The President says interest rates have fallen. Well, the Fed last lowered rates in December and says it won't rush for further cuts. And indeed,
there is a question about exactly what they are going to do if inflation is going up and food prices aren't down either despite his comments, tariffs
will have the opposite effect.
The President says there is no inflation, something like for the 54th month in a row or something like that, I saw a number. It was inflation is still
above the target.
Paula is with me, Paula Newton.
Paula, pull it all together for me.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST AND CORRESPONDENT: Okay, so if we start out by the fact that Donald Trump said in that meeting right there
that he would be resetting the table, right, yes, he might be resetting the table. He has also flipped it over and perhaps one of the legs isn't
stable.
So if we start with that picture, right, and let's go through some of the things you just talked about. Oil, right, slipping below $60.00 a barrel.
Some analysts believe it could even hit $45.00 or $50.00. That drill, baby, drill, the United States being an energy powerhouse, that will go out the
window. You know better than anyone, Richard. The U.S. won't invest in energy at those oil prices.
Then let's take inflation. Inflation isn't growing as extreme as it was, but it is -- inflation is still there. The Fed has said that. The Fed has
also lowered its expectations for growth, and so we might even have a risk not just of a recession, but a higher risk of things like stagflation,
right? Which is higher inflation, higher unemployment and low growth. All of this does not spell anything that is good.
The markets, though, reacting fairly neutrally in the last hours and the reason is that there might be some room for negotiation, perhaps not with
China, but with other countries. I want you to look into what Scott Bessent said in the last little while, saying that he is ready to negotiate, at
least with Japan, but also with other countries, saying that Japan remains among America's closest allies and look forward to our upcoming productive
engagement regarding tariffs, non-tariff barriers, currency issues, and the like.
[16:15:23]
QUEST: Paula --
NEWTON: Yes, Richard.
QUEST: At the end of the day, the level of uncertainty remains. People will say that arguably today because the NASDAQ and the S&P didn't recovered
greatly, there might be an argument that says, well, the markets are sort of now waiting and seeing and watching and waiting.
There is another argument that would simply say they are just sort of exhausted, but there is certainly no enthusiasm.
NEWTON: Listen, if you're a business person, small, medium, large, you cannot afford to be exhausted, and what you're trying to do is find your
way out of this and there is trade friction. There is currency friction. None of that adds up to anything good whether you are large or small. When
you look at consumer confidence, when you look at the confidence in businesses, all of it falling dramatically, which is why that uncertainty
is in the market. It is now the oil in the water, and it is going to be a long time before we can get that out of there, certainly not in the short
term.
QUEST: Paula, thank you. Grateful.
Now, wealthy business leaders are coming out against the tariffs. This includes some of his most vocal supporters, like Bill Ackman. The
billionaire investor says the new tariffs are amounting, in his words, economic nuclear war.
JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon says the tariffs will increase inflation and lower growth, and even Elon Musk appears to have broken with the White House. He
says this weekend that he wants the U.S. and Europe to strike a free trade deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELON MUSK, CEO, TESLA: I hope it is agreed that both Europe and the United States should move, ideally, in my view to a zero-tariff situation,
effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America.
And also, more freedom of people to move between Europe and North America. So that that has certainly been my advice to the President.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Now, Goldman Sachs says the odds of the U.S. entering a recession are essentially a coin flip. Goldman sent a report to its clients, which is
called Countdown to Recession, raising the probability of a contraction to 45 percent over the next year, also slashing its growth forecasts this year
to half a percent, and that's assuming President Trump does not follow through with all of the tariffs. If he does, then the recession is much
more likely even higher.
And so how is it the view over at Citi, over at Citigroup. Nathan Sheets is with me.
Nathan, good to see you, sir, the global chief. What are you now saying? Where do you stand on the question of a recession?
NATHAN SHEETS, GLOBAL CHIEF ECONOMIST, CITIGROUP: well the reality here is that the economy is absorbing a historically large shock, and we haven't
seen tariffs --
QUEST: I can't hear. I do beg your pardon, Nathan, we seem to have. We -- I can't hear you, which is not -- which is a deeply unfortunate. Whilst I am
trying to repair this, let me go through -- while we are sorting out your audio, Nathan, I am just going to go tell our dear viewer, some of the
things that were looking at over the next couple of weeks as we are going to be covering the effects of tariffs.
We are also looking at the macro level. We are remembering the affect people in their daily lives. So we have researched the most commonly bought
items that you go out and buy. Let me emphasize, it is not scientific. It is absolutely not scientific the sort of things we've got, but they are the
things that people are buying all the time.
So, for example, we've got rice, rice from India. We have cheeses from the E.U. In this case, it is my producer who will be delighted. It is Irish,
Irish cheddar cheese. We have vanilla from Madagascar. We've got clothing that's made in all sorts of parts of the world. In this case, it is I think
these are made in Kenya, but they are from all parts of the world and other household items, the obvious ones, toilet paper.
We will be looking at TVs and iPhones and possibly the two that you might see almost immediately, bananas and coffee. Now, all of these items that we
have before us, we will continue to monitor on a regular basis and let you know just how we are seeing the actual prices change.
While I've been talking, hopefully we've put another $0.05 in the meter, another quarter and Nathan is back with me. We paid the bill, sir. We paid
the bill.
Listen, what's your recession forecast?
[16:20:08]
SHEETS: It is rising. I am not sure I'd go all the way to 50 percent, but 30 to 40 percent recession odds are very plausible here. This is an
enormous shock to the U.S. economy and to the global economy.
QUEST: The idea of how this plays out, you know, I mean, I am desperately trying to that neither of us ends up going down the politics route. But the
U.S. economy was in good shape. Now, the longer these tariffs remain in place, economically, not politically, economically, what happens?
SHEETS: Well, we are seeing damage in the equity market that's causing people to pull back. There is a lot of uncertainty in the corporate sector
about how much various inputs are going to be -- how they're going to be expensed going forward. There is uncertainty amongst individuals and
households about how much stuff it is going to cost, and so you are increasing the uncertainty premium in the economy, and it is going to take
a while to rebuild that confidence, even if President Trump were to pull back on these tariffs tomorrow.
QUEST: And on that point, the way companies will be pulling back on expenditure. The whole sort of how long have we got, do you think, before
the damage is so deep, confidence wise, investment, market driven wealth effect, whatever dimension, how long before it is so deep that there it is
almost very difficult to come back from?
SHEETS: It is a very hard question. I am worried about the uncertainty being disruptive in the near term, but if this persists even for, say,
three to six months, you're going to start breaking supply chains, you're going to start disrupting production patterns. You're going to cause firms
to lay off workers.
And coming back from that, as we saw during the pandemic, is a long, drawn out, painful process. So we are not there yet, but we are going to get
there pretty quickly.
QUEST: And the idea that it is going to reverse an industrial policy and bring jobs back, the President seems to think that it will be sort of 18
months to two years. Everybody else I think, speak to -- says it is going to -- if indeed its possible, it will be much longer, because throughout
this process, that level of uncertainty maintains. You just don't know if it is going to change.
SHEETS: Yes. As the as the President said, it takes years to build plants and then the employment is going to come most likely after that. But an
important point here is one of the reasons why so many manufacturing jobs went abroad is the U.S. workers have understandably have high expectations
for what they're going to get paid.
So at U.S. wage rates, how many firms are going to actually be able to significantly increase employment? Maybe it comes back more as an automated
form or robotics, more capital intensive. So in my mind, there is a real question as to how much new manufacturing employment we actually get.
QUEST: Nathan. I am grateful. We will talk more as particularly as we get those forward looking indicators like consumer sentiment and all those
surveys and at the factory gate. Thank you, sir. I am very grateful. Thank you.
As we continue, the E.U. chiefs are eyeing non U.S. markets, but says there is a deal to be made if the President wants it, in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:26:31]
QUEST: Some markets globally shaken by what's been going on. Just look at the numbers. Europe and Asia were deep into the red when all was said and
done with the Hong Kong Hang Seng, recorded its biggest one day decline since 1997. That's a lot of numbers there. Where is it? Oh, yes. Bottom
line, one in from the left, 13 percent.
Now that is before we've seen the -- you know, the whole thing with China retaliating and the U.S. President saying he was going to retaliate back
again. Europe, meantime, it is looking for new trade opportunities. This is the big question in brussels. The commission president, Ursula von der
Leyen, said in her words it would focus like a laser beam on the 83 percent of global trade that is beyond the United States.
She also said there is a deal on the table if the U.S. wants it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: We stand ready to negotiate with the United States. Indeed, we have offered zero for zero
tariffs for industrial goods, as we have successfully done with many other trading partners, because Europe is always ready for good deal, so we keep
it on the table.
But we are also prepared to respond through countermeasures and defend our interests.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: What are they waiting for, Anna Stewart? They haven't even brought in the countermeasures from the aluminum and steel tariffs.
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Well, we are waiting for that potentially on Wednesday, but it is interesting. We have three strategies here. The
retaliation, which we think is coming. The negotiation which is clearly underway, but also the threat that, you know the E.U. has other trading
partners. And they will be focusing like a laser beam on them.
It was interesting that President Trump, in his Truth Social post, where he threatened even more tariffs on China, taking it to 104 percent, also said
negotiations with other countries, which have also requested meetings, will begin taking place immediately. But he has since spoken and has made pretty
clear that it is unlikely that he is going to see any change in tariffs anytime soon -- Richard.
QUEST: You were listening closely to what the President was saying. We've heard it all before in some shape or form. It is all Biden's fault. It is
all terrible deals. The E.U. are very hard negotiators, but have been ripping off the United States. Oh, I know where it was, yes, the whole the
whole E.U. was set up to do over the United States.
STEWART: There were a number of things to fact check as ever in some of President Trump's comments, particularly when it comes to Europe, once
again saying, as you have mentioned, that the E.U. was created as a force against the USA. Just a reminder, in case anyone actually believes that,
the E.U. was created and formed, well, its birth really is in the 1950s post war to create an economic and political sort of closer union to avoid
war ever again.
There were other issues, though, he said Europe takes nothing from the USA. They don't take our cars, they don't take our agricultural products.
Richard, the U.S. exported $370 billion worth of goods to the E.U. last year. Granted, there is a trade imbalance, but they also exported nearly
$13 billion worth of agriculture and more than $8 billion in cars.
QUEST: And it is the services. If you look at the bilateral, current account, then you actually see that it is much more imbalanced. Correct?
STEWART: It is more imbalance, and it is going to be interesting if the U.S. and the E.U. were to continue to go toe-to-toe. We don't see any
negotiation. I think where we will see Europe go next is services.
[16:30:07]
QUEST: Anna, good to see you. Thank you.
Let's go to the Spanish Minister of Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo. He joins me from Madrid. Minister, good evening to you. What's
taking the E.U. so long? I mean, China has come out with that thing. I mean, you know, do one thing or do nothing but do something.
CARLOS CUERPO, SPANISH ECONOMY MINISTER: Well, good evening, Richard, well, actually, I don't think that it is taking us too long. What we want to send
-- the message that we want to send from the E.U. side is being cool headed and really getting into de-escalation with the U.S., and if possible,
actually getting to an agreement with the U.S. authorities. That's what we want.
And of course, we want all lines to remain open, because we think it's in the interest of everyone. We have a lot to protect here. When you think of
how much is at stake, for example, on a daily basis, it's 4.4 billion euros that actually cross the Atlantic in terms of exchanging trade in goods and
services.
So, there is a lot to lose if we don't come to an agreement and that's where the E.U. is.
And today, we had an important meeting in Luxembourg of ministers of trade. And I think the message of unity and trust going ahead is an important one.
QUEST: Yes. But what is that message of unity, and what, that you all agree that you're going to agree? I mean, I don't understand, the E.U. has a lot
of meetings about these things, but I'm not sure what is the end purpose.
CUERPO: Well, actually, the message of unity is key for us, because we all understand that if we go alone on a separate basis to try and find a deal
with whoever we are sitting on the negotiating table, we will be seen and we will be felt as a small country. But being together as one, there, we
will have -- we have the scale, and we have the power to negotiate and come to fair agreements. That's why it is so important to actually give unity to
the negotiating mandate that the commission has on trade.
QUEST: So, Spain has a lot of exports to the United States. It's a major, right away, and it's everything from agriculture to machinery to high tech
to farm. I mean, it is one of the most advanced countries when it comes to, what -- where do you and where does the Spanish government stand on
retaliation?
CUERPO: Well, again, I think here we all stand pretty much at the same level at the E.U., which is keep the lines open, trying to negotiate. But
as you just heard, President von der Leyen say, we need to be ready to counteract, because we need two to tango. We need two to come to an
agreement. And if there is no agreement on the line, then of course, we should be ready to put countermeasures on the table, both on the first
step, which was the measures against steel and aluminum, but also on the second step, which is the measures against the automotive sector and also
these general tariffs that were set up last week.
QUEST: Now, if we look at the headline tariff number, that's misleading, because the President then was just talking about non-tariff barriers. So,
the 20 percent to a certain extent, let's just say the 20 percent was negotiated away. But what the U.S. really wants is to attack the non-tariff
barriers, things like VAT on exports, et cetera.
CUERPO: Well, I mean, from our perspective, where you were just talking about Spain, if you look at the figures from Spain, we actually have a
deficit in terms of trade with the U.S. from the Spanish perspective, but we think actually that it comes from our specialization, and also the U.S.
one, we're benefiting from U.S. products.
And actually, when you look also at the bilateral stock of foreign direct investment, is a very strong one, pretty much balanced around 100 billion
on each and every side, 100 billion euros.
So, in the end, it's in the benefit of everyone. So, just by looking at the deficit, is that the proper way to look at the proper at the impact of the
amount of tariffs and even non-tariff barriers. So, of course, we're ready to sit down and look at what actually bothers areas counterparts, and see
to what extent we can come to common spaces. There was a proposal, for example, to go to zero tariffs on the -- on the industrial products. So,
that's the way forward.
QUEST: I'm grateful to you, Minister, thank you. I'm sure you and I will end up talking more as this develops. Thank you for your time tonight.
CUERPO: Can I just say one more thing? Can I just add one more point?
QUEST: Of course. Of course.
CUERPO: Thank you very much. So, just, when we're talking about this message of confidence, one that we want to send from Spain, but also I
think we have to send from the E.U., is a message of trust and confidence to our own citizens, consumers and firms and industries that we will be
there to protect them, not only by imposing measures if they're necessary, but also by putting in place a safety net that we protect them while we
come to an agreement, and also in the medium term, looking, if necessary, for alternative markets to the EU, if the E.U. will remain more and more
closed market than it is now, if the world will be more fragmented.
[16:35:17]
QUEST: That's an important point, sir, and it's an important point that you and I need to discuss in the future, the real -- the reality of looking at
new markets. Thank you for joining us tonight. Have a good evening in Madrid, sir, thank you.
It is -- it is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Lot more after the break, glad to have you on board.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. Let me give you an update on the headlines, and we'll have some more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
The breaking news from the U.S. Supreme Court, which has paused temporarily the order directing the Trump administration to bring back the man deported
to El Salvador.
And for those preparing to retire, the market terminal could come -- couldn't come at a worse time, we'll discuss how to navigate what's been
taking place. We'll get to that over after the news, because this is CNN, and here the news always comes first. You can get an idea there of what
we're talking about.
A volatile day for global markets over the uncertainty on U.S. tariffs, Asia and Europe was down heavily. U.S. markets down around half an hour ago
after fluctuating all day. One of the positive swings came when the E.U. said it's ready to negotiate with the U.S.
The year -- the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrated their 2024 World Series title at the White House. The long-awaited visit saw President Trump being
given a custom jersey number 47. He later invited the star player Shohei Ohtani to the Oval Office.
A Palestinian American teen has been killed in the West Bank. Palestinian officials say Israeli soldiers shocked the boy and wounded two other
teenagers. The military says it is targeting terrorists.
[16:40:14]
U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily paused that order, ordering the troubled administration to bring back the man mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
You remember he was supposed to be on his way back by tonight.
Now, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia will remain there, at least for now. Joan Biskupic is with me. Joan, the Chief Justice did this on his own motion,
John Roberts. Do we read anything into how it is? Is this -- you know, with your expert -- is this more procedural? It's the way they do things. What
do we read into the what he did?
JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN CHIEF SUPREME COURT ANALYST: Good to see you, Richard. They need more time. They could not make a snap decision by 11:59 tonight,
which is the deadline that that lower district court judge had put on the Trump administration to get that Maryland man back here who had been
mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
The justices just simply could not decide quick enough, and that's understandable. The initial plea from the Trump administration came in this
morning. The response from the man's lawyers had been filed, but the justices have bought themselves a little bit of time.
Now, the original request went to the chief. So, it was the chief who issued this brief order that essentially said, for the interim, we're just
going to put a pause on the timing of that 11:59 order. I expect to have some sort of final decision by the justices you know, in the next day or
two. Because, you know, this is -- this is something that has been thrust into a real sense of emergency. The " you know, administration concedes
that he was mistakenly sent there.
But I have to tell you, Richard, the administration's plea to the Supreme Court, it did say, even though we concede this, it doesn't mean that a
district court judge has license to order him back.
QUEST: What did you make, Joan -- let's go off reservation here. What did you make of the A.G. and the Justice Department disciplining the very
experienced lawyer who basically made the concession to the district judge that it was a mistake, it shouldn't have happened, and they were trying to
get more information, and now that poor guy seems to have taken a roasting.
BISKUPIC: Definitely, Richard. I mean, he was just acknowledging what the administration had said in a more formal way that this man should have
never been sent there. And the lawyer acknowledged the court in a way that -- you know, I think he had no choice, because he said he had not gotten a
response from his bosses when he wanted to know why they couldn't bring him back. What was the problem with not being able to get this Maryland man who
you know, as I said, was wrong -- is wrongly in this prison right now. How can they not get him back, and he acknowledged that.
But that sheer acknowledgement just irked the administration so much. And as you know, Attorney General Pam Bondi has said, we want our lawyers to be
completely zealous and on our side. And this lawyer -- and the lawyer in question has defended Trump administration immigration initiatives in the
past. And this is no -- this is no rogue attorney that was before the judge a few days ago.
QUEST: I knew -- I knew you'd get it all in, zealously. That was the word, zealously. Thank you. Good to see you, Joan. Good to see you, thank you.
This is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS tonight, calls for international probes after Israeli troops kill more than a dozen emergency workers in Gaza. We'll talk
about it in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:46:56]
QUEST: After more than a dozen aid and emergency workers were shot and killed by Israeli troops in Gaza last month, the Palestinian Red Crescent
society's president has today called for an international investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. YOUNIS AL-KHATIB, PRESIDENT, PALESTINIAN RED CRESCENT SOCIETY: They have to answer for that. This is why an investigation, an independent
investigation, has been our number one request from the international community. We have lost so many dear colleagues throughout the years, and
nobody once answered -- had to answer for their claim. What we call this time is for justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Israel had claimed the worker's emergency vehicles were, in their words, advancing suspiciously without lights. But as CNN's Jeremy Diamond
now tells us, a video showing their final moments contradicts that very account. And I need to warn you, parts of this report are disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIAMOND (voice over): Emergency lights flashing in the pre-dawn sky, a convoy of ambulances and a fire truck pull up to the scene of an Israeli
attack. Palestinian paramedics and Civil Defense responders get out of their vehicles when suddenly, amid a hail of gunfire, emergency responders
drop to the ground, and the paramedic who is filming begins to pray.
It is the single deadliest attack on emergency responders in Gaza during the war, killing 15. The Israeli military had acknowledged its soldiers
attacked this convoy of emergency vehicles, but this video debunked their claim that the ambulances were advancing suspiciously and without emergency
lights. The Israeli military says it is re-examining the incident.
Now, new testimony from a survivor further undermining the Israeli narrative. Paramedic Munther Abed says Israeli troops didn't just open fire
on one ambulance convoy, about an hour earlier, his ambulance was also attacked. They opened fire directly on us in the vehicle, Munther says, I
survived by lying down in the back of the vehicle. If I had stood up, I would have been killed.
He listened as two of his colleagues, Mustafa Hafaja and Ezzedine Shaath (ph), drew their last breaths. Israeli troops then detained Munther. The
Israeli military has described that first attack as targeting a Hamas vehicle, killing two Hamas members and detaining a third. An Israeli
military official said they were not uniformed paramedics. But Munther says they were driving a well lit ambulance and were wearing their uniforms.
As Israeli troops questioned Munther, other medics were dispatched to look for him. The Palestine Red Crescent Society says this is Munther's
ambulance, lights extinguished after coming under fire. No comment from the Israeli military.
[16:50:13]
Munther saw the convoy arrive. I was lying face down, and a soldier had an M16 rifle pressed against my back with my face turned toward the street. In
the street, there were civil defense vehicles, fire trucks and ambulances parked nearby. They opened fire directly on them.
There are soldiers. There are soldiers. One paramedic says in this recording of his final call.
The Israeli military buried the bodies in this shallow grave. They say it was to prevent the bodies from being scavenged. The U.N. only reached the
site a week later.
Paramedic Hassan Hosni nearly ended up in that grave, but he called in sick that day, and his son, Mohammed, took his place. He soon called him one
last time. Help me, dad, help me. I asked him what was wrong, and he said, we were targeted by the Israelis, and they are now shooting at us directly.
Then the call disconnected.
A week later, his father identified his body.
They wouldn't let me wash the dirt from his face. I don't know why. He had a wound on his mouth here, another on his forehead and another on his back,
all from gunfire, his father says. God bless his soul.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Now for those who are preparing to retire soon, the market turmoil could hardly have come at a worse time, millions of Americans using their
retirement accounts the 401(k)s, IRA, Roths and all sorts of things, typically invest in stocks and bonds. At the end of 2024, a survey found
those in their early 50s, on average, had nearly $200,000 in their 401(k) retirement account. Let's just call it that, the pension, if you will.
And by the time you get to my age, well, you're up to about a quarter of a million. That sort of 246,000 sums with me. Sam Stovall is Chief Investment
Strategist at CFRA Research. Good to see you, Sam.
Look, you know, quarter of a million, assuming you've balanced, off balance, bad balance, good. You're probably about down 15, maybe between 10
and 15 percent down. It's really A, it's shocking, and B, it's how long it's going to take to come back.
SAM STOVALL, CHIEF INVESTMENT STRATEGIST, CFRA RESEARCH: Absolutely Well, when you have that kind of money, and every day you're listening to the
financial press, you're looking at your account online and realizing that you know your retirement is in your own hands, rather than, let's say, in a
company pension plan. Then yes, people get very nervous and are likely to therefore allow their emotions to be their portfolio's worst enemy by
selling at the exact wrong time.
QUEST: And the difficulty is, well, look, as long as for last 30 years. I can remember my late father telling me and my financial advisor, saying,
you move away from risky stocks into where more fixed income, blah, blah, blah.
But people don't really do that at the level that they should, because over the last 10, 15, years, it's been the stocks that they've given you the
gains that you're going to need to live on . If you just did that rebalancing, you know the 40, 40, 20 or whatever, you wouldn't have enough
to live on.
STOVALL: Well, and also remember, in 2022 both the stock market and the bond market declined by double digits. And as a result, everyone was
questioning whether you should have a 60, 40 portfolio, 60 percent stocks, 40 percent bonds. Would it provide that kind of balance that you need? And
I think that caused investors to move away from that kind of a formula.
QUEST: And a lot of -- I mean, yes, you can -- you can invest in a company. I know that WBD, we have sort of those schemes where your lifestyle, or,
sorry, life cycle type, ski cycles. Are you in this group, this group, but the moment you start to try and do it or make decisions, you find yourself
in very deep water quite quickly. And I think that it's only when you get to situations like this that the seriousness, the gravity of getting it
wrong becomes clear.
STOVALL: Well, but if you do develop a diversified portfolio, in a sense, you're not getting it wrong. Unfortunately, you are going through those
periods in time that are fairly regular in terms of losing money in the market in the short term, but you really only lose it when you sell at the
wrong time.
QUEST: I'm guessing that you would say to anybody who's on though who doesn't need the money tomorrow, I'm guessing you would say, don't do
anything. Don't make it as Mohamed El-Erian, who you'll know, says, don't make an irreparable mistake.
[16:55:10]
STOVALL: Exactly what I try to tell them is to remember how quickly the market gets back to break even. If you saw earlier in today's trading, the
market was up eight percent in a very, very short period of time, investors are opportunists. So, the interesting thing is that, looking at all
declines of up to 20 percent since World War II, the market got back to break even in an average of only four months.
QUEST: What do you think the people that the market is looking for at the moment? Besides certainty? What is that element of certainty? It's not just
the president saying, I'm going to -- I'm going to postpone the tariffs. That's not certain, because he could change his mind the next day.
STOVALL: Exactly. Well, this is a manufactured correction, meaning it occurred because the president decided to come up with tariffs and initiate
a trade war.
So, once we can get this concessions out of trading partners, and the president then says, OK, well, these are the countries that are not going
to be experiencing tariffs above 10 percent or whatever, then the market can start to work its way higher. But you're right, it's simply going to
fluctuate if uncertainty is still at the controls.
QUEST: And I'm grateful that you were -- you were at the controls to come and talk to us today. Good to see you, Sam. Thank you very much indeed.
STOVALL: Thank you.
QUEST: We will take a profitable moment after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: So, we have put together the QUEST MEANS BUSINESS basket of goods, we had a sort of a -- we looked to see what is the most things that people
buy. Looked at all the surveys. It was obviously vegetables and fruits, rice and coffee.
And then you look into this office, toilet paper. People in need, of course, always need to buy toothbrushes and toothpaste. And so, we put
together -- olive oil, without regard to origin of country, and over the next three months, we are going to follow the prices and see if they alter
as a result of the tariffs that have been put in place. Some will, some won't. We don't know. We don't know what we're going to find. And that's
the idea.
I'm Richard Quest, by the way, if you've got something you think we should have answered or put in, but that's the way we're going to do. So, it's the
basket, the basket, which we will be following for the next few months as we work out how these tariffs and how these things are going to move
forward.
But for the moment, that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in New York. I'm Richard Quest. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, I do hope it's profitable,
and as tasty as these strawberries, they're rather good.
END
