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Quest Means Business
Netanyahu Seeking Direct Negotiations with Lebanon; Fishman: Iran Creating New Form of Economic Warfare; Melania Trump Slams Lies Linking Her to Epstein. U.S.-Iran Truce on Shaky Ground Ahead of Talks; E.U. Challenge to Secure Lasting Peace; Iowa Farmers Struggle Amid Iran War, Trade Turmoil; Italy's Flat-Tax Enticement to Global Elite; Aerospace Firms Look to Capitalize on Final Frontier. Aired 4p-5p ET
Aired April 09, 2026 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:21]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Ever the optimist, these markets. I mean, look at that. The Dow coming back into the green for much of the day,
up about 280 points. Now, the NASDAQ and the S&P also up on the day.
Those are the markets, and these are the main events: Israel launches fresh strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon. That offensive now a key sticking
point in the U.S.-Iran ceasefire.
The U.S. First Lady, Melania Trump blasts lies linking her to Jeffrey Epstein.
And first it was tariffs, then energy costs, now fertilizer. The hits just keep coming for U.S. farmers.
Live from New York. It is Thursday, April 9th. I am Paula Newton, in for Richard Quest and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
And good evening. Tonight, the ceasefire in the Middle East appears to be largely holding and the nations involved are scrambling to try and keep it
that way.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is seeking talks with Lebanon, a step that could stabilize the truce between the U.S. and Iran. But Mr.
Netanyahu just made clear there will be no ceasefire on Israel's part, despite international pressure to end deadly attacks targeting Hezbollah.
Now earlier, Iran's president said Israeli strikes on Lebanon make further negotiations meaningless. Lebanese health officials report that more than
300 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Wednesday. Nada Bashir joins us now from Beirut, and Nada, just in the last few hours, a lot of back and
forth in terms of what we can expect, what the Lebanese government would like to see, but what is actually possible.
Nada, as I am listening to you, I don't know if you can hear me. Does that mean that you have Israeli drones actually overhead at this hour?
I don't know if Nada can hear me. We can certainly hear the drones overhead. Nada, I will try again. Nada, can you hear me? It is Paula
Newton.
NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Paula, we are having a bit of -- Paula, we are just having a bit of connectivity issues. But I have you now. And of
course, as you've been mentioning, the situation in Beirut and across Lebanon is very uncertain at this stage. I am not sure if you can hear it,
but we've had a drone circling above the city over the last few hours. It appears at quite a low level, and typically this is an indication
potentially of further strikes to come.
We certainly have had a warning from the Israeli military of an evacuation order for a broad area of Southern Beirut, including areas that haven't
previously come under evacuation orders. So there is some concern as to what we may see transpiring tonight and into tomorrow.
But of course, this all comes, as you mentioned, off the back of that indication from the Israeli Prime Minister that Israel is now willing to
enter into talks with the Lebanese government. The Lebanese government has, in fact, been pushing for weeks now for some sort of diplomatic resolution.
However, of course, we have also heard from officials who have said to us that the Lebanese government has been very clear on the fact that
negotiations cannot take place under fire. And, of course, that stands in stark contrast to the messaging we've been hearing from the Israeli Prime
Minister, asserting that there is no ceasefire in Lebanon, despite this indication of a willingness to take part in negotiations.
And of course, there are questions as well as to how Hezbollah may respond to this. Important, of course, to underscore the distinction between the
Lebanese government and Hezbollah. While it is part of the government, the Lebanese government has been very clear that it does not support its
military activities in the south, nor its targeting of Israel.
In fact, most recently, the Lebanese government has written to the U.N. saying it has outlawed Hezbollah's military wing. The Prime Minister has
also most recently called on Lebanon's security forces to rid the capital of all non-state arms.
So, clearly there has been a push by the Lebanese government to not only put pressure on Hezbollah, but move towards a diplomatic resolution. But
clearly, if there is no commitment to a cessation of hostilities, we may well expect continued attacks here in Beirut, across Lebanon, and in
return, also Hezbollah attacks on Israel as well.
And that is, of course, the concern here in the country and we have been speaking to people on the ground who have been telling us that they want an
end to the war. They want a peaceful resolution, particularly as we have seen the immense civilian impact of these strikes.
Of course, as we've been reporting, Wednesday saw the largest wave of attacks on Lebanon. Some hundred targets in the space of ten minutes,
according to the Israeli military. They say Hezbollah military command targets across the country, but as we've been reporting on the ground,
we've seen the impact on civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings and local businesses.
[16:05:15]
We've seen that death toll now rising beyond 300, according to the Health Ministry, just as a result of yesterday's attacks across the country and
hundreds more wounded. And for many here in the capital, they have been seeing the effects of this over the last few weeks, not only in the rising
death toll, but also in the mass displacement crisis that the country is now facing with more than a million people internally displaced.
NEWTON: Yes, unfortunately, the people of Lebanon know this too well. They are being held hostage by events right now and even at this hour.
Nada, in fact, we do hear the drones overhead, a chilling sound for so many, as Israel says, that it will continue to strike in Lebanon.
Nada Bashir, grateful to you for the update.
Now, the confusion around the Strait of Hormuz sent oil prices higher today. Both Brent crude and WTI were trading at one point above a hundred
dollars a barrel, only a handful of vessels, in fact, have passed through the Strait since the ceasefire was announced.
By controlling the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is weaponizing one of the world's physical chokepoints. Our next guest writes that it is using America's
playbook against it.
Edward Fishman says the U.S. weaponized economic tools like sanctions, finance and technology against its rivals. Now, Iran has flipped the
script, using its control over the strait to wage economic warfare against the world.
Edward Fishman is the Director of the Center for Geoeconomics at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is also the author of "Chokepoints:
American Power in the age of Economic Warfare."
He joins me now from New York, and good to have you with us. We do want to get to your book and its larger thesis in a moment. But as this relates to
the war underway right now, you in fact distill what it means quite accurately, you're saying that for the first time in decades, Iran is now
selling its oil directly to the United States using U.S. dollars, securing sanctions relief. As you point out, something it has not managed to do in
decades of negotiation and at this hour, the Strait is largely closed.
This has been an extraordinary feat for Iran, and yet, you saw this coming.
EDWARD FISHMAN, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR GEOECONOMICS, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: That's right. Look, Iran spent years negotiating with the United
States to try to get sanctions relief, making concessions that in the 2015 Nuclear Deal included getting rid of all of their highly enriched uranium
and significantly drawing down their nuclear program.
Yet, they did not obtain the ability to sell oil in dollars through the U.S. financial system. And yet, in just the last few weeks, by closing the
Strait of Hormuz and dramatically sending up the price of oil and threatening inflation and economic problems here in the United States, Iran
has been able to extract that concession from Washington.
And what I worry about is it sends a worrying signal, which is that if you retaliate effectively against the U.S. economy, you might actually get more
concessions and more relief than you get through diplomacy.
NEWTON: And it is something I want to point out, that China has been trying to play on that for several years now. They are also taking from the
playbook.
I want to go to your book now and your larger thesis here, these global chokepoints, they do have powerful agency and they are becoming ever more
powerful. How?
FISHMAN: So chokepoints are parts of the global economy where one country has a dominant position and there are few, if any, substitutes.
Economic chokepoints include the U.S. dollar, where 90 percent of all foreign exchange transactions happen in a single currency. That's what
gives U.S. sanctions their power, or Chinese rare earth minerals, where 90 percent of the global supply comes from China. And effectively, China can
shut down a lot of our industries if they cut off our access.
But then there are also these geographic chokepoints, like the Strait of Hormuz, which is the most important geographic chokepoint in the world and
what Iran has shown, that even a middle power like Iran, right, they are not U.S. or China, they are not a great power by using relatively
inexpensive weapons like drones that cost $20,000.00 or $30,000.00 a pop can disrupt that chokepoint and use it as an asymmetric weapon. That is how
economic warfare works today. It is how geopolitics works today.
NEWTON: You know, you've identified the problem and I think many people are starting to see it roll out the way we have in this Iran conflict, and
interdependency here seems to be part of the problem, and yet what is the solution? Some people believe that more national self-reliance or more
redundancy between allies at these chokepoints, new economic models might help.
I mean, what do you think would help here? Because right now to have, like you say, a middle power that has been so devastated militarily here, come
up with a strategic win, given all the billions that countries like the United States spend on their military, I mean, it seems unfathomable
really.
[16:10:10]
FISHMAN: I think you put it very well, Paula. And look, we have seen escalating exponential economic warfare for the last 20 years. This is not
a Donald Trump story. It is a story that cuts Democratic and Republican administrations, that cuts across countries. And that's because the global
economy, this interdependent global economy that you just talked about, it was designed for the 1990s. It was designed for an era where we didn't have
any meaningful geopolitical competition, where the United States viewed, Russia and China more as friends than rivals.
Look, that world has passed. We don't live in that world anymore. We live in a world of intensifying great power competition. And one way you can
view the escalation of economic warfare, sanctions, export controls, blockades, tariffs -- it is every country's desire, their effort
unilaterally to try to retrofit the global economy for today's geopolitical reality.
I think without coordination, this is going to be bad. It is going to get ugly like the 1930s, where you have beggar thy neighbor policies and a
chaotic breakdown of the global economy. The hope we have is that you have leadership where you can actually build a bloc, a big bloc of Western
countries that has interdependence amongst themselves, but maybe less interdependence with rivals like Russia and China. But we frankly, just do
not have that leadership right now.
NEWTON: And that is a vacuum for sure. Many have pointed out that, look, there are ways to get around this. When we talk about looking for
leadership, where do you want them to start? If we can look to those leaders, if it is the E.U. that steps up, it is eventually the United
States that steps up. What should they be doing? And again, the horizon is long, right? You're looking at five to 10 years here in terms of what they
can do.
FISHMAN: That's right. Look, there are some leaders in middle powers who have been trying to put forward visions for a new global order. Right? You
saw Mark Carney at Davos put forward one of those visions. You've seen Alexander Stubb, the leader of Finland put forward a vision and you've seen
the E.U. in some ways step into the void, cutting trade deals with India and Mercosur.
What I will say, though, is I am pretty skeptical, unfortunately, that this order can be built without the United States. And right now, the Trump
administration really their approach is transactionalism. It is trying to get as good of a deal with everyone basically treating Europe and Canada as
the same as China and Russia. That's not going to lead to a new order. That's just going to lead to chaos.
You need to try to build a bloc. And I think, unfortunately, if the United States is not at the center of that bloc, I am skeptical that countries
like Canada or Germany or Finland can do it without the United States.
NEWTON: Yes, and given everything you're saying, Edward, what I am going to be looking for in the next few months is to see if these large
corporations, the CEOs of these large corporations, actually step up and make that point to the United States. Because under all of this, they are
the ones that are taking hits as well.
Edward Fishman, we will continue to check in with you. Fascinating. Appreciate it.
FISHMAN: Yes. My pleasure.
NEWTON: Now, U.S. First Lady Melania Trump made a rare public statement just a couple of hours ago about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. She called on
Congress to hear from victims of the late sex offender and denounced as lies any attempt to link Mr. Epstein to her. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELANIA TRUMP, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I am not Epstein's victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump.
I met my husband by chance at a New York City Party in 1998.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Kirsten Holmes has been following all of this at The White House for us. I mean, Kristen, look, it was a big shock. We knew she was going to
make an announcement. We didn't know about what. Let's deal with the shock of the statement, but then also the fallout, which is much more profound
than, you know, than a First Lady really denouncing the rumors.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, it was stunning all around.
First Lady Melania Trump is somebody who is incredibly private. She is not somebody who is out there making statements, talking to the press. In fact,
she has an adversity to the press. She mostly likes to keep to herself and then we had her coming out here and addressing not only these rumors, but
also giving this call to action, the call to action, and you mentioned, you know, testifying -- these victims testifying in front of Congress, not just
testifying in front of Congress, she called for a public testimony under oath.
She called for people to be held accountable. This is just so different from the narrative that we've been hearing for months out of this White
House. I will direct you to an exchange that our Kaitlan Collins had with President Trump, probably a month-and-a-half ago, in which President Trump
said that the world, the country, wanted to move on from Jeffrey Epstein, that he was tired of talking about it.
We have obviously seen the reporting now that the Attorney General, Pam Bondi, who had been subpoenaed to come speak in front of the House
Oversight Committee now that she has been fired from that job, saying she is not going to go testify, obviously, that's, again, very different from
this call to action by Melania Trump, by the First Lady, encouraging victims and survivors to essentially have their day in "court" in front of
Congress and put their testimony into the written record.
[16:15:07]
So, that is just what encapsulates how stunning this was. And again, there were a lot of things that people had speculated as to what she would be
giving remarks about. This was certainly not one of them, particularly given the timing, the narrative, the conversation around Jeffrey Epstein
has, at least temporarily subsided, particularly as we have been discussing what is going on overseas with this war in Iran.
And now to bring Epstein back into the forefront here, as so many White House officials and administration officials and the President, her husband
himself has tried to distance themselves from this storyline.
NEWTON: Yes, I mean, you make such a good point about Kaitlan asking him directly about this. I mean, during that exchange, the President actually
didn't understand why she was asking the question and asked why Kaitlan wasn't smiling about it. Certainly, the First Lady was not smiling about
anything today.
I mean, before I let you go, is there any indication that the President knew what she was going to say before she said it?
HOLMES: Well, we are told by a source familiar that President Trump was briefed that she was going to be giving these remarks. He was aware of what
she was going to say today. We are also told that the West Wing was aware she was giving comments. It is still unclear if they knew the extent of
what she was going to say.
So even though we have this one source saying that President Trump was aware of the statement, it is unclear how broad it was, how broad the
knowledge was amid The White House that this is what she was going to be coming up to the podium to say.
NEWTON: Yes, as you said, stunning. And we will continue to follow this story, especially now as Congress, a bipartisan committee in Congress
parses her comments.
Kristen Holmes, for us at The White House, thanks so much.
Now, up next for us, the U.K. Navy says it has foiled attempts by Russian submarines to survey undersea cables. We will tell you what that is all
about after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Voters in Hungary will head to the polls Sunday for an election that will determine the country's next leader.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban hopes to extend his 16-year grip on power, but has been trailing in the polls and he got some help this week from U.S.
Vice President J.D. Vance. The Trump administration lined up behind Orban and his anti-E.U., pro-Kremlin stance.
Melissa Bell is in Hungary for us and has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the American Vice President left nothing to chance or to doubt, explaining that he was
here in Budapest this week to help his friend, Viktor Orban win this election just days from the poll.
[16:20:03]
What we had seen in February was Marco Rubio come here to do the same, explaining that Viktor Orban's success was our success, meaning MAGA's.
They really see, American officials, their fate tied with that of the man who really championed the way, showed them the way, how to turn a western
democracy into an illiberal one? Now, there are those diehard supporters of Viktor Orban who believe that that's great, that the support that he has
had from Washington, that his proximity to Moscow are things to be celebrated.
One of the interesting things about this campaign is that the campaign posters for Viktor Orban show President Zelenskyy's face, because he has
really used the war in neighboring Ukraine as a way of frightening people into voting for Fidesz, explaining that if there is a change of power to
Tisza, the movement that has been led by Peter Magyar, well then all kinds of things will happen, not least a change when it comes to Ukraine, and
that could mean more involvement in the war for Hungarians, which worries them a great deal.
Peter Magyar, on the other hand, has run a really remarkable campaign on very domestic issues. The fact that Hungarians look around them and in this
part of Europe, their neighbors seem to be doing better economically. He has run on bread and butter issues, on the fact of the health care system
not being where it should be, and that appears to have made the difference, even in what had been Fidesz bastions like this one.
Traditionally, Budapest is more liberal leaning than the rest of Hungary, and here to the Southwest, this town had long been very much in the hands
of Viktor Orban's party. Even here, the polls suggest Peter Magyar might make inroads and end up having the town fall to Tisza and that really is
remarkable.
So everyone very much looking to Sunday, many Hungarians who are hoping for change after 16 years with a great deal of hope, but this is also an
election, of course, that is being so closely watched from outside, by Washington, by Moscow and of course, by Brussels.
Remember that Viktor Orban's rule of Hungary has also been marked by a distancing from Brussels, and he has really sort of become the arch blocker
of the European Union. So there will be many in Brussels who heave a sigh of relief if he does fall.
They have tried very hard, however, to stay entirely out of this election, and it is the United States' representatives, its officials, both Marco
Rubio and J.D. Vance, who have had no such qualms making their way here really, in the days ahead of the election, a remarkable show of force by
Washington to try and sway an election because it looks so tight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: And our thanks to Melissa Bell there in Hungary. We will continue to have coverage for you as that all-important election is this weekend.
Now, the U.K. and Norway have completed a week's long operation to deter Russia from so-called nefarious activities near undersea cables in the
North Atlantic. The U.K. says a Royal Navy frigate aircraft and hundreds of personnel were involved in tracking a Russian attack sub and two spy
submarines, and it follows a significant uptick in alleged sabotage operations against undersea cables and pipelines, and growing fears in
Europe that Russia may take advantage while the world's attention is elsewhere in the Middle East.
CNN's Clare Sebastian has our details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The British Defense Secretary's announcement of suspicious Russian submarine activity comes amid concerns
in Europe that Russia could seek to take advantage of the spotlight being on the Middle East and the fact that the U.S.-Israel War with Iran has
widened rifts in the NATO Alliance, to not only continue its attacks on Ukraine, but also its alleged sabotage activity in Europe.
And so this was the message from the British Defense Minister.
JOHN HEALEY, BRITISH DEFENSE SECRETARY: I am pretty clear that Putin would want us to be distracted by the Middle East and what I am setting out today
demonstrates that we are not just exposing his covert operation, but we are saying to him that we recognize Russia as the primary threat to the U.K.
and to NATO, and that we will not take our eyes off Putin.
SEBASTIAN: Well, the U.K. says it tracked a Russian attack submarine entering international waters several weeks ago, and it determined that
this was a decoy, then coordinating with Norway and other allies, it spotted other submarines operating close to undersea critical
infrastructure elsewhere, submarines that they say are part of a secretive Russian Defense Ministry Unit believed to be involved in undersea sabotage
activity.
This is a satellite image the U.K. Ministry of Defense released Thursday of a Russian naval base on the Barent Sea, linked to this unit, while there is
no evidence of damage to undersea cables at this point, the Defense Minister said.
This is not a new threat for the U.K. It has seen a 30 percent increase in Russian ships threatening British waters in the past two years, according
to the Ministry of Defense and this comes a day after a Russian Navy frigate escorted sanctioned oil tankers through the English Channel
according to Britain's "Telegraph" newspaper.
[16:25:07]
The Kremlin didn't deny this, saying it would act to protect its shipping from piracy in international waters.
Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Okay, after the break, we check back on the fast moving situation in the Middle East as Israel says it is ready to enter talks with Lebanon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Hello, I am Paula Newton and there is more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in a moment when wealthy residents are fleeing the Gulf, I will speak to a
lawyer on why Italy is becoming one of their new destinations.
And the Artemis II astronauts are making their way back to Earth. I speak with the CEO of Voyager Space Holdings about the investment opportunities
that lie beyond our planet.
Before that, though, the headlines this hour.
Israel's military says it has launched new strikes in Lebanon. The attacks come just after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered direct talks with
Lebanon, but made clear there would be no ceasefire with Hezbollah.
Lebanese authorities say Israeli strikes killed more than 300 people Wednesday, including women and children. Oil prices, meantime, have been
climbing after Wednesday's sharp fall. Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remains near a standstill.
Iran published a map showing what it said were alternative routes for transit, and the country's Supreme Leader said in a statement that
management of the Strait will enter a new phase.
U.S. First Lady Melania Trump said she was never friends with Jeffrey Epstein and called any attempt to link the two of them a lie. The Justice
Department released a 2002 e-mail exchange between Melania Trump and Epstein's convicted associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. The First Lady said they
were part of the same social circles. She called on Congress to provide a public hearing for Epstein's victims.
Returning to our top story, the ceasefire in the Middle East is under pressure as Israel vows to keep fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon against
Iran's wishes.
Even so, the situation in the region has undoubtedly improved. The UAE, for instance, says it has faced zero Iranian attacks today. Kuwait, on the
other hand, says it has faced some incoming fire.
Now, I spoke with Clarissa Ward last hour.
[16:30:33]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's certainly been much quieter in the last 24 hours, although we did hear just in the last
hour or so about Kuwait, the military there, reporting that they had intercepted a number of hostile drones. That was really the first report we
have seen today here in the Gulf of any drones or missiles. And in that sense, it was somewhat a historic day, at least within the context of this
war, because the UAE, for example, it was the first day since the war that there were no reports of missiles or drones.
So that seemingly a positive note. Another potentially positive note in a sense is this recent statement from the new supreme leader of Iran, Mojtaba
Khamenei, who went on to X and basically said that he's declaring this to be a huge victory for Iran and declaring that Iran will now usher in a new
phase of management of the Strait of Hormuz. That, of course, an anathema to President Trump and also to many here in the Gulf region.
But it's more about what he didn't say. He didn't say that Iran would carry out its threat to effectively opt out of this ceasefire and opt out of
those bilateral negotiations in Islamabad, as we had heard earlier from the foreign minister, from the prime minister, from the speaker of Iran's
parliament, that it might do if Israel continued its attacks on Lebanon. So in this series of posts on X, the supreme leader appears to indicate that
Iran will indeed be attending those talks. And so much of the focus, particularly for this region, is on making sure that the Gulf's security
concerns are kind of baked in with guarantees into any agreement that will be hashed out over the course of the next two weeks.
And as if to underscore that, the Saudi Arabian authorities have now actually put out a full inventory of just what these attacks have done over
the course of the last 40 days to the oil infrastructure. They talked about two attacks where production was cut for a time by 600,000 barrels a day.
At least one Saudi citizen killed, seven injured. Supply shortages as a result, global reserve shortages as a result. That leads to volatility in
the markets.
A strike yesterday on a pumping station at the East West Yanbu pipeline led to the loss of about 700,000 barrels of oil a day. And this is the first
time that we're sort of getting a better picture, a fuller picture of the full extent of the damage that these incessant Iranian strikes on
infrastructure throughout this Gulf region has had on oil and markets writ large.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: And our thanks to Clarissa Ward there in Riyadh for us.
Now Donald Trump and some Gulf officials have criticized Europe for not helping them with Iran. The E.U. foreign affairs chief says the bloc has
made many efforts to try and de-escalate the situation.
Kaja Kallas told Becky Anderson that the E.U. needs to work with these regional partners, not against them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAJA KALLAS, E.U. HIGH REPRESENTATIVE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND SECURITY POLICY: It is a very precarious moment. And what is the key takeaway I
think for both of us in the Gulf countries, as well as the European Union is that we really need to work together because we have, you know, same
concerns regarding Iran, the stability of the region, and not only the nuclear issue, but the ballistic missile program, also the cyber and hybrid
threats against our countries.
And what can we do together in order to have, you know, a sustainable peace and stability in the region, not just ceasefire, but actually really
solving the issues that are of great concern?
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: What was the response? Because Europe has been heavily criticized by these Gulf
countries and by the U.S. for its failure to take action, not only in this war, but also very specifically in the Strait of Hormuz.
[16:35:14]
KALLAS: Yes. Well, I think it's not fair because actually European Union and the member states are doing a lot for this region. If you think about
member states providing air defense support, if you think about Ukraine providing also the drone interceptors and the knowledge how to take down
the drones, and also, you know, the mediation that we can do when it comes to keeping the trade routes open.
We have the naval operation Aspides in the Red Sea also to keep that route open. And we are willing to discuss also the extension of the mandate with
our member states strengthening this operation after the cessation of hostilities. And of course, there's also a role of this silent diplomacy
that we are doing with our regional partners. So I think we are doing more than a lot of other countries in the world for this region. And why?
Because it is our neighborhood. What happens here also has a direct effect on us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: The E.U. foreign policy chief there with our own Becky Anderson.
Now here in the United States, farmers are warning that the high cost of fuel and fertilizer caused by the Middle East war are pushing them and
their businesses to the brink.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny has this report from Iowa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AARON LEHMAN, PRESIDENT, IOWA FARMERS UNION: A lot of farmer discouragement out there. Prices of our soybeans, prices of all our commodities started
going down. Prices of fertilizer and other things we import to plant a crop started going up. So for a year we've seen some real chaos on all sorts of
trade tensions.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: There's always uncertainty, obviously, with farming. But as you start this season, are
there more uncertainties than most?
LEHMAN: Oh, yes. So many farms are reporting that they're on the brink of something bad, that their communities are on the brink of something bad.
ZELENY (voice-over): Aaron Lehman is a fifth generation Iowa farmer and worried like never before with fallout from the Iran war.
LEHMAN: No one anticipated that we would have a shock to the system like a massive increase in fertilizer prices because all the experts did not see
this coming when we received this rise in fertilizer prices because of this war. And really, no one's really seen a way out.
ZELENY (voice-over): Spring planting is just around the corner here in Iowa, where the cost of fertilizer and diesel have soared since the war
began.
LEHMAN: We're filling over 100 gallons in our fuel tank multiple times a week.
ZELENY: So that cost will be thousands of dollars.
LEHMAN: Thousands of dollars. Thousands of dollars. And it's not just for what we put into our combine. It's not just what we put in our tractor. In
addition to that, what it takes to get my grain to my market. The trucks that are using diesel fuel there, they're feeling it as well.
ZELENY (voice-over): President Trump's promises on trade and tariffs faced even more scrutiny here now in a state he won three times.
Have you felt the whiplash of that tariff policy this past year?
WES RIETH, FARM MANAGER, LONGVIEW FARMS: Yes, I mean, I think it's hard to say for any farmer that we haven't. Right?
ZELENY (voice-over): Wes Reith is farm manager at Longview Farms, navigating an ever growing set of obstacles.
RIETH: You can look at futures prices for soybeans, you know, again, and kind of watch the pendulum swing a little bit. And I think, yes, that kind
of lends itself to, you know, these parallels that we see in geopolitics or, you know, conflicts in the Middle East, et cetera, that, yes, create
some of this uncertainty.
ZELENY (voice-over): This year, the optimism of a new season comes with even more risk.
RIETH: So we get one chance to plant and we get one chance to harvest, and that's it for the year. So we get one try every single year. And so even
like in my lifetime, I might get 30 tries at this. That really puts things into perspective, like, I only, you know, the prices of fertilizer, seed,
whatever, like, could go crazy. But like, we can't not plant. We still have to go out and plant the crop.
ZELENY (voice-over): For the next seven months as the crops begin to grow.
LEHMAN: Just starting to poke through.
ZELENY (voice-over): A political season will also unfold, testing whether any of these challenges influence the midterm elections.
LEHMAN: In addition to that, I think farmers are becoming more and more aware that you need to say to our elected leaders, what are you saying
about the fertilizer situation? What are you saying about the trade situation? Are we going to stand up to these things that are hurting us or
are we not?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[16:40:03]
NEWTON: Our Jeff Zeleny bringing us that report.
Now wealthy expats are looking for a new home now that Dubai is caught in the middle of the Iran war, some of them are looking to Milan. More on
Italy's flat tax model next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: So Dubai has long been a haven for wealthy expats. It's been a safe, growing city and of course, it's tax free. Now the UAE is caught in
the crosshairs of the Iran war and some of its ultra rich residents, U.K. nationals in particular here, are wondering where else can they go. They
could return to London. It has a robust financial district. But yes, you know the drill. High taxes.
Or they could choose Milan, another financial hub which offers a flat tax now of 300,000 euros, or roughly $350,000. Wealthy expats who transfer
their residence to Italy can now pay this fixed amount on their foreign incomes and investments.
Roberto Bonomi is a partner at the Milan office of the law firm Withers, and he joins us now.
Good to see you. I am curious, how does this work, firstly, and has -- have you seen a lot more interest in this in the last few months?
ROBERTO BONOMI, PARTNER, WITHERS MILAN: Good evening, Paula, and thank you very much. So how does it work? It's very simple. It's a flat tax regime
which was introduced in 2017. And it applies to all foreigners, Italian returnees included, who want to move their tax residency to Italy and pay
an annual flat tax, as you just said, of 300,000 euros, which basically covers all foreign source income and their assets.
So it's quite simple, very minimum reporting obligation, and it can last up to 15 years. It can also be extended to family members by paying an
additional flat tax of 50,000 euros per each family member. So it's very simple. As good as it looks.
NEWTON: OK.
BONOMI: And to answer your question, there has been an increase in the number of applicants more recently due to the uncertainty that we're
witnessing, you know, in the most recent months. But the trend has been increasing for almost 10 years now since its very introduction in 2017.
NEWTON: And just so I'm clear, you're talking about billionaires and their families for about 15 years, as you just outlined, are eligible for this.
[16:45:03]
Apparently, I mean, look, if you look at their marginal rate, right, you're talking about less than 1 percent. They're all eligible for this.
BONOMI: It did. Yes. Correct. It's 300,000 euros irrespective of the amount of income or wealth they have which --
NEWTON: And explain something else. I mean we understand the attraction of Milan, of course, and we're comparing it to Dubai. But does this apply to
all of Italy?
BONOMI: It does apply to all of Italy. It's a national legislation, so it doesn't matter where they actually reside, provided that they become
Italian tax resident person to domestic rules. So, I have to admit that probably the majority of clients moving to Italy have decided to move to
Milan. So that's their top destination for different reasons, meaning, as you described at the very beginning, Milan, it's pretty known for being the
Italian financial hub, but it's very diverse and offers a lot of different options.
Just, you know, to paint a picture of Milan, it goes from being a financial hub to be the capital of fashion and design. We recently hosted Winter
Olympic Games. There are new buildings designed by --
NEWTON: I'm not -- I'm not sure you need to sell any of -- I'm not sure you need to sell any of us on Milan just to be clear. But in terms of what -- I
am a little bit confused about what Italy gets out of this. Now, look, no one has to tell you, right? Italians always complain about their taxes and
they are quite high. So what is -- what is someone like you, an Italian citizen, getting out of this by allowing the super-rich to be domiciled for
tax reasons in Italy?
BONOMI: Well, maybe, first of all, their clients and ultra-high net worth individuals that may not be looking at Italy if it was not for this patient
tax regime. But secondly, they're incentivized to bring money into Italy. They usually come with employees. They set up new companies in Italy. They
hire new people, they buy real estate in Italy, they make new investments. So it strengthens and helps the Italian economy.
So it's not just about paying a flat tax. It's about what they actually bring into the country and help develop it even further.
NEWTON: And so can you give us some insights into your practice in terms of the people that apply to this and how you help them? Because some of this
does come with negative connotations, right? I mean, it's kind of like you're looking for residency and you can buy yourself residency to the
lowest bidder. I mean, look, the Italian rule is called "svuota Londra," which basically means evacuate London, right? An us versus them thing.
In terms of trying to promote this throughout Europe or, you know, really anywhere in the world, I mean, give us some insight. Why does this matter
and why is it a good idea for a country like Italy?
BONOMI: It is a good idea because it brings new investors into the country. And I mean, just for completeness, we're not the only European country
doing that. I mean, right now Italy is always in the list of countries where people can decide to move to, but it's, together with other European
countries like Portugal, like Spain, like the U.K., although they recently amended their famous U.K. residence regime, Greece has a very similar
regime, Switzerland.
So it's a fair tax competition which, you know, happens all over Europe. And again, it's really what they -- what these clients start doing once
they move in Italy. The kind of investments they make that really makes the difference. Foreign source income remains subject to a flat tax, which, as
you said, may be low compared to the overall wealth. But at the end of the day, whatever is earned in Italy, any income they get, any investment they
make is subject to exactly the same rules that I am subject to.
NEWTON: It is an interesting trend, and we'll continue to watch it.
Roberto, thanks so much for being with us. I appreciate it.
BONOMI: Thank you for having me.
NEWTON: Now, the Artemis II mission has revived the public's interest in outer space, which could bring business opportunities. Voyager Technology
CEO Dylan Taylor joins me after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:51:53]
NEWTON: The crew of Artemis II is almost home. The four astronauts will use today to prepare for reentry, and that includes an engine burn to fine tune
the Orion's trajectory. Now, the crew is scheduled to splash down in the Pacific tomorrow. Now, during the flyby of the moon, crew member Christina
Koch reflected on the significance of the moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINA KOCH, ARTEMIS II MISSION SPECIALIST: We'll explore. We will build. We will build ships. We will visit again. We will construct science
outposts. We will drive rovers. We will do radio astronomy. We will sound companies. We will bolster industry. We will inspire. But ultimately, we
will always choose Earth. We will always choose each other.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: The whole crew has brought us so much wisdom. Now the private sector, though, is particularly intrigued by the idea of founding companies
and bolstering industries that directly relate to space. A few firms, in fact, have tried to capitalize on the emerging interest in private space
tourism, but the opportunities extend way beyond that.
Dylan Taylor is the CEO of Voyager Technologies, and he joins me now from Denver.
Good to see you as we are all inspired by what is going on with this mission. But what upcoming in space excites you? What is going on with your
company and what are you invested in? I mean, I know we're talking about lunar habitat. That sounds intriguing, but what more is on the horizon,
pardon the pun, for you and your companies.
DYLAN TAYLOR, CEO, VOYAGER TECHNOLOGIES: Yes. Good to see you, Paula. Well, thanks for the question. Yes, space is the place, as I like to say. It's
super inspiring. It's exciting what's happening in space today. Of course we've done this out and back to the moon. But the next step really is to
land humans on the moon, which is targeted for 2028. And of course, it's not going to be flags and footprints this time, right? It's actual
infrastructure.
So what do we mean by that? This is the ability to generate power, the ability to have habitat on the moon. You know, imagine sitting on your
front porch in the summertime and you look at the moon and there's actually lights on the moon and there's lights on the moon because people are living
and working on the moon. So I think that's the direction we're headed.
But the key things are, how do we go back to the moon to stay? How do we use the resources In-Situ, the resources of the moon, which are abundant to
actually create what we need to live and work there? And you know, when you go camping, you don't take your entire house with you, right? You take a
water filter and you take tools that allow you to live off the land. So that's where we're headed with respect to lunar exploration.
NEWTON: And when we talk about the commercial, the investment opportunities here, what excites you about that?
TAYLOR: Well, there's a lot of things that are projected. So, for example, $20 billion of lunar economic activity by the end of the 2030s. I'm sorry,
by the end of the 2020s, going into the 2030s. And then by 2040, firms like PricewaterhouseCoopers estimate this is $140 billion economic opportunity
just for lunar alone. So that's the GDP of a, you know, small country, if you will. So there's lots of opportunities there.
[16:55:06]
I'm really energized by the science that we can potentially do. When you think about power generation, you know, we all want more alternative energy
here on Earth. There's unlimited energy in space. So things like data centers, which consume a lot of power and water here on Earth, moving those
to the Earth, other heavy industries. You know, the beautiful vision I and others have is let's get heavy industry off the Earth and the Earth becomes
even more of a Shangri-la national park, if you will.
And, you know, we generate more economic activity in space. I think, you know, that was science fiction up until very recently, but I think now that
we have heavy lift rocket capabilities and we're proving these new test vehicles to go to the moon, I think it's becoming more realistic.
NEWTON: What have you, and I want to clear. You've been to space, right? You've done a trip already?
TAYLOR: I have. Yes.
NEWTON: Yes, OK. So what have you --
TAYLOR: Yes, I did.
NEWTON: What have you learned from that experience in terms of where you believe it can take investment? I'm sure it was a great experience. But,
you know, I want to point out, you know, the Cloud computing, you guys already do that for the International Space Station and you have more
ventures like that to come. So what have you learned already in your experience, especially as being one of the few hundred people on Earth
that's actually been to space?
TAYLOR: Well, it's a life changer to see the Earth from space, and I want to gift that to additional people. And the ways to do that really is we
need more places to go. So the International Space Station, which is the primary place humans have been in orbit for the last 25 years is aging. So
that will be deorbited around 2030. So how do we get commercial space stations online?
Our company is working on a project called Starlab, which is next generation space station, again focusing on science exploration, getting
more humans to space, as you mentioned, to enjoy this overview effect, as Frank White coined the term. But then also building more infrastructure in
space, benefiting life here on Earth. That could be everything from satellite phones, you know, imagine ubiquitous internet service that goes
directly to your cell phone no matter where you are on planet Earth, that's coming. Or a sovereign internet constellation for a particular country
that's completely secure, independent of the internet. A lot of countries are looking at that.
So the investment opportunities are huge. We have a SpaceX IPO forthcoming as you're probably aware.
NEWTON: Right. Indeed.
TAYLOR: It's forecasted to be -- forecasted to be the largest IPO in the history of the financial markets anywhere in the world. We expect that IPO
sometime this summer. So lots of interest in space, lots of interest in technology. You know, the Apollo program inspired an entire generation. I'd
like to think that the Artemis program will inspire its generation as well.
NEWTON: Right. It certainly is. And we have learned a lot from you just about the investment potential there as well.
Dylan Taylor, thanks so much. Really appreciate it.
TAYLOR: Thank you, Paula.
NEWTON: And that is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for this evening. I'm Paula Newton. "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" starts next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
