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Chinese Tariffs on U.S. Farms Goods Now in Effect; House Set to Vote Tomorrow on Bill to Fund Government Through September; Now, Rubio Heads to Saudi Arabia Ahead of Talks on Ukraine War. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired March 10, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Pamela Brown. Happening now, recession fears and a surging trade war. New threats from President Trump against America's top trading partners as those countries hit back this morning.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And talks for peace right now, Secretary of State Marco Rubio on his way to Saudi Arabia for talks to end Russia's war in Ukraine. But President Trump is now demanding Ukraine must do to restart U.S. military aid.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in The Situation Room.

We begin this hour with a warning from the president on the U.S. economy. There are also new retaliatory tariffs in effect from China on U.S. farm goods. They include a 15 percent tariff on chicken, wheat, corn, and cotton, and a 10 percent tariff on produce, pork, beef, and dairy products. All this as President Trump says U.S. tariffs on Canada and Mexico could go up, while also refusing to rule out the possibility of a recession.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But are you expecting a recession this year?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition. Because what we're doing is very big. We're bringing wealth back to America. That's a big thing. And there are always periods of -- it takes a little time. It takes a little time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, let's go live right now to our White House Reporter Alayna Treene. Alayna, what is the White House saying about all of this morning?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Wolf, and one thing I just want to point out right there off the top is that we also heard the president doubled down on that later when asked on Air Force One last night. He repeated his claims, really refusing to rule out that a recession could happen. But, look, we did hear from the director of the Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, one of Donald Trump's top economic advisers, walking through a lot of this. this morning. He did acknowledge that tariffs are going to have some sort of impact on the economy in the short-term.

Of course, we saw stocks drop today. Things that I know many top White House and Trump administration officials are watching closely, but they continue to argue, like the president, that they believe that the global concerns right now. The concerns about a potential recession, about the economy are all going to be felt in the short-term.

Then we also heard Hassett argue that perhaps the uncertainty in the global markets due to this trade policy is actually helping the United States' economy. Take a listen to how he put it.

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KEVIN HASSETT, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: What I'm seeing in the jobs number, for example, is that the uncertainty is actually creating jobs of the U.S. Right now, we just saw 10,000 manufacturing jobs created in the U.S., 9,000 auto jobs, and that's after losing 110,000 manufacturing last year.

And so what's going on with the trade policy, which is a small fraction of the overall policy, is that it's starting to have the intended effect of onshoring activity in the U.S.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Wolf, I know we're going to have Matt Egan kind of break down some of, you know, the fact check around that. But what's clear is that they are continuing to defend the president's trade policies. Even as you're hearing Wall Street, different economists, people on Capitol Hill, all sounding the alarm of what this impact could be, particularly when you have so many Americans still worried about high prices and the potential for more inflation. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Alayna Treene over at the White House for us, Alayna, thank you very much. Pamela?

BROWN: All right. So, let's get that fact check now. Let's go live to CNN's Matt Egan in New York. Matt, what do the numbers say?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: We know that investors and CEOs hate uncertainty. It can have a real chilling effect on the economy. So, I was a bit surprised to hear Kevin Hassett argue that uncertainty is creating jobs.

And, look, it's too early to say that manufacturing is suddenly roaring back in America. There have been some positive signs, though. We did learn on Friday that the manufacturing sector added 10,000 jobs in February. That's nice to see after two straight months of losing jobs. But we should note that does not even account for and fully recover the jobs that were lost during the prior two months. Also there was a survey out on manufacturing that showed that the manufacturing sector returned to growth in the last two months, but, again, that uncertainty came up with numerous manufacturers complaining that uncertainty around tariffs has actually hurt the industry and cause some manufacturers to start raising prices.

[10:05:06]

Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Matt Egan. And, you know, there's always the question about Wall Street, how it's reacting. What can you tell us about that?

EGAN: Yes, another ugly day for the stock market. At last check, the Dow is down 365 points. That's about 1 percent. But we're seeing even more significant losses for the S&P, which is down by more than 1 percent, the NASDAQ down by more than 2 percent.

Look, there's clearly concerns about the economy, about all this uncertainty. JPMorgan's David Kelly, he told me that right now a lot of business people are like deer in headlights, and that is a very dangerous place to be.

One last point, though, here. I know that there's been a lot of talk about a recession. It's just far too early to go there. This economy has proven to be so resilient again and again, but, clearly, Pamela, this is another test for the economy.

BROWN: Yes, I think that's really important to emphasize there. Matt Egan, thanks so much. Wolf?

BLITZER: Pamela, Canada has a new Prime Minister elect this morning. Mark Carney is expected to speak with President Trump soon after being sworn in earlier -- early this week, I should say. And he's already stepping into the trade war with the U.S. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER-ELECT: We didn't ask for this fight. The Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves. So, the Americans, they should make no mistake, in trade as in hockey, Canada will win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Mark Carney won the Liberal Party leadership race after Justin Trudeau announced he's stepping down.

Let's go live right now to CNN's Paula Newton. She's joining us from Ottawa. Paula, Carney is known for his finance experience.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. He's known around the world. He would also be known, though, as one of those globalists that Donald Trump speaks of so much. And he reviles that kind of approach, whether it's in the economy or in geopolitics.

Wolf, Canada is in the middle of an absolutely historic transition at this hour. As you said, we expect Mark Carney to be officially sworn in as prime minister sometime later this week. He is a former governor of the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, helped usher Britain through that Brexit transition and really helped quite a bit in having globally economies try and get over that 2008 financial crisis.

What is preoccupying Canada, though, is the conversation you have just been having, and those are those tariffs taking aim at Canada right now. And he got into some pretty pointed language in his acceptance speech. Listen.

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CARNEY: The Americans want our resources, our water, our land, our country. Think about it. If they succeeded, they would destroy our way of life. In America, healthcare is a big business. In Canada, it is a right.

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NEWTON: That is, in fact, the transition there that they are hoping for, to go to Mark, from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Mark Carney, framed in terms of the existential threat that they believe is coming from Donald Trump. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Paula Newton in Ottawa for us, we'll stay on top of this story, critically important.

BROWN: It certainly is. Let's turn to Capitol Hill now. This hour, the race is on to avoid another government shutdown. The house is expected to vote tomorrow on a six-month stopgap bill to keep the government running through September. But with an ultra slim majority, can Republicans get it passed without help from the Democrats?

Let's go live to CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju. Manu, how are Republicans feeling about passing the stopgap bill?

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's really uncertain at this moment given the narrowness of the majority in the House and the uncertainty about whether any Democrats could break ranks as well.

Now, a lot of Republicans, typically, they don't vote for any stopgap measures. They are philosophically opposed in going that route. But Donald Trump is laying on the pressure, calling on all Republicans to ultimately fall in line, which is giving some Republican leaders hope that ultimately they will get their people on board.

We do expect one Republican in the House to vote against it right now. That's Thomas Massie of Kentucky. That means that on any straight party line vote, Mike Johnson can only afford to lose no more Republicans. In fact, he could only afford to lose one total. And right now, several of them are undecided. One congressman this morning, Congressman Tim Burchett of Tennessee, told me that he is still undecided. Others have warned that they could vote against this plan as well, including Congressman Tony Gonzales of Texas.

Now, what do Democrats do? They are concerned about the domestic spending cuts in this plan. The Democratic leaders in the House said they plan to vote against it, but will their rank and file members break lines? That's a question. And if this does pass the House, how do Senate Democrats deal with this?

[10:10:02]

Their votes will be essential to breaking a filibuster. At least eight Democrats are expected to be needed to break a filibuster on the Senate side. So, it's uncertain if they will supply the critical votes, because this is the one piece of leverage, Pamela, to try to force the Trump administration to do what they want. But will they use that leverage or will they give Republicans the votes they're demanding?

BROWN: Yes, that's a big question. Manu Raju, thanks so much. Wolf?

BLITZER: And right now, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on his way. He's almost there to Saudi Arabia. He's there to meet with the Crown Prince just ahead of very critical talks with a delegation from Ukraine. They're trying to lay the groundwork for a possible deal to end Ukraine's war with Russia. Russia, of course, invaded Ukraine.

CNN's Alex Marquardt is on the scene for us. He's already in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Alex, what exactly is Secretary Rubio trying to get done on this trip?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, the U.S. and the Ukrainians are trying to get this relationship back on track after that explosive, dramatic meeting in the Oval Office between the two presidents. We heard from Steve Witkoff, the Middle East envoy, just a short time ago, saying that they believe that substantial progress can be made here on the ground in Jeddah. We are expecting the Secretary of State Marco Rubio to land in a short time. He will have a meeting with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. But, of course, the focus is on that meeting with the Ukrainians tomorrow.

We heard President Trump saying yesterday that he expects very big things to happen this week. He raised the possibility of that intelligence sharing to come back online after military and intelligence assistance was halted. We also are expecting essentially the negotiations, the discussions to move forward, the State Department -- a senior official with the State Department, saying that they believe that the Ukrainians are in a better position to continue these discussions because they are sending this senior level delegation, Wolf. But what exactly that means in concrete terms remains to be seen. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Alex Marquardt on the scene for us in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Pamela?

BROWN: All right. Still ahead, a high school shooting plot foiled how. Florida Police were able to track down the suspect who they say had this arsenal. And bending to Putin, we're going to ask Republican Congressman Don Bacon if the Trump administration is walking away from a legacy of U.S. presidents standing up to Russia.

You're in The Situation Room.

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[10:15:00]

BROWN: Happening now, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due to arrive in Saudi Arabia to discuss a peaceful end to Russia's war in Ukraine. Rubio will meet with top Ukrainian officials to gauge Kyiv's willingness to engage in peace talks.

And joining us now is Republican Congressman Don Bacon of Nebraska. He sits on the Armed Services Committee. Congressman, thanks for coming on and sharing your time with us.

So, I want to dive right into it. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy will also be in Saudi Arabia, but is not expected to attend these talks. Do you believe the White House is sidelining Zelenskyy in this peace process?

REP. DON BACON (R-NE): It's a terrible mistake not to have the Ukrainian leader in the talks. We've seen the history of this. I remember when the Trump administration was negotiating with the Taliban without the Afghan government. That really weakened the Afghan government thereafter. And we could go all the way back to 1938 when Neville Chamberlain negotiated with Adolf Hitler and they carved up the Czechoslovakia territory and basically demanded the Czechoslovakian leader give into their demands, Hitler's and Chamberlain, the leader of Great Britain at the time. And then a year later they took the Germany, took the rest of Czechoslovakia and invaded Poland.

Ukraine is our ally. They want to be part of the west. Russia is our adversary, and it's time that this administration gets this in their brain. They're treating Putin with velvet gloves, and they're being harsh to our allies. I got to tell you, I'm hearing from all over the world, but particularly, lots of Republicans in Omaha who do not like what they see.

BROWN: So, you believe, it sounds like, that the Trump administration is just being too conciliatory towards Russia right now, and sort of walking away from its legacy of being the leader of the free world.

BACON: We are the leader of the free world, but right now, many countries are questioning, are we still the leader of the free world? We may be the most powerful country in the world. We were the leader of the free world, but it appears to many leaders and people all over, to include Republicans in Nebraska, that this administration is walking away from that legacy that was built by Ike Eisenhower and all these presidents, and really a capstone of Ronald Reagan, peace through strength, and building these close alliances. And we are undermining that legacy right now. I'm not interested in a foreign policy that is totally built on realism, or transactionalism, where it's just, what do we have in it for us? I believe in having a foreign policy that's a mix of realism, protecting our country, and idealism, where we're the leaders standing for freedom, free markets, rule of law. And we got to be clear-eyed, but also have moral clarity.

Putin invaded Ukraine. He's murdered all of his political opponents. He tried to kill a previous Ukrainian prime minister. He's bombing cities. He's ramped up the bombing of cities since President, you know, Trump has been harsh towards President Zelenskyy. We got to see this. We're playing into the hands of Putin, and I think it's devastating for, you know, our foreign -- our national security and our foreign affairs for the years to come. So, I'm very concerned.

BROWN: You know, Trump, for his part, he touts that he's a dealmaker. He is predicting very big things in these Saudi talks this week.

[10:20:00]

We know Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leaving there soon. Do you share that optimism at all?

BACON: Well, I do want peace. We want a fair peace. We want a just peace. But how do you have a just peace if you don't have Zelenskyy in the meetings? I just don't think it's right. We have a long history of seeing how you cut one part of the aisle out and show favoritism to one side or the other. It don't work. But why are we showing favoritism to the thug, to the dictator, to the murderer? It doesn't make sense to me.

BROWN: I also want to ask you about farmers. You said on the House Agricultural Committee this morning, there's these new tariffs from China on farm products coming from the U.S. They're now in effect. That includes 15 percent on chicken, wheat, corn, and cotton, 10 percent on produce, pork, beef, and dairy products. In your view, how damaging are these tariffs to American farmers? And we should note, you grew up on a farm, right?

BACON: Right. I grew up on a corn and soybean farm. We had some beef cattle. You know, when we get in a trade war, the agriculture of America is what the other countries target. But I'm not one of these guys that is a hundred or a zero. I understand why we're doing tariffs towards China. I hear all the time as a Republican or a congressman from Omaha where our steaks, Omaha beef or Nebraska beef, is being blocked out of Chinese ports. They put so many barriers in front of our products.

So, I would say to the president, or my advice would be, if we're going to do tariffs, focus on our adversaries. And China is our adversary, so is Russia. But when it comes to our allies, I think we should be a little more diplomatic and work behind closed doors more and get these problems fixed.

But China blocks out our products and I see it every day and I think you got to fight. We need to -- it needs to be reciprocal. If they're blocking some of our stuff, then we need to do the same to build a fair trade. I like free trade. Free trade's good for consumers, but when one country's not being fair, then we have to match it. And so I'm generally supportive of what the president's trying to do towards China.

BROWN: There's a lot going on in Capitol Hill also this week. The House Republicans have unveiled a stopgap bill aimed at averting a government shutdown. With such tight margins in the House and Senate, it's not clear if there are enough votes for passage. What do you think is going to happen? Are you prepared to vote for it?

BACON: Well, it's going to be a tight vote. I don't think we're going to get many Democrats. I hope we do because we don't want a government shutdown.

Now, about a week ago, before I went to church, I put on X, or did a tweet, whatever your lexicon is. I said, I will not vote for a clean C.R., because it is terrible for our military. It would be effectively a 3 percent cut to military, and they wouldn't be able to do any new starts. How can you say we're preparing to deter China, Russia, Iran, if you're going to do a yearlong C.R.? And within about 30 minutes, the White House called me, and said they're going to make big, significant changes to the defense spending within this C.R. So, we're not seeing a clean C.R. We're going to see a C.R. that we see defense spending augmented, but also allowing for new contracts and new starts.

And so I will dialogue with Mike Rogers, the chairman and other leaders on our Armed Services Committee to make sure it's adequate. But we can't do a yearlong clean C.R. and say that we're deterring China and Russia. It would be a lie. But what I'm being told is that there have been fixes put on this C.R. that will help fix or help repair the damage to the DOD.

BROWN: I want to -- and we'll, of course, watch what you end up doing on that front. But very quickly, I got to ask you about this back and forth on X with the secretary of state, Mark Rubio, Elon Musk, clashing with Poland's foreign minister over the use of Musk's Starlink satellite internet system in Ukraine. What did you think about that?

BACON: I served in NATO. I worked with Polish officials, Polish military. I've been to Poland twice now. There's no -- there's very few countries that are more pro-American than Poland. Maybe the Baltics are right in there as well. They want our presidents, and they also know that the fall of Ukraine would be devastating to their national security, not only Poland but the Baltic countries.

And I thought, why is a White House official, that's not even elected, it's not the president, or the vice president, why are they -- why is that person belittling the Polish foreign minister? It's not appropriate. It's not right. We need more discipline in the White House.

Now, Poland's our friend. If you got heartburn with them, get them on the phone and talk to them. But stop the public bashing of our friends in a world that's -- you know, where we have real threats out there with China, Russia and Iran. So, I didn't like what I saw. I thought we could be better.

BROWN: Congressman Don Bacon, thank you so much for coming on, sharing your time and your perspective on the news today. We appreciate it. Look forward to having you back on. Wolf?

BLITZER: Pamela, up next, up against the clock. The Trump administration is until 6:00 P.M. Eastern tonight to pay money owed to the USAID partners for the work they've already completed. We'll speak to two former USAID employees about the situation they now find themselves.

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BLITZER: We're just hours away from a crucial deadline. The Trump administration has until 6:00 P.M. Eastern tonight to pay money already owed to USAID partners for the work they've already completed. The humanitarian agency has been gutted by cuts emerging as a major flashpoint in President Trump's aggressive push to slash the federal government. Pamela?

BROWN: Well, let's dig deeper with CNN Legal Analyst Elliot Williams.

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Elliot, what exactly does this judge's order mean for the legal fight over USAID?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It's hard to say because there's a few different legal fights happening overall.