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The Situation Room

U.S. Trade Official Defends Trump's Tariffs; Treasury Secretary Urging Trump to Focus on Tariff Endgame; Musk Calls for "Zero-Tariff Situation" with Europe; China Accuses U.S. of Economic Bullying; Tariff Impacts on Tourism. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired April 08, 2025 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, we're hearing from the United States special trade representative, Jamieson Greer, as senators are looking to push back on President Trump's tariffs. The questioning has started. And the ranking Democrat on the committee, Ron Wyden, the Democrat of Oregon, has begun the questioning. I want to listen in, Pamela, a little bit and hear what Jamieson Greer has to say about these tariffs that President Trump has imposed.

SEN. RON WYDEN (D-OR), RANKING MEMBER, FINANCE COMMITTEE: Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I saw at page four of your testimony, Mr. Greer, you said the president's strategy is already bearing fruit. Well, I can tell you for a lot of Oregonians who have 401(k)s that are being drained out, that's pretty rotten stuff, and you ought to realize how serious this is for the country.

Now, everybody in the administration practically has a different story about the Trump tax hike. So, I'm interested in knowing what the story is today. Will higher tariffs go into effect tomorrow as announced?

JAMIESON GREER, UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: Senator, yes, they're scheduled to go into effect. We are having negotiations with all kinds of countries at this time. The president is fixed in his purpose. The nature of the emergency that I discussed earlier is not something we can wait on anymore. So, we'll -- we will have the president's plan go into effect, and we're coupling that with immediate negotiations with our partners as they seek to --

WYDEN: So, it's not a question of something being scheduled, you're committing this morning that they're going to go into effect?

GREER: The -- this is what the president has said, Senator. Yes.

WYDEN: For how many countries? I understand it's over 50?

GREER: That are negotiating with us?

WYDEN: Yes.

GREER: We have about 50 that have come to speak with us, and we have -- I'm constantly talking to my counterparts. I have staff right now at USTR meeting with others, and we will have the tariffs in place. And if the other countries can come to an agreement on reciprocal trade, then that's something that the president can consider. I don't want to prejudge the negotiations or the president's decision, but that's what we're doing.

WYDEN: Now, you've said you've been negotiating deals. Foreign countries have already retaliated against our farmers and ranchers and small businesses. How can you commit that negotiations are not just going to stop bleeding, but are actually going to open up markets that the Trump tariffs have closed off?

GREER: So, Senator, we've already had many countries -- many of our markets explain that they are not going to retaliate against the United States. And in fact, Vietnam for example, they've lowered their tariffs already on cherries, they've lowered them on almonds and apples. Things I know are important to the Pacific Northwest. And this is exactly the right direction that we want to go in. I look forward to hearing from you what other kind of market access you want as we turn these negotiations.

WYDEN: Well, what's the status of China? As you know, that's a big market for us in the Pacific Northwest. What's the status of discussions there? I don't see much progress. What I see is it looks like it's going to escalate and escalate some more and hurt our consumers and our small businesses in our part of the world.

GREER: Well, Senator, unfortunately, China, for many years, seems to be choosing its own path on market access. Again, they have agency in this. They elected to announce retaliation. Other countries did not. Other countries signaled that they'd like to find a path forward on reciprocity. China has not said that. And we will see where that goes.

I think we need to work with our closest friends to make sure that we have trading arrangements that work. And if the Chinese are open, you know, we'll see what -- but they haven't signaled that at all. So, I don't think that's the -- I don't think that's in the very near term with China.

WYDEN: I just am concerned that there's no strategy at all.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. We were just listening to Senator Wyden saying right there, he's concerned that the Trump administration doesn't have any strategy as it pertains to the tariff policy, and we heard him questioning Jamieson Greer, that's the special trade representative for the Trump administration, defending the administration's tariff policy, saying that more than 50 countries have come to the table trying to negotiate, and that he says it's moving in the right direction.

But of course, China is one of those countries not, right now, willing to negotiate, actually saying that it will continue to retaliate and really digging in its heels. As you know, President Trump said that he'll impose an extra 50 percent tariff on China if it -- if China doesn't pull back today. It doesn't look like that's happening right now, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, the stakes are enormous right now, not just for the global powers out there, but for the average American as well. People all over the world are watching. And there's great concern there, potentially, hopefully it won't happen, there could be a recession, not only in the U.S. but globally as well.

BROWN: Right, right. As you know, experts say no one wins in a trade war, particularly when it pertains to America and China. All right. We'll have more after a short break. Stay with us.

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[10:35:00]

BROWN: All right. Let's get more on the Trump trade war and the mixed signals coming from the White House over the president's tariff. Sources tell me and my colleagues, Alayna Treene and Kevin Liptak, that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent flew to Florida over the weekend, this past weekend as pressure was mounting to urge the president to zero in on negotiating the endgame. But others in Trump's circles say the tariffs are not up for negotiation. So, what's going on here?

Joining us now is former Trump White House Communications director Anthony Scaramucci. What do you think the president -- who do you think he is listening to right now, Anthony?

ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR AND FOUNDER, SKYBRIDGE CAPITAL: I think he's listening to the president, Pamela. You know, I think there's people around him, but he is really only listening to himself, as we all know. So, the real question is, will the president eventually listen to the stock market and the general economy and the sentiment of his fellow Americans that don't like the direction he's going in?

[10:40:00]

Of course, they say they like the general direction of the country, but the only 36 percent of the American people like his policies related to trade. So -- but we know he is not listening to anybody. It feels like Secretary Bessent is in the lead right now in the Trump derby, but you worked at the White House, I worked at the White House, you know that there's a rivalry there, and the president likes pitting these guys against each other as you are experiencing right now on X where Elon is calling Peter Navarro, I think dumb as a box of bricks or something like that.

So, the fighting is starting. True reality television. There's really only one person the president's listening to, and that's himself.

BROWN: Yes, I think Elon Musk called Navarro a moron today. There's been a back and forth between the two men. I want your thoughts on what Elon has to say about the tariffs since you brought him up. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: What do you make of Musk breaking with Trump on this issue?

SCARAMUCCI: Well, I mean, he looks exasperated to me. You know, I got in trouble a few months back, I think I was on with Wolf and I said that Elon's going to get hurt here. I didn't mean physically hurt, I meant his brands would get damaged, his imagery around the world would get damaged by being associated with all of this nonsense. And I think he's now drawing that conclusion.

And so, I guess what I would say to people, there were 45 of us about prior to the election that got together and tried to explain to the American people how dangerous and how disorganized and how chaotic this would be. And I think Elon has now drawn that conclusion.

And frankly, he's just too smart for these people. He knows that this tariff strategy is nonsensical. It's not only bad for his businesses, but it's bad for the business of America and it's bad for everyday people in America. So, I expect him to be departing shortly and going back to his business.

And I have a message from my Democratic friends, bring him back in the tent. OK? He's been a lifelong Democrat. You guys didn't invite him to the electrical vehicle summit. You shunned him in the last administration. But he's really part of your family. Bring him back into the tent. As Lyndon Johnson said, you want him inside the tent as opposed to doing things outside the tent that you don't want them doing. So, that would be my message to Democrats.

BROWN: So, I want to follow up with you on just your perspective on Trump's trade policy that's been implemented. We just dipped into this hearing with the Senate, with Trump's trade representative, Jamieson Greer, who said, look, we have all these countries, right, around 50 coming to me personally, trying to negotiate, trying to get a better deal for America. Is it possible that this might work, that actually this strategy could be a winning strategy for Americans? Are you willing to consider that?

SCARAMUCCI: Well, it's not a winning strategy for Americans because of the shockwaves that he's causing. I mean, this is really just President Trump and is it attention getting addiction. You are breaching the trust of our allies. You're breaching the trust of our trading partners. So, if they declare victory after this and say, well, this was a good idea, it clearly wasn't.

A better idea would've been to go to our trading partners and allies diplomatically and say, OK, here are the living standards in America. Here is the disposable income in terms of real purchasing power that's down for the average American working class family, I've got to get it back up. And of course, that's good for you as my trading partner because Americans are consumers. He could have done it more diplomatically. He could have done something that Ronald Reagan did in the 1980s. He could have had a zero policy. Remember when Reagan had the zero option for the purchasing missiles? He could have said, listen, for the next three months, I'm going to zero tariffs on everybody around the world, and I'm expecting them to join me on that.

There were so many different ways he could have handled this more depthly, more politically astute, but it wouldn't have gotten him the attention that he wanted. He's very excited about all of us talking about him. He's very excited about setting Wall Street bankers' hair on fire, all that sort of nonsense. So, no. Even if he gets a negotiation stance with some of these trading partners, he's leaving them with sore feelings.

And just take a look at the bond market, Pamela, you know, at 4:20 in the bond market, even when the markets were crashing, the 10-year never went really below 4 percent. A lot of our trading partners are dumping our treasuries now as a sign of lost confidence in the trust in America.

[10:45:00]

So, the stuff that he's doing is nonsensical. And even if he gets some wins here, he'll -- he's like an arson that sets fire to the house and then runs outside with the hose, puts it out -- out fires, and then declares victory. So, it's just -- it's nonsensical stuff. And the people in the business community know that, they're just afraid to speak out about it.

BROWN: Well, you're seeing some speak out like Bill Ackman who was a -- you know, voted for Trump, supported Trump and now is coming out and saying this is going to be, you know, a nuclear war for the economy. But certainly, others are supportive of it. Anthony Scaramucci, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

SCARAMUCCI: Good to be on. Thank you.

BLITZER: And, Pamela, just ahead, more than 3 million Canadians traveled to Florida last year. But as President Trump's trade war, making some rethink their travel plans and what's that going to cost the United States. Up next, we'll speak to Republican Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida on the impact it's having on his home state.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00]

BLITZER: China is accusing President Trump of blackmail and bullying after he threatened to escalate his tariff battle, saying another 50 percent tariff is coming if China doesn't remove its retaliatory tariffs. Joining us now is Congressman Byron Donalds. He's a Republican from Florida, a key member of the House Oversight and Financial Services Committees. He's also running, by the way, for Governor of Florida. Congressman, thanks so much for joining us. Is this spiraling that's going on right now beyond what the president initially wanted to get out of China?

REP. BYRON DONALDS (R-FL), OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE: Well, Wolf, it's good to be with you. I will say that while China might be saber-rattling, there are a lot of other nations who are coming to the table. And look, I think the message is pretty clear at this point, if you want to come to the table and negotiate the future of trade with the United States, then I think the president and his team are definitely open to do that.

But if you want to retaliate and saber-rattle, then the president is more than willing to continue go down the -- to go down the road of tariff policy. And the reason why is very simple. For decades, many countries were building their economies on the back of the American economy, and it worked well about 30, 40 years ago when we had cheaper goods in the United States. But when the actual wealth creation process in our country was moving overseas, you have less jobs, you have less high paying jobs, and you have other countries getting rich while Americans are trying to basically tread water.

You couple that with the fact that we've had too many people on Capitol Hill overspending, creating inflation, decreasing the purchasing power of our dollar here in the United States, and it's not the recipe for consistent economic growth.

So, in short, if you want to come to the table and negotiate, like many countries are doing right now, the president and his team are open for business and they're willing to talk.

BLITZER: Let's get some specifics on the table right now, Congressman. The president, as you know, is threatening to veto any bipartisan bill that would mandate congressional approval of any new tariffs. Do you think Congress should have approval over tariffs?

DONALDS: Well, I think what Congress needs to do is actually take back authority of the powers of the purse. This Congress, and not just this one, but all the congresses going back decades have given every discretionary points to the president and to the secretaries that run the agencies of the federal government.

And so, for decades, Congress has been abdicating its number one authority, which is having direct control over how we spend money in our government. They've given it all to the administration over decades. So, now, for members to try to knee jerk and try to say, now we're going to exert authority over tariff policy, I don't think is the right approach. And then, you have to get the president to sign it. He's not going to do that.

So, what we need to do right now is focus on our business on Capitol Hill, get the president's agenda through Congress that's actually helped the administration cut unwanted regulation in the federal bureaucracy. So, you have lower tax rates, you have a smoother regulatory environment for businesses here in America, and we actually create the glide path to a more sustainable economy into the future.

BLITZER: On another sensitive issue, and I'm sure you've noticed that, Congressman, flight reservations from Canada to the United States have plummeted by more than 70 percent every month from March through the end of September, according to a travel data provider. Florida sees more than 3 million Canadian visitors, tourists that come to Florida each year. Are you hearing from businesses concerned about a potential loss of revenue if a lot of these Canadian potential visitors decide to boycott the United States?

DONALDS: Look, anything, Wolf, I think that's temporary. It's not going to be something that's consistent. If you look at what's happening in Florida, our tourism rates are at record highs right now. That's going to continue. And I'm quite sure that Canadians who frequent -- the Sunshine State, every single year are going to be back. I'm not really concerned about that.

BLITZER: I want you to listen to what the CEO of BlackRock, one of the biggest investment firms in the world, said about the rollout of President Trump's tariffs. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY FINK, CEO, BLACKROCK: The economy is weakening as we speak. Most CEOs I talked to would say we are probably in a recession right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now?

FINK: Right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: What do you make of the Trump administration's messaging that's been going on? Is it increasing market jitters?

DONALDS: Look, I think for every CEO that's out there, especially if you operate both here in the United States and you manufacture your product overseas, yes, the biggest thing you want is certainty over the long-term. What I would tell those CEOs is, let President Trump do the job he was elected to do. Let's not act like he didn't talk about tariffs on the campaign trail. He did in every single stop. Wolf, I know, I was there at most of them. He talked about it all the time. Let the president do his work.

[10:55:00]

I will also say to these CEOs, I didn't hear a lot of this talk when Joe Biden was massively inflating our economy with reckless fiscal policy coming out of Washington, D.C., which did hurt businesses, it hurt consumers, and we were in a stagnating high inflation economy under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Let President Trump come in and do the job he was elected to do, which is fix this economy and get it roaring for the future of America.

BLITZER: Republican Congressman Byron Donald of Florida, thanks so much for joining us.

DONALDS: Thank you.

BLITZER: And coming up, Pamela.

BROWN: Extinct no more. After 13,000 years, scientists claim to have brought back the dire wolf. Not to be confused with our very own Wolf Blitzer.

BLITZER: Am I a dire wolf too?

BROWN: You're not going extinct as far as I know. How they did it, up next.

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