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The Situation Room

Trump to Meet with PM Carney; Trump Calls for 100 Percent Tariffs on Movies Not Made in U.S.; Mattel's Warning; Delays Continue at Newark Airport; Sen. Tillis Won't Vote for Trump's U.S. Attorney Nominee. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired May 06, 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]

DOUG FORD, ONTARIO PREMIER: I know Prime Minister Carney worked in New York. So, they have a relationship and they're going to continue building a rewarding business relationship and partnership moving forward on. I'm very confident.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump, as you well know, is also threatening to impose a 100 percent tariff on films made outside the U.S. This is an almost $2 billion industry in your province. Could this decimate film production in Ontario? And do you know if Prime Minister Carney is bringing anything to President Trump in terms of, you know, a potential negotiation trade deal, that kind of thing?

FORD: Well, I heard the same thing as you did, Pamela. It's actually a $3 billion industry. But these are -- again, a lot of them are American movies, not all, but quite a few of them. And it also helps employ American workers when they come up here to shoot a film and likewise down in the U.S. So, do I think we should grow the industry and the sector larger together? 100 percent. We should work together and build that pie a lot larger than what it is right now.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Premier Ford, listen to what President Trump recently said about the use of military force to achieve his goal of making Canada the 51st state of the United States. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTEN WELKER, NBC "MEET THE PRESS" ANCHOR: I asked you if you would rule out military force to take Greenland, and you said, no, you don't rule out anything. Would you rule out military force to take Canada?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, I think we're not going to ever get to that point. It could happen. Something could happen with Greenland. I'll be honest. We need that for national and international security.

WELKER: But not with Canada?

TRUMP: But I think it's highly unlikely. I don't see it with Canada. I just don't see it. I have to be honest with you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, Premier, what do you make of what the president said?

FORD: Well, at least it's the right answer for Canada. I just don't believe any country should take military force on a sovereign nation. That wouldn't work out well in my opinion. Yes. Could they do that to Greenland? Absolutely. Without a problem. But that just sends a message around the world.

We -- you know, we're fighting against countries like Russia that are trying to do that to Ukraine, and I wouldn't endorse anyone using military force.

BROWN: The U.S. put a 25 percent tariff on Canadian made cars and car parts. Again, I just want to follow up on the question I asked previously. Given all of these tariffs on Canada and now this threat of on 100 percent tariffs on films made outside of the U.S., is Prime Minister Carney taking anything to the White House today in terms of details for a potential deal, any offerings, anything of that sort?

FORD: Well, the auto sector plays such an important role here in Ontario and throughout the U.S., especially in Michigan, our number one trading partner. And again, we can't unscramble that egg, as I always say, it's been around since -- the Autopac's been around since 1965. You have to make the (INAUDIBLE) a lot larger. We buy more vehicles than we export. The ones we export have 50 percent auto parts that are made in the U.S. It's worked well since 1965. Let's continue making sure that we grow the sector.

What I don't agree with China shipping in parts into Mexico, slapping a made in Mexico sticker on and costing and chipping them up through the U.S. and Canada costing American and Canadian jobs. We aren't the problem. China's the problem. I've been saying it for years. We have to keep an eye on them.

BROWN: Right. But just to follow up, do you know if the prime minister is going to be coming to the White House with any ideas for reaching some sort of trade deal?

FORD: I didn't speak to him specifically on that. I know he's a very bright individual, a bright business person. So, I think today we will really be building a relationship and building that relationship until we can get a trade deal. We give both country certainty. We know where we're going. We want to create more jobs in the U.S. and in Canada, and we can do that together.

BLITZER: The Ontario premier, Doug Ford, as usual, Premier, thank you so much for joining us. Let's hope this U.S.-Canadian relationship once again gets really, really strong because the friendship between Americans and Canadians is intense, having grown up along the Canadian border in beautiful Buffalo, New York. Thanks so much for joining us.

BROWN: Thank you. Thank you so much.

FORD: Thank you, Wolf. Thank you, Pamela. We love our American friends. Absolutely love them. BROWN: Thank you.

FORD: You take care and God bless.

BROWN: Well just ahead in the Situation Room, Wolf. I know you're probably not buying any Barbies because you have a grandson.

BLITZER: My daughter has grown old.

BROWN: But my daughter likes Barbies and buying a Barbie could soon cost you more. That is the new warning from Mattel. It's just one of the big businesses sounding the alarm about President Trump's tariffs. We're taking a closer look, up next

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[10:35:00]

BLITZER: Happening now, the U.S. treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, is up on Capitol Hill. He is taking questions, making the case for his agency's budget. Let's go live right now to CNN Business and Politics Correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich, who's monitoring this hearing for us. Vanessa, Bessent just addressed the sensitive issue of trade negotiations. Tell our viewers what he said.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: This is the key issue for those members of Congress and the key issue for many Americans and businesses at home that are following along with just what the administration is planning to do and how far they're negotiating and what kinds of deals they're negotiating. The treasury secretary is signaling that there could be deals coming very soon, as soon as this week, take a listen to what he just said.

[10:40:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: Approximately 97 or 98 percent of our trade deficit is with 15 countries, 18 percent of the countries are our major trading partners. And I would be surprised that if we don't have more than 80 or 90 percent of those wrapped up by the end of the year, and that may be much sooner that I would think that perhaps as early as this week, we will be announcing trade deals with some of our largest trading partners. They have come to us with very good offers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YURKEVICH: Now, that news would be welcome to so many businesses and Americans who are very fearful of higher prices that are going to be coming because of these tariffs. We've heard from the administration that they're talking to about 17 countries right now that they say they're making progress with trade deals.

However, not in that mixed, Wolf, is China. They say that they have not been negotiating with China directly yet. Of course, for businesses, Americans, Wall Street, that is the key trading partner that many Americans and Wall Street want to see a deal with. That high, high tariff of 145 percent simply is not sustainable, Wolf.

BLITZER: And, Vanessa, I understand you're also following how two large, very large companies are reacting to all these new tariffs. We're talking about Mattel and Ford. What are you learning? ' YURKEVICH: That's right. Mattel is the toy maker of Barbie and thing -- and Polly Pocket, and they are saying that they are going to have to raise prices because of tariffs. Ultimately, the company says that they're going to be able to keep prices below $20 for 40 to -- excuse me, for 40 to 50 percent of their toys. But it's going to cost the company $270 million this year if they do not mitigate these tariffs. And that means moving production out of China. They want to try to move about 500 of their toys out of China, the production of those toys out of China.

Listen to the CEO who was on CNBC earlier. He was asked about whether or not he could truly move manufacturing back to the United States. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If the tariffs come and they stay, would it be cheaper to manufacture toys in the United States?

YNON KREIZ, CEO, MATTEL: We don't see that happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YURKEVICH: So, they don't think it's possible. We also heard from Ford who says that they're going to have to raise prices by about 1 to 1.5 percent by the end of this year. So, not dramatic, but still a reaction to those tariffs. They're expecting a hit of $1.5 billion, but not as much as some of the other U.S. automakers like General Motors. Ford produces, Wolf, about 80 percent of its vehicles here in the United States. They said through July they're going to offer customers employee pricing, but the CEO of Ford says he doesn't think it's going to last past July. That's when they're running through, Wolf, that pre-tariff inventory. Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Vanessa Yurkevich, reporting for us. Vanessa, thank you very, very much. Pamela, you be buying some Barbie dolls?

BROWN: Well, for my daughter she would like that, right?

BLITZER: How many?

BROWN: But --

BLITZER: Three or 30?

BROWN: Not 30. Not 30. All right. So, let's get more on this story to really get that big picture view. Joining us now is Ryan Petersen. He's the founder and CEO of Flexport, that's a platform for global logistics. So, he tracks what's happening at the ports' companies. Use, Ryan, your Flexport technology to move tens of billions of dollars' worth of merchandise across 112 countries every year. So, bring us in, what is the reality, what is happening at American ports right now in the wake of Trump's tariffs?

RYAN PETERSEN, FOUNDER AND CEO, FLEXPORT: Yes, well the -- hey, thanks for having me on. So, right now, the American ports are getting ready for a massive decline in volume. Six container bookings, ocean freight coming out of China to the U.S. are down 60 percent since April 9th, and that wave of canceled sailings and missed bookings, canceled bookings is set to arrive this week in Long Beach.

Now, there are other countries that ship to Long Beach, obviously, but Long Beach is expecting a decline of between 25 and 30 percent of container volume starting this week, and that's going to trickle all the way downstream, you know, fewer jobs needed to unload those ships, pick them up with a truck, deliver to warehouses. 9 million Americans work in logistics in the United States. So, this is just going to be a massive impact on those jobs.

BROWN: So, it'll have an impact on those workers, obviously. What about American businesses and consumers? When will they really start feeling the impact, and what will that impact look like?

PETERSEN: Now, all of this really just depends on what happens next. So, there's a lot of variables. Bessent said yesterday that he expects that there will be a deal or at least a de-escalation of tariffs on China. And so, if things start to come way back down, you know, all of this might just be something that we don't have to worry about, don't have to pay attention to. There's no deal on China --

[10:45:00]

BROWN: But doesn't that take a lot of time?

PETERSEN: -- and tariffs --

BROWN: Like even if -- say, like theoretically, and by the way, the administration hasn't said that they're actually having like concrete negotiations with China. But like even if a deal is reached with China soon, it takes a long time because you're dealing with ships from overseas coming to the U.S., right?

PETERSEN: Yes. But there's a lot of inventory in stock in the United States. People knew this was coming, so they stocked up. So, it may be fine if they get it done now, but you know, we'll see. It is unclear. And I don't know if they need a deal, they can just de-escalate, you know, there was no deal to take it to 145. They just did that unilaterally. So, they could also do unilaterally lower the tariffs.

But if they don't, you're going to see huge wave of bankruptcies. Companies are going to go bankrupt all over the United States, thousands of companies, maybe millions even of businesses that depend on this and then that's a recession that will cascade and affect everybody.

BROWN: So, you know, obviously Trump did not keep this a secret when he was on the campaign trail about what he's going to do with tariffs. He's long been a fan of tariffs. So, do you think companies should have done more to prepare for this moment so that they're not in this situation?

PETERSEN: Well, yes, I guess. I mean, they did in import a lot of inventory ahead of time. And so, they're pretty well stocked. But we kind of just don't know. I mean, nobody expected 145 percent tariff and no one expected it to be implemented as quickly as it was. So, yes, he did tell us that tariff is the greatest word in the English language, but you didn't know what that meant to him and how -- you know, how high it would go and how quickly and with how little notice. So, it's pretty hard to plan for.

BROWN: What about -- like the everyday consumer? You're hearing warnings from Mattel and other companies that, you know, the prices of Barbies are going to go up and so forth. What should American consumers be doing right now to prepare for all of this, especially amid all the uncertainty?

PETERSEN: Yes. And so, we've already seen big price increases across the board on e-commerce products. And that's not just up made in China, around the world. You also added 10 percent tariff everywhere, but the China one's the big one. You'll -- and they shut down what was called the di minimis loophole that allowed people -- the di minimis exemption, it let people import goods that were under $800 duty free. And so, most apparel sold online was done that way.

And so, you're going to see big price hikes on a lot of stuff. And if it lasts, you will see shortages. I mean, 60 percent declining in containers means 60 percent less stuff arriving. It's only a matter of time before they sell through existing inventory and you start to see shortages, and that's when you get real price hikes is when they're shortages.

BROWN: And there's a lot that consumers rely on from China. And I know that Donald Trump is trying to rejigger it, but, you know, that takes time. And for the time being there's, you know, phones, you know, other technology, toys and so forth coming from China that may not arrive here.

You traveled to Washington last week to warn government officials about the impact that these tariffs could have. Tell us about those meetings. Did you get a sense that the administration is ready to double down on their tariff strategy, or are they looking to de- escalate? Bring us into those meetings.

PETERSEN: It -- I got a kind of a mixed sense. A lot of the folks I talked to, some senators and some senior staffers all felt like, hey, this is -- they know that this is a decoupling rate, that this rate of 145 percent is not -- it's effectively a trade embargo, which Bessent has said himself and that that's not where they intended things to be.

But then, I also attended a dinner with Howard Lutnick where he was very clear that tariffs are going to go up on rest of world, and that this 10 percent is definitely a floor, and you should expect it to be higher than that. So, definitely a mixed bag of what the administration is projecting, but not a lot of certainty in all of that.

BROWN: Can you just bring us into more of what Lutnick said about tariffs going up, when it -- as it pertains to that across-the-board tariff? Is he talking about after the 90-day pause? Did he give any specifics?

PETERSEN: Yes. After this pause and really just after all these trade deals that you were just talking about getting negotiated, that he expects it. 10 percent is really the floor for those deals. He -- I wouldn't expect any free trade deals to come out of this and that most of them will probably be negotiated at rate higher than 10 percent.

BROWN: All right. Ryan Petersen, thank you so much. Nice to have you on the show.

PETERSEN: Thank you.

BROWN: Wolf.

BLITZER: And coming up, issues continue to plague Newark International Airport. We'll speak to an air traffic controller about the ongoing shortages and the enormous pressure on air traffic controllers right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00]

BLITZER: All right. We're following breaking news. One of President Trump's most controversial nominations may be derailed. We're learning that Ed Martin, President Trump's pick to be Washington, D.C.'s top prosecutor will not have the vote of a key Republican senator, and that could be enough potentially to scuttle the entire nomination. Let's go live right now, Pamela, to our Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju up on Capitol Hill.

BROWN: Yes. Manu, this is a big deal because Trump is really going to bat for his nominee, Ed Martin here, but you're learning some news about a potential vote that won't happen in his favor. What are you learning?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Senator Tom Tillis of North Carolina, Atlanta, a Republican, someone who's up for re-election next year and also sits on this key Senate Judiciary Committee, which is considering Ed Martin's nomination. And in order to get this nomination through the Senate Judiciary Committee, it needs to advance, essentially, all Republicans would need to support his nomination because all Democrats are expected to vote no.

But just moments ago, Tillis told me and a group of reporters here that he plans to vote against the nomination. It's actually dead locking on the Senate Judiciary Committee and almost certainly scuttling this nomination for good. One big reason why was Ed Martin's past positions on January 6th, he's been critical of the police. He defended the Capitol.

[10:55:00]

He's also defended January 6th rioters in court. That's a topic that came up in a private meeting between Tillis and Martin yesterday. And Tillis told me he was not satisfied by those answers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: You're going to support him?

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): He is -- I don't believe he's being advanced to the markup. And I met with Mr. Martin, he seems like a good man. Most of my concerns related to January 6th. And he built a compelling case on some of the 15, 12 prosecutions that were probably heat of the moment, bad decisions, but where we probably have a difference is I think anybody that breached the perimeter should have been in prison for some period of time, whether it's 30 days or three years is debatable. But I have no tolerance for anybody who entered the building on January the 6th, and that's probably where most of the friction was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: And he went on to say that he has informed the White House that he cannot support this nomination. And despite that, the White House is still pushing for Ed Martin's confirmation. But Senate Majority Leader John Thune just told reporters that he does not see a path forward for Ed Martin given Tom Tillis' opposition here. But, Wolf and Pamela, this is a rare instance of Senate Republicans essentially rejecting a Trump nominee.

Time and again, they've fallen the line. But this time, one key defection could be enough to scuttle one of Donald Trump's most important picks.

BLITZER: And at one point he was comparing the former president, Joe Biden, to Hitler, right?

RAJU: Yes, he's had a whole slew of controversial positions and statements that have gotten caused a lot of pause for Republican senators. I can tell you this more than just Tom Tillis who has raised concerns. Senator Lisa Murkowski as one, Senator John Curtis as another, Senator Susan Collins is someone to always watch on this nomination, and he can only afford to lose three Republican votes on the floor. There are more than three who have concerns, which is why his nomination seems doomed, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Manu Raju up on Capitol Hill, thank you very much. And we'll be right back with more news.

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