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U.S. Farmers, Ranchers Brace For Impact Of Escalating Trade War; Rubio Acknowledges Markets Are In Turmoil Over Trump's Tariffs; MI Couple Released From Mexican Prison After Timeshare Dispute; Fencer Refuses To Face Opponent Whom She Says Is Transgender. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired April 04, 2025 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:33:15]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: President Trump's expanding global trade war is not only creating anxiety on Wall Street. American farmers are also on edge, worried and uncertain about how the tariffs are going to impact the nation's agriculture and livestock industries.

The American Farm Bureau has been warning for weeks that new tariffs will take a big toll on rural America. The National Farmers Union fears that Americas family farmers and ranchers are going to bear the brunt of this global trade war.

Meantime, though, Trump's agriculture secretary says the tariffs may cause some short-term pain for farmers but insists, in the long run, they'll be beneficial.

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BROOKE ROLLINS, AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: They understand that there may be a short time of uncertainty, but for the long haul, as we restructure the American economy and the government, the American economy and our private sector, with the government playing a role in that, President Trump's vision of using tariffs.

At the end of the day, this president committed to putting Americans first. And as part of that are our farmers and our ranchers.

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SANCHEZ: I'm joined now by Nick Levendofsky. He's the executive director of the Kansas Farmers Union.

Sir, thanks so much for being with us.

What's your reaction to those long-term assurances?

NICK LEVENDOFSKY, FOURTH-GENERATION FARMER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, KANSAS FARMERS UNION: Well, thanks, Boris. Thanks for having me on and thanks for covering this important topic. I think my big question is, what is the long-term gain here? What are

we gaining by doing this? And how long is this short-term pain going to be?

I don't think we really know. But I'm worried that we're about to find out with these retaliatory tariffs that are coming down, especially from China, with 34 percent coming here in the next few days.

So it's -- it's pretty concerning in an already -- you know, an already concerning time.

[13:34:59]

SANCHEZ: What about these warnings that once certain markets are affected. They may not recover easily or may not even come back. What do you make of those warnings from even Republican lawmakers? And which markets might American farmers lose?

LEVENDOFSKY: Yes, I think we need to pay heed to those warnings. You know, it's -- it's good to hear both sides of the aisle talking about this, because this is not a partisan issue by any means.

This is something that is real. It is difficult for -- for many farmers and ranchers when they lose those markets that have taken decades to build, relationships that have taken many, many years to -- to build up.

And they can all be destroyed very shortly, very quickly. And I think we're seeing that in real time now.

So, yes, it's -- it's going to do some devastating damage. And it's going to take a long time for us to recover from this. But it all has to play out obviously.

And I just worry about what -- what the damage is going to be. I can't help but think about what happened in the last Trump administration, 2018, 2019, when we did this with China, and it affected our soybean market.

We grow a lot of soybeans here in Kansas. And it affected that market greatly. And I can't help but think that that might be the case there as well, this time around.

SANCHEZ: And as a result of that, there was somewhere in the neighborhood of $28 billion to $30 billion that the Trump administration offered as a bailout to those soybean farmers.

Has your union begun conversations with any level of government about what potential aid might look like moving forward, especially as these Chinese tariffs are now looming?

LEVENDOFSKY: Right. I know that our team in Washington, D.C. is having conversations. And I know that we'll be out there here in the next month to have conversations with USDA as well.

And that's what we're hearing. We're hearing the rumblings from USDA that that's what they're preparing to do to -- to, quote, unquote, "bail out farmers again."

But to be honest, farmers want trade. They don't want aid from their government. They want markets. They want certainty.

They want to know that the products that they grow, the livestock that they raise are going to have markets that are going to pay for the input costs that they put into those commodities, and those livestock. And then also have some money that they can live on, too.

SANCHEZ: Yes. And to that point, we've actually spoken to other farmers who say that those, as you put it, quote, unquote, "bailouts" oftentimes didn't get them to even break even.

They're also concerned about the future, why folks would want to gravitate to farming if profits are diminished. I wonder, how big do you think this aid package might have to be in order to sustain the industry?

LEVENDOFSKY: Well, I know in the last -- the last time that this happened, like you said, there was $28 billion, around $30 billion. And if they tap into that commodity credit corporation, which is what they did the last time, there's only $33 billion available in that fund. And that's in a fiscal year.

So when the money's all gone, it doesn't just automatically reappear. When you break the piggy bank and the money's all spent, you got to go buy a new piggy bank, and you got to let it fill back up for the next year.

So we don't have a lot of options when it comes to this. And like I said, farmers want trade. They don't want that aid. They want to -- they want markets.

SANCHEZ: Nick Levendofsky, we very much appreciate you joining us and bringing us that message.

LEVENDOFSKY: Thank you, Boris.

[13:38:44]

SANCHEZ: Still ahead, Secretary of State Marco Rubio finishing up his trip overseas, visiting NATO allies. But not before making a bit of an awkward acknowledgment. Hear what he had to say about markets, next.

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[13:43:22]

SANCHEZ: Secretary of State Marco Rubio is defending the presidents sweeping tariffs that are roiling global markets.

Here's what he said, though, when a reporter at the NATO foreign ministers summit in Brussels asked him about the impact of tariffs on markets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: The markets will adjust. Businesses around the world, including in trade and global trade, they just need to know what the rules are. Once they know what the rules are. They will adjust to those rules.

So I don't think it's fair to say economies are crashing. Markets are crashing because markets are based on the stock value of companies who today are embedded in modes of production that are bad for the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: CNN chief national security correspondent, Alex Marquardt, is covering the secretary of state's visit to Brussels.

Alex, Rubio doubling down on what the president is doing. Tell us what else he's saying.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Brianna and Boris, there was no avoiding the subject of tariffs. It wasn't part of the official conversations here at NATO, but certainly it loomed large.

For example, I spoke with the Canadian foreign minister who said that it was very difficult to focus on these critical NATO issues while there's a trade war going on.

But Rubio, certainly defending his boss' tariffs. And he admitted that these markets are crashing.

But he said that it's because the markets are reacting to what he called "a dramatic change," and that there has to be a reset in the global order of trade. So he certainly wasn't shying away from the subject of tariffs.

At the same time, of course, the ministers here were trying to focus on, say, the war in Ukraine, among a variety of other issues.

Rubio and the Trump administration getting a lot of praise for the efforts that they're making to try to broker a ceasefire and a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

And Rubio actually revealed that before coming here to Brussels, he had sat down in Washington with Kirill Dmitriev, that Russian senior adviser to Putin, the Kremlin aide who had gone to Washington on a surprise visit this week to -- to speak with the Trump administration.

[13:45:14]

And when I asked Rubio what his message was to Dmitriev, he said that he wants Russia to take concrete steps and to prove to the United States that peace is, indeed, something that Russia wants.

Here's a little bit more of what he told me.

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RUBIO: What we're not interested in -- and I'm not accusing them of this, I'm just telling you -- what we're not interested in is negotiations about negotiations, that we're not going to continue this forever.

So none of it was threatening. I think it was more an explanation of, this is our timeline and, at some point, it will be clear whether you want peace or you don't want peace. And that time is coming. It's pretty short.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: A pretty short timeline, he said. He told reporters that -- that is weeks, not months, in which he wants Russia to show that. And he wanted Dmitriev to take that message back to the Kremlin.

Of course, Boris and Brianna, NATO allies have been telling Rubio and other U.S. officials that Putin is playing for time, that he's stalling. And really, at the end of the day, the only peace that he may actually go for is peace on his own terms -- Boris, Brianna?

SANCHEZ: Alex Marquardt, live for us in Brussels, thank you so much.

A Michigan couple is finally back home after spending nearly a month in a Mexican prison over a payment dispute with their timeshare company.

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CHRISTY AKEO, RELEASED FROM MEXICAN JAIL: I'm so happy.

PAUL AKEO, RELEASED FROM MEXICAN JAIL: We're just thankful for the support. I mean --

C. AKEO: I mean, our kids, I can't say how proud I am for our -- what our kids have done, the people they contacted, the using social media to let people be aware of what was going on because we had -- we didn't know what we were going. to do.

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SANCHEZ: Congressman Tom Barrett of Michigan shared this video of Paul and Christy Akeo boarding a plane last night. He traveled to Mexico to demand their release.

You might recall the couple was arrested shortly after arriving in Cancun last month.

KEILAR: That's right. And prosecutors accused them of canceling 13 credit card payments to a hotel chain totaling more than $116,000. The Akeos deny the allegations, saying they had successfully disputed those charges, alleging a breach of contract.

As part of a new arrangement, prosecutors dropped the charges after the couple agreed to pay damages, which will be given to several nonprofits.

The Akeo's attorney thanked Congressman Barrett, calling him a hero as well as special envoy, Adam Boehler, and President Trump for their roles in securing the couple's release.

Still ahead, USA Fencing disqualifies a fencer from a women's tournament after she refuses to face an opponent whom she says is transgender. We have new reaction next on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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[13:52:322]

KEILAR: USA Fencing is defending its policies after an athlete refused to face an opponent who she says is transgender. Video from last weekend's women's tournament shows Stephanie Turner taking a knee in protest, which resulted in her disqualification.

SANCHEZ: Now we're not identifying Turners opponent because that person has not publicly commented on the incident or disclosed their gender identity.

CNN's Brynn Gingras joins us now with the latest on this.

Brynn, what are you learning?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris and Brianna, so this was a USA Fencing-sanctioned event that happened at the University of Maryland last weekend.

Now these events typically involve athletes from all different age groups and also skill levels. This particular one involves Stephanie Turner, who you guys were just talking about.

Now we've reached out to Turner ourselves to get her side of the story, but yet, she has not returned those calls.

But she did tell FOX News that she applied, qualified for this event, and she then looked at the roster and the registration list the night before this event actually took place.

And realized that her opponent, this person who she says is transgender, was on that list and that she would be actually competing against that person.

And she says to FOX News that she gave her cell phone to a friend and said, "Please film this for me because I'm going to do something." And she didn't think it would become so big. But it was important to her.

And as you can see, she took a knee before that competition started and the official went over to her and issued her a black card, which basically is the highest penalty that you can receive in these kinds of tournaments, basically disqualifying her for the rest of the tournament that day.

And you can see there that her opponent did come over to her to talk to her. And she explained to FOX News what she then said.

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STEPHANIE TURNER, FENCER DISQUALIFIED FROM WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT: My opponent was a little bit confused, thinking that I was maybe hurt. And I said, no, I am refusing to fence you because I'm a woman and you are a man. I have much love and respect for you, but I will not compete against you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: Her obviously taking a stance, you know, citing the fairness of this particular competition.

It's important to note that that other athlete, or rather the, you know, guidelines for USA Fencing is for trans athletes, they can be involved in these types of competitions as long as they go by certain guidelines --guys?

KEILAR: And what is USA Fencing saying about this particular incident?

[13:55:02]

GINGRAS: Yes. You know, like you said, Brianna, they are doubling down. They are sticking by their stance of allowing transgender athletes to compete.

And listen, after the executive order by President Trump, I've done a number of these stories. And a lot of these governing bodies of sports have quickly changed their minds.

We saw it with the NCAA. We saw it with USA Track and Field, but it does look like Fencing is sticking by what their original guidelines were.

And that is that they said:

"While we understand there are a range of perspectives, USA Fencing will continue to engage in respectful, research-based dialog and review as policy evolves in the Olympic and Paralympic movement, as well as domestic law.

"Hate speech or targeted hate of any kind is not acceptable online or in person."

So we'll see how that continues on. But it does look like they are allowing this -- transgender women to continue to compete in these types of competitions.

SANCHEZ: Brynn Gingras, thank you so much for the reporting.

Still ahead, a new warning from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. He says that because of President Trump's tariffs, inflation is likely to pick up and could be here to stay. What this means for your wallet, next.

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