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Trump's Tariffs Shake Markets, Spark Recession Fears; Canada Imposes 25 Percent Counter-Tariff On Some U.S. Auto Imports; South Korean Court Removes President Yoon From Office; U.S. VP: Tariffs Needed for Total Shift in U.S. Economy; Trump Tariffs Overshadow Rubio Plan to reassure NATO Allies; Top Putin Envoy: U.S. "Understands Russia's Concerns"; Hungary Says It Will Quit ICC as Netanyahu Visits; Kansas City Grapples with Impact of DOGE Layoffs; Who Will Pay for President Trump's Tariffs?; New Innovations Could Help Decarbonize Maritime Shipping. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired April 04, 2025 - 01:00   ET

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

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[01:00:27]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: As global financial markets tank, the U.S. President says, trust me, ahead on CNN Newsroom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The markets are going to boom. The stock is going to boom. The country is going to boom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: For Donald Trump and his tariffs, full speed ahead. Damn the torpedoes.

After Liberation Day Wednesday comes Retaliation Day Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: The system of global trade anchored on the United States is over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Canada opposes counter tariffs on some U.S. imports while talking with allies about a united response.

And he's out. South Korea's impeached president officially and immediately removed from office. Bringing celebrations in the streets of Seoul after a unanimous verdict from the Constitutional Court.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.

VAUSE: The first full day of Donald Trump's so-called economic liberation saw global markets plunge, losing trillions of dollars in value, a falling U.S. dollar as well, and also allies and foes planning retaliation.

And despite dire predictions of a looming global trade war, the U.S. President believes all is going well, a day after he announced sweeping new tariffs on every U.S. trading partner. Here's what that looks like. Financial markets in the U.S. saw their worst day on Thursday in five years.

The Dow lost almost 4 percent, the S&P 500 almost 5 percent down, tech-heavy Nasdaq nearly 6 percent. But the message to Wall Street from the White House is trust the President and his economic plan.

Right now in Asia, right across the board, the Hang Seng is down by 1.5 percent, the Nikkei in Tokyo down by almost 4 percent, Seoul's Kospi down by 1.75 percent, in Australia, the S&P ASX 200 down by almost 2.5 percent. We should note the U.S. dollar has fallen to its weakest level since October, which has wiped out gains made since Trump's election win back in November.

The President seems unconcerned by the bloodbath on Wall Street, arguing imposing tariffs is like performing delicate medical surgery on a sick patient. Now, as other countries begin to oppose retaliatory measures to strike back at the U.S., the President's commerce secretary says Donald Trump is not changing course.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD LUTNICK, U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY: The President is not going to back off. America has got to stop being exploited, and you're going to see America prosper. And then, and only then, will Donald Trump make a deal with each country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And it seems as the world burns, the President plays golf. Here's CNN's Jeff Zeleny reporting in from West Palm Beach.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: As the United States is one day away from implementing the first of two tariff deadlines, President Trump is defending his massive tariff policy that would indeed change how global trading is done, the biggest change to that in nearly a century.

Now, the President has said his deadline is hard and fast. There's a 10 percent tariff going into effect on Saturday, followed by next Wednesday a country-by-country tariff, putting China's tariff, just for one example, at 54 percent. But flying down to Florida on Thursday, President Trump signaled he's open to negotiation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Every country's called us. That's the beauty of what we do. We put ourselves in the driver's seat. If we would have asked some of these countries, almost most of these countries to do us a favor, they would have said, no. Now they'll do anything for us. But we have tariffs. They've been set. And it's going to make our country very rich.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: Making our country very rich, the President says, but that is disputed by many economists because tariffs, of course, are a tax paid on imports. Things will be paid and passed along to American consumers. That is what set the financial markets here in the United States and indeed around the world tumbling on Thursday, with futures already showing a similar result in early trading going into Friday.

Now, the White House is saying that everything is fine here. The President is saying the markets are going to go boom. But that very much is an open question here. But the President not using the power of his bully pulpit to travel to an American factory to talk about this made-in-America philosophy, this America first agenda, that really is at the heart of this policy, instead flying to Florida for a golf event on Thursday night, followed by a long working weekend in Florida. There is no question this is the biggest gamble of the Trump presidency.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

[01:05:00]

VAUSE: Live now to Tokyo, CNN's Hanako Montgomery is with us again. As we look at the world now, it begins to sort of take in what these tariffs actually mean. And many are starting to oppose these retaliatory measures. But right now, it seems Tokyo is not among them.

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, you're right. I mean, Tokyo is not among really the locations which are looking to hit back at the United States with retaliatory tariffs.

Now, we've heard from the Japanese Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba. And, of course, he's described these tariff hikes as unfortunate and, in fact, disappointing. But so far has refrained from doing that.

Now, he has discussed potentially engaging the U.S. President in talks in the hopes of somehow softening the blow. And it seems as though that is the approach that many countries in the Asia-Pacific region are looking to take.

For instance, China, which, of course, has promised to hit back with some kind of retaliatory tariffs. We haven't seen any specific countermeasures as of yet. Now, that might be because today is a public holiday. It's a tomb-sweeping day. So we might not hear a response in the coming days, if not weeks.

But, of course, if an update does come, we will alert you to that. But even other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, I mean, for instance, Southeast Asia nations, countries that were hit particularly hard by the tariffs are so far refraining from hitting back.

And these nations, I'm talking about specifically Vietnam and Cambodia, countries that are not facing tariffs of 46 percent and 49 percent, respectively, are not looking to hit back with any retaliatory tariffs.

Now, this is really interesting, John, because according to many of the experts I've spoken to, these tariffs are much higher than what these countries were expecting. And the reason for that could be because many international companies have in recent years moved their production to Southeast Asian countries in order to avoid the existing levies imposed on China by Trump during his first presidency.

So it's now cheaper to do business in Southeast Asia than it is to do business in China. But, of course, in light of Trump's recent announcements, that might change, and it could disrupt the global supply chain.

Now, in terms of international companies, I'm specifically referring to, for example, Nike and Apple, companies that have large productions and factories in Vietnam, for example. Now, shares of Apple were down about 9 percent today, and also Nike stocks are down about 14 percent, very, very large losses.

And for Vietnam specifically, I mean the benchmark index for that country, also down 4 percent. So very significant losses here, John. But, again, it seems as though so far countries are looking not to hit back with retaliatory tariffs, but have somehow engaged the United States in talks in the hopes of somehow easing the damage. John?

VAUSE: Hanako, thank you. Hanako Montgomery there live for us in Tokyo.

Now, Canada and Germany have agreed to try and strengthen their trade relationship in response to Trump's tariffs. Prime Minister Mark Carney also announced 25 percent counter tariffs on some vehicles imported from the United States into Canada. CNN's Paula Newton has more now, reporting in from Toronto.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Prime Minister Mark Carney had a strong indictment of the Trump administration's actions, but there was restraint, in fact, on the counter tariffs. There were $60 billion worth on the table. Instead, it will only be 25 percent on American cars coming into Canada, and only those that do not comply with the trade agreement already on the table, once again negotiated by President Trump during his first term.

But I want you to listen now to Prime Minister Mark Carney talking about what's ahead. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARNEY: Our trade becoming closer and closer together, that is over. I mean, we saw that that was ending a while ago. It's now emphatic. I think the world is learning that that is over. That creates real challenges for us.

We're not sugarcoating it. We're absolutely clear about that. It also, though, creates an enormous opportunity for a country like Canada, which has virtually everything that the world wants, has a lot of things that the U.S. wants, and they're going to find out how much they want it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: That is a not-so-subtle warning that if he becomes Prime Minister, Mark Carney, with an election here in Canada on April 28th, he wants to completely renegotiate that deal with the United States, not just based on economic priorities, but also on defense and security. And he has a warning as well on how Canada procures its defense right now, 80 percent of it comes from the United States.

He is looking to Europe and beyond, and he is saying to the United States he wants that in any agreement that he negotiates and, again, if he becomes Prime Minister.

Paula Newton, CNN, Toronto.

VAUSE: To Chelsea Quebec now, and Pedro Antunes, chief economist with the Conference Board of Canada. Thank you for being with us.

PEDRO ANTUNES, CHIEF ECONOMIST, THE CONFERENCE BOARD OF CANADA: Oh, it's a pleasure. Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: OK. So Canada has now imposed a counter-tariff of 25 percent on imported American-made vehicles. This comes after the U.S. tariff on foreign-made cars came into effect, and already the impact here is being felt by auto workers. Stellantis, which includes Chrysler and Dodge, has paused production at some of its Canadian and Mexican auto assembly plants due to the newly announced tariffs. And as a result, some U.S. workers, about 900, will also be temporarily laid off.

[01:10:16]

This is happening a lot faster than many people expected, and if this is just day one, what will be the impact from these tariffs six months or a year from now?

ANTUNES: Well, in fact, we're not too surprised about the fact that this has put a stoppage, essentially immediately, to some production facilities, and the repercussions will play out on more and more industries that are interconnected with, well, the auto parts sector, for example.

So when you have an assembly plant that shuts down, then all the associated auto parts industries, we're -- we're going to see shutdowns, further shutdowns from this. The truth is that, you know, 25 percent tariffs that are being applied now for Canadian exports into the U.S. of autos and parts, this is, you know, essentially very damaging.

It's just non-competitive, and -- and the U.S. auto industry will be, you know, unable to sell those cars, and so we're seeing immediate stoppages from -- from some producers here. I think we're going to see more and more of this, and the longer this lasts, the more that these kind of temporary holdups, temporary layoffs, will become permanent.

I -- I think if the intent is for these tariffs to stay on for any length of time, we're going to see very damaging results to Canadian and U.S. manufacturing, I would say.

VAUSE: Here's the Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, on reciprocal tariffs, which the Trump administration announced on Wednesday. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARNEY: Yesterday's actions by the U.S. administration, while not specifically targeting Canada, will rupture the global economy and adversely affect global economic growth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: There is this overall concern about the global economy now because of these actions taken by the White House, and the reality is, on its own, Canada seems to be fairly limited in the options and impact on what it can do in a trade war with the United States, so Carney says Canada is willing to work with other countries for a coordinated response. It seems that may be the only effective response, so what's the chances of that happening?

ANTUNES: Well, I mean, we've been dealing with this since day one. We've feel -- felt like we were the target of the most of the animosity and -- and this concern around essentially these trade deficits that the U.S. has with many countries, including Canada, as being the source of -- of all evil, when in fact there's a lot of -- of falsehoods behind those statements.

In any case, yes, now Canada was really spared, I guess, in the announcements that came on -- on Liberation Day, if we want to call it that, and the rest of the world is kind of facing what we've been facing for a number of weeks and months now.

I -- I think this is very concerning. I mean, here if we do see essentially a global retribution, and I think we're going to see that, tit-for-tat tariffs against the U.S., this is going to be extremely damaging, well, for the world economy, as we know, but for the U.S. in particular. The U.S. is going to take a major hit from this.

And for Canada, as, you know, the U.S. is -- as our biggest trade partner, you know, when the U.S. goes into recession, we will follow. And so there's no avoiding this. It's not just a direct tariffs on Canada, but it's the implications of this global tariff war on the U.S.

Now, I don't know what the best solution is here politically. You know, again, we're -- we're trying to get at what is the endgame here. Is it to renegotiate different deals with different countries? You know, we've heard hints of that already today. It's very, very concerning how this is playing out.

VAUSE: Prime Minister also said that the days of deeper and deeper integration between Canada and the United States have come to an end. But he also made the point that that does not include issues like defense. The United States is still Canada's major ally, and defense and those kind of ties will not be affected. But can they be quarantined? Can they be stovepiped?

Well, if this trade war is going on the one hand, and as you say, there's been animosity and false statements being made about Canada by the United States, can all of these issues now play out separately? Can these other areas of the relationship not be affected?

ANTUNES: Well, I have to say it's going to be difficult with the current administration. I mean, we can reflect back on what happened in 2016 when President Trump had his first term. You know, essentially, we saw the dissolution of our free trade agreement that we had with the U.S. only to a year later, essentially sign a very similar new trade deal with the U.S. In fact, it was just a modernized version of our old NAFTA with essentially very few changes.

So who knows what -- where this is taking us. Certainly, we're hopeful that in four years, we'll see a -- a change of government and a change of attitude towards trade and towards Canada and towards, you know, essentially what -- what -- what has been a -- a terrific relationship between our two countries for over 30 years now.

So I think we can continue to work together with that eye on the future that perhaps things will improve and -- and change.

[01:15:08]

VAUSE: I -- I think it's a viewpoint or a feeling that many other countries have right now around the world when it comes to the U.S. Pedro Antunes, thanks so much for being with us. We appreciate your time.

ANTUNES: Oh, you're welcome. It's been a pleasure.

VAUSE: In the U.S., the director and deputy director of the National Security Agency have both been forced out. Just why the Trump administration fired General Timothy Haugh and his deputy Wendy Noble remains unknown.

But according to one source, their removal comes after a meeting Wednesday between President Trump and Laura Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist who once claimed 9/11 was an inside job. Loomer apparently urged the President to remove a number of senior officials on the National Security Council for disloyalty. But the President says Loomer was not involved in the decision to remove the NSA leaders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Laura Loomer is a very good patriot. She is a very strong person. And I saw her yesterday for a little while and she has -- she makes recommendations of things and people. And sometimes I listen to those recommendations, like I do with everybody. I listen to everybody, and then I make a decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Loomer was an influential voice around President Trump on the campaign trail last year, even though several of his advisers tried to keep her at a distance.

Well, a majorly ruling from South Korea's constitutional court demonstrated as dancing in the streets after a decision on the fate of embattled President Yoon Suk Yeol. We'll tell you more in a moment.

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[01:20:57]

VAUSE: South Korea's constitutional court has ruled in favor of removing impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol from office effective immediately. The unanimous decision from the court's eight judges sparked celebrations among protesters who were outraged by Yoon's decision to briefly impose martial law back in December. That was followed by months of political turmoil and legal battles. CNN's Mike Valerio live this hour for us again there in Seoul.

So does this bring to an end months of political turmoil in South Korea or is it just sort of another twist and turn along the way?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I would say, John, that it does bring an end to drama that has existed for more than 100 days since the now ex-president of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, declared martial law, sent troops to the National Assembly, the heart of South Korean democracy, to try to end a political impasse.

But, John, where we're standing right now, a lot of protesters have dispersed, frankly going out for lunch, declaring victory and sort of breathing a sigh of relief. But protesters who have congregated here were very much in the heart of the old city of Seoul.

They have been standing in this spot for weeks, sometimes under these tense gatherings, saying that martial law, from their point of view, putting the military in charge of law and order, albeit for a short period of time, was unacceptable. And it's a period of South Korea's history that happened during the 80s, happened again for a brief moment on December 3rd and 4th, that they do not want to go back to.

We did, though, John, just hear from South Korea's now ex-president, Yoon Suk Yeol, and he, in short, sent out a brief statement, thanked supporters for being behind him, said it was a great honor to serve them and the Republic of Korea, and thanked his supporters for being with him despite his shortcomings, a direct quote from the end of the statement.

So it seems as though he is admitting defeat. That's why this appears to be the end of this drama. Let's listen from a protester who is a couple of meters behind us, what she thinks of this moment. Listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIM NA-YOUNG, ANTI-YOON PROTESTER: It's hard to describe, honestly. Excited, happy, but the moment the constitutional court said that he was impeached, I started bawling. I cried for four minutes. And I couldn't talk, and it was such a -- it was such a heavy feeling. (END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: So let's look at the rest of that tableau over my right-hand shoulder. Again, a lot of people who have gone home, but around 7 o'clock our time in the next couple hours, we are expecting more gatherings in this part of town, specifically near City Hall, which is, I'd say, about a 10-minute walk down the main avenue that we're looking at from our camera position.

And in terms of what happens next, it's electing a new president for South Korea within the next 60 days, John. One who can go toe-to-toe with the Trump administration and these new U.S. tariffs, John.

VAUSE: Mike, thank you. Mike Valerio, live for us there in Seoul. And we'll stay in Seoul a little longer. Joining us now live is Doyeon Kim, an adjunct senior fellow with the Center for a New American Security. Thank you for being with us.

DUYEON KIM, ADJUNCT SENIOR FELLOW, CENTER FOR A NEW AMERICAN SECURITY: Thanks for having me back, John.

VAUSE: OK. So this may be an end to Yoon's political career, but does this really actually mean an end to the divisions within South Korea, especially between Yoon's supporters and his opponents?

KIM: No, the division between the conservatives and progressives, the bitter division, will only intensify in the next days, weeks, and months, and even years to come. The verdict really has, you know, nobody in South Korea really condones President Yoon's choice to use martial law to deal with what he outlined to be a threat -- a threat assessment, anti-state forces, communist sympathizers. There are a lot of moderates and conservatives who agree with his analysis, but nobody agrees with the choice of martial law that he used to deal with them.

Now, that said, you know, the months that we saw following his declaration, the pro -- the mass protests, the anti-impeachment protests, these were not about supporting him and his choice. This was actually about pushing back against the progressives when South Koreans saw that the progressive-dominated and controlled National Assembly would impeach a series of key government officials, paralyzing the -- the government, also impeaching the prime minister, who was supposed to be the acting president when Yoon was impeached.

[01:25:21]

And then having an acting-acting, like the third in line, be acting president here. They also saw flaws in -- procedural flaws in the constitutional court process, and they have a lot of complaints about that. And the parallel process of the, you know, criminal charge process and the arrest and the -- and the -- the -- the events leading up to his arrest, a lot of South Koreans point to flaws there.

And so these are conservatives and moderates who really advocate for proper due process, rule of law, and the use of properly using democratic practices to hold a president accountable. And so that's where some of that rage is coming from, from those who supposedly support the president.

VAUSE: And one of the eight judges as part of the constitutional court spoke to reporters after the verdict. He kind of explained why there was this unanimous decision to uphold parliament's decision to impeach the president. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOON HYUNG-BAE, CONSTITUTIONAL COURT ACTING HEAD JUDGE: He shocked the people and caused chaos across all fields, including society, economy, politics, and diplomacy. As the president of all the people, he violated his duty to unite society beyond the people who support him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: I think it was just part of the session, actually. But regardless, how significant was testimony, though, from senior military and police officers that they received orders from Yoon to prevent rival politicians from reaching the National Assembly to try and prevent them from overturning the Declaration of Martial Law?

KIM: Yes, and here, too, you know, you've got legal scholars really parsing the legalities in every single word that they heard from the various witnesses who testified. And, you know, there's a lot of disagreement among legal scholars, clearly among his lawyers and, you know, and -- and -- and the National Assembly's lawyers on all the legalities, and, of course, the interpretation of the laws.

There's a lot of disagreement and different definitions and interpretations of South Korea's laws. And so that was another thing that the public had to witness and that -- that, for -- for some -- some circles in South Korea, that raises questions about whether they can trust the -- the judicial process, the court process. But regardless, again, you know, he should not have used, she should not have gone through the martial law route.

He should have used the power of persuasion through politics to try to deal with any threats that he deemed were necessary to deal with. But now, you know, going forward, it's really going to be a battle between, again, the conservatives and progressives. This time, unlike the last presidential impeachment case, the conservatives have -- have really consolidated.

They've really banded together, which was actually unexpected. And so I think going forward with the snap election, as things stand today, the moderates and even those in their 20s and 30s, they may actually end up being the swing voters because they see, a lot of the conservatives and moderates see the progressives to be sympathetic to communism, pro-China, and anti-U.S. And so it's really going to be a fierce battle between the two sides.

VAUSE: Just very quickly, there's 60 days until that election will be held, or must be held within 60 days. That's a long time to wait for it before any kind of official response, I guess, to the turmoil and chaos created by Donald Trump's tariffs. KIM: Absolutely, and so right now, you know, in the -- in the next 60 days, you know, of course, it's going to be the acting president who the prime minister has been reinstated after his impeachment. And so, you know, the country will basically be run by him. But it will be challenging for South Korea to really respond to Trump's fast-paced policies right now.

And, you know, even to coordinate with Washington properly without a sitting president to deal with regional and global issues that could significantly impact South Korea's national security and economic security. So this uncertainty really does not do well for South Korea or for the alliance.

VAUSE: Yes, there's a lot of uncertainties that this creates. Duyeon Kim, thanks so much for being with us. It's good to see you.

KIM: Thank you.

[01:29:29]

VAUSE: Well, this could be awkward. The U.S. Secretary of State meeting with NATO allies while his boss escalates a trade war with friends and foe alike. Very latest in a moment.

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[01:34:48]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Amid outrage and global criticism over Donald Trump's new tariffs, the U.S. vice president has lashed out at what he calls a globalist system, which has left the U.S. with huge debts to quote, "buy things that other countries make for us".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We borrow money from Chinese peasants to buy the things those Chinese peasants manufacture. That is not a recipe for economic prosperity. It's not a recipe for low prices and it's not a recipe for good jobs in the United States of America.

President Trump is taking this economy in a different direction. He ran on that. He promised it. And now he's delivering.

And yes, this is a big change. I'm not going to shy away from it. But we needed a big change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Those comments were made early Thursday. The vice president spoke again, that was after the bloodbath on Wall Street.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANCE: We're feeling good. Look, I frankly thought in some ways it could be worse in the markets because this is a big transition. You saw the president said earlier today it's like a patient who was

very sick. We did the operation, and now it's time to make the patient better. And that's exactly what we're doing.

Yes. Look, one bad day in the stock market compared to what President Trump said earlier today. And I think he's right about this. We're going to have a booming stock market for a long time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: NATO Secretary General again believes, at least publicly, the U.S. remains completely committed to the alliance. That may be welcome news for the U.S. Secretary of State as he balances the global shock of Trump's new tariffs with another day of NATO meetings in Brussels.

More now from CNN's Alex Marquardt.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio came here to NATO expecting to talk about very specific agenda items with NATO allies.

He wanted to reassure those allies that the U.S. is very much a part of, and will remain a part of the NATO alliance. He expected to talk about the war in Ukraine, how to end it, what security assistance for Ukraine would continue to look like, and defense spending something the Trump administration has been pushing NATO allies to do to spend more on defense.

But in a large way, this meeting here at NATO of the foreign ministers was overshadowed by the news that President Trump planned to slap massive tariffs on countries all around the world.

A western official telling me here at NATO that it is tough to do the business at hand when this has just been announced.

And then I spoke with the Canadian foreign minister, Melanie Joly, who said they are trying to have constructive conversations but also at the same time send a message to the United States over these tariffs.

Take a listen.

MELANIE JOLY, CANADIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: So, this is what we're doing, but clearly we're passing that message to our American counterparts that, you know, it's difficult to have these conversations in the context of a trade war.

And at the end of the day, it is those who are watching us right now, Alex, that will be suffering from these tariffs and that issue of trust amongst allies. And we want to be constructive.

MARQUARDT: Joly went on to say that they are exerting what she called maximum pressure on the White House to back off these tariffs. And as distracting as they may be to the conversations here at NATO, she said the goal is to emerge from these two days of meetings with a united message.

It does not appear that Joly or the other foreign ministers are holding these tariffs against Rubio himself. Everybody is being friendly.

There was the potential for an awkward sit down between Rubio and his Danish counterpart. The Trump administration has made no secret of their desire to annex Greenland, which is a Danish territory. But we're told by the State Department that that did not come up.

So Rubio has had to grapple with all kinds of issues during these two days of meetings here at NATO.

Alex Marquardt, CNN -- at NATO headquarters.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: After a day of high-level talks at the White House, an envoy for Vladimir Putin says the Trump administration understands Russian concerns.

According to Russian state media, Kirill Dmitriev says the main issue now is restoring Russia-America ties, a relationship which apparently was interrupted during the Biden administration.

He also told CNN there has been major progress in ceasefire talks in Ukraine, and that is thanks to the Trump White House as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIRILL DMITRIEV, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN'S SPECIAL ENVOY: I think there is an understanding for how we can move to finalize the agreement and there have been lots of discussion in that realm, lots of differences still remain.

But I think there are several paths to try to address all of the issues. And only a diplomatic solution can be possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Dmitriev also highlighting Russia's absence from the list of global tariffs, which were unveiled by President Trump on Wednesday.

When we return, a day after the Israeli prime minister and subject of a warrant from the International Criminal Court arrives in Hungary, the country announces it's withdrawing from the ICC.

[01:39:36]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Hungary is planning to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, making it the only E.U. country which does not recognize the court's jurisdiction. Hungary's far right prime minister and good friend to Vladimir Putin, has criticized the court for years, calling it a political tool. And on Thursday, Viktor Orban welcomed the Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu to Budapest. And in doing so, blatantly refused to enforce an ICC arrest warrant which was issued for the Israeli leader for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

[01:44:47]

VAUSE: It's the first time Netanyahu has traveled to Europe since the court called for his arrest last May.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: You've just taken a bold and principled position on the ICC, and I thank you, Viktor. This is not only important for us, it's important for all democracies. It's important to stand up to this corrupt organization.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The ICC accuses Netanyahu of crimes against humanity and starvation as a method of warfare.

Layoffs in the U.S. are reaching the highest level since the pandemic. That's according to a new report, which says the main culprit is the federal government.

CNN's Kayla Tausche spoke to some workers in Kansas City who are reeling from Elon Musk's DOGE cuts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: More than a thousand miles from Washington, D.C., the impact of DOGE is hitting the heartland.

In Kansas City, the federal government is the largest employer, a growing presence in recent years. In Trump's first term, the Department of Agriculture relocated two divisions to the area to save money and move closer to farmers.

Now, USDA is among the many agencies scaling back here. All told, job cuts are expected to be in the thousands.

QUINTON LUCAS, KANSAS CITY MAYOR: It's going to hurt the city. It's going to hurt the people a lot. It's going to hurt their families, and it's going to hurt a lot of secondary businesses.

TAUSCHE: Kansas City's Democratic mayor says the city won't be able to absorb all the laid off workers.

LUCAS: We're not building a new 4,000-person factory to replace 4,000 jobs at the IRS at the same time. And frankly these folks will have very different skills.

TAUSCHE: At Kauffman Stadium, Jason Buck has picked up bartending part time. He used to manage fleets of government vehicles until he was fired a month ago. The search for a new job was slow going.

JASON BUCK, GSA PROGRAM SUPPORT SPECIALIST: Get a spattering of interviews over the course of a month and, you know, I haven't really had any headway on that.

TAUSCHE: While we spoke with him, his manager called to say he'd been reinstated. He doesn't know for how long.

Do you worry that this is temporary?

BUCK: Absolutely. Yes. Yes. I don't know if I'm going back just to get -- be a part of a reduction in force at some point, or I have no idea what to expect.

TAUSCHE: Daniel Scharfenberg worries his job is on the line, too. He joined the IRS 16 years ago. With two teenage kids, he's taken a second job to save money.

DANIEL SCHARFENBERG, IRS EMPLOYEE: Some days I get off work here and I go straight to the movie theater. I bring my work uniform with me and I change, and I go straight to the movie theater and work there.

I'm 45 years old. I'm too old to be working two jobs.

TAUSCHE: The owner of Waterbird Coffee says business has picked up with federal workers ordered back to offices. But he fears its short lived.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, OWNER, WATERBIRD COFFEE: Definitely the mood just feels sort of different. Everything feels kind of stressful, uncertain. It just kind of created this mood of anxiety overall.

TAUSCHE: The layoffs will ripple through the economy. Many federal workers say they may have to sell their home. Others canceling family vacations.

For each federal worker who loses their job, economists say the pullback in their spending could cost the city another one and a half jobs, multiplying the effect on unemployment.

The Kansas City metro is blue, but polls show that voters in Missouri still largely support Trump.

Shannon Ellis leads the Treasury Employees Union here and says her members feel the cuts hitting close to home.

SHANNON ELLIS, CHAPTER PRESIDENT, NATIONAL TREASURE EMPLOYEES UNION: I've had people approach me in this building and say, look, if I knew that this was what was going to happen, that all these attacks on federal agencies, I would have voted a different way.

So you can't say that all Americans still support what's happening.

TAUSCHE: Republican Senator Josh Hawley was among the proponents of moving these agencies from Washington to states like Missouri. He told CNN that he thinks the state's voters are largely supportive of the move to downsize.

The next major wave of federal layoffs is expected in mid-May, but employees say they expect to learn their fate in the next two weeks.

Even so, as we were leaving Kansas City, employees reached out to tell me about ongoing cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services, with some workers terminated on the spot.

So this is happening in real time and with very real-world impact. Back to you.

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VAUSE: In a moment, how a boat which flies above the water could help the maritime shipping sector go green. That's next on CNN.

[01:49:04]

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VAUSE: The U.S. President continues to insist the cost of his tariffs will be paid by the country of origin. That is simply wrong and will continue to be wrong, no matter how many times the president repeats it.

CNN's Richard Quest explains why consumers will be on the hook for the cost of the tariffs.

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RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT LARGE: It is easy to think of tariffs on the big stuff -- the automobiles, the dishwashers and the like.

But the truth is, most of us will feel our tariffs at places like this, the Heavenly Deli, where you buy your food and drink every single day.

Just look. Tariffs, tariffs, tariffs. A bottle of San Pellegrino. It comes from Italy within the E.U. Now I know this costs about five bucks here. Tariff of 20 percent from the E.U. So you're talking about roughly a dollar or so.

Who's going to pay the dollar? The importer passes it to the distributor, the wholesaler. To the good lady at the desk then pass it on to me.

You then start looking at other things. Licorice from Australia. Now there's an election in Australia at the moment, Anthony Albanese is facing the public. How is he going to explain how this $7.99 licorice is now suddenly 10 percent more expensive. What's it going to do to the sales?

You've got to buy a new charger. You can never have enough chargers. Of course, Heavenly sells chargers. The charger and the cable come to about 20 bucks. But these come from China and there is a 34 percent tariff on from China, 34 percent of 20 bucks. Do the mathematics yourself. Suddenly this becomes more expensive.

And then you've got the little stuff. The ghost pepper spicy chicken flavor from Malaysia costs $2.99. It's described as "spicy madness". How about how much madness once the 24 percent tariff goes on, and the 2.99 goes up.

As it says here, "flaming spicy madness". Are they talking about the food or the tariff?

Whichever way you look at it, everything's going up in some shape or form, and it really is just a question of who is going to eat the cost.

Richard Quest, CNN -- at the deli in New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: The most comprehensive collection of the works of Michelangelo in over 150 years, can now be seen at the National Gallery of Denmark. But there's a catch. Many of Michelangelo's most famous works, like the statue of David, have not been moved, but instead printed in 3-D for this exhibition.

Michelangelo Imperfect is made up of 40 reproductions from the Madrid- based studio Factum Arte. The studio uses new and traditional techniques to create copies which are visually identical to the originals. That's quite the catch.

A new innovation from the world of professional sailing may lead to a major breakthrough in efforts to tackle carbon emissions. The eFoiler is the world's first propulsion solution that is both zero carbon and commercially viable as Max Foster explains.

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MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Is it a boat? Is it a plane? Well, it's kind of both.

This is the EF-12, an all-electric boat flying above the water using technology inspired by high performance sailing. It's developed by Artemis Technologies, a Belfast based firm that's leading a revolution in marine transport.

IAIN PERCY, CEO, ARTEMIS TECHNOLOGIES: I think we are the only solution worldwide in high speed maritime. That you can both practically and economically decarbonize your operations.

FOSTER: Iain Percy is a two-time Olympic champion and a veteran of four America's Cup challenges. His extensive expertise in high performance sailing was crucial in the company's eFoiler innovation.

Why the hydrofoil? What's the advantage to that?

[01:54:44]

PERCY: The hydrofoil is that small key that opens a big door, because the hydrofoil is really where the drag reduction comes from.

We all went on hydrofoils in the 70s and 80s, and they were what I call v-hydrofoils. They had no control system. They went up in the air and then there was less foil so they came back down.

It didn't actually save much drag at all, maybe 20 percent. We're the different -- we're an airplane wing effectively under the water.

FOSTER: It's that underwater wing, Artemis' eFoiler that lifts the hull out of the water, drastically reducing drag. Powered by an electric battery, these vessels are vastly more efficient than conventional diesel-powered boats.

You can see it's pretty choppy out there. There's some wind but it's completely steady on ship. There's also a sense of flying as well.

You may have been on a ferry ride or water taxi. The bumpiness, the noise, the smell of diesel. Well, not this boat.

The Artemis EF-12 vessels will be making waves in ports and harbors across the U.K. and Europe in 2025, competing with conventional diesel boats in a huge challenge.

But what you've done is very high tech. So how have you kept the prices down?

PERCY: The core technology saves a lot of energy and therefore costs. I'm saying for a typical fast ferry, a million pounds sterling a year in fuel savings over the conventional solution on a pilot boat between 100,000 and 400,000 a year.

Well, I think success for Artemis would see a pretty global, large adoption of these kind of vessels. And I think the real step change is that for the first time, maritime solutions for kind of equal distance start to be cost comparative with trains or busses or cars.

That's never been the case. That really opens up much more mass adoption of our waterways.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Max Foster reporting there.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.

Please stay with us. Kim Brunhuber takes over after a very short break.

I'll see you right back here next weekend -- next week, rather. Have a good weekend.

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