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Major Concerns In Global Markets Arise After Trump Announcement of New Tariffs; New Trump Tariffs Expected To Affect Farmers And Ranchers; South Korea Heads For New Elections After Yoon Suk Yeol's Removal; Kirill Dmitriev Says Trump administration Understands Russian Concerns After Talks With U.S. Officials; Top Putin Envoy: U.S. "Understands Russia's Concerns"; Denmark's PM Warns United States. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired April 04, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom". Major concerns in global markets in the first full day since Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs, while the latest fallout on the escalating trade war.

South Korea's high escort upholds the president's impeachment. We'll go live to Seoul to find out what happens next.

And Putin's top negotiator makes a high-stakes visit to the U.S. Hear what he says about Ukraine's ceasefire talks and Western sanctions on Russia.

(VOICE-OVER)

Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: Global markets, foreign leaders and businesses have been rattled by Donald Trump's historic new tariffs. Right now in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, Japan's Nikkei, the Seoul KOSPI and Australia's ASX are all down. Here's a look at U.S. futures right now, all slightly down at the moment.

On Thursday, the three major U.S. indices posted their worst day since 2020. The House -- the White House is telling Wall Street to trust in President Trump's economic plan. The President shrugged off the market reaction and indicated some openness to making deals. Now, on his way to Florida, he compared the sweeping tariffs he imposed to a successful medical procedure. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It was a sick patient that went through an operation on Liberation Day, and it's going to be a -- it's going to be a booming country, a very booming country. It's going to be amazing, actually.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, Canada's prime minister announced his country will levy a reciprocal 25 percent counter tariff on vehicles imported from the U.S. that don't comply with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. Mark Carney called the current trade relationship with the U.S. a tragedy. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: The system of global trade anchored on the United States that Canada has relied on since the end of the Second World War, a system that, while not perfect, has helped to deliver prosperity for our country for decades, is over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: I'm going to go live now to Tokyo and CNN's Hanako Montgomery. So Hanako, what's been the fallout in the region so far?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Kim, I mean, today we've seen Asia stocks, I mean, still continue to react and really respond to the recent U.S. tariff hikes. Now, for instance, the Japanese stock market, they're on set to record their biggest weekly decline since 2020, the pandemic. So, clearly, the fallout does continue.

Now, China, which has vowed to respond with concrete countermeasures, has not announced anything super specific today. And that could be because today is a national holiday in the country. It's Tomb Sweeping Day. So, it might take a couple of days for us to know just how China does, indeed, intend to respond. But of course, once we do get that information, Kim, we will let you know.

But interestingly, as one Beijing resident pointed out, it might not be all bad news for China. This could potentially present an opportunity for the country to diversify its markets. Here's what one Beijing resident said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SURNAMEND ZHANG (through translator): After this round of Trump's tariff hikes, I believe China's economic circulation system will become more robust. And in the future, when dealing with the impact of such tariffs, it will become more manageable. After all, China has been engaged in this trade war with the U.S. for quite some time now. So, tariffs are something we've grown accustomed to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MONTGOMERY: Quite some time indeed, Kim. And of course, because as we saw during Trump's first presidency, China did see tariffs then, as well. Now, interestingly, in other parts of the Asia-Pacific region, Kim, many countries have decided not to impose reciprocal tariffs on the United States so far, but instead are opting to engage with the United States in talks to somehow soften the blow, to somehow ease the burden of these increased tariff hikes.

For instance, even in countries -- for instance, in the Southeast Asia region, countries that were hit particularly hard by the tariff hikes are not looking to respond with reciprocal tariffs. These countries, I'm specifically referring to Cambodia and Vietnam, for example, which are now seeing 49 percent tariffs and 46 percent tariffs, respectively, are not looking to respond with reciprocal tariffs right now.

And interestingly, Kim, the reason why, according to many of the experts I've spoken to, these tariff hikes are so large on these countries is because many international companies have been moving businesses to this part of the world instead of in China, because it's much cheaper to do business there.

But clearly, Kim, even countries in Southeast Asia are not immune to Trump's latest tariff hikes. Kim.

[02:05:01]

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, absolutely. All right. Hanako Montgomery, thank you so much. A senior European official says the bloc has major concerns with the methodology the White House used to calculate the new tariffs placed on most countries. The senior official says the bloc is trying to find a solution to what it considers to be unlawful and unjustified tariffs from the Trump administration.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen looks at how Europe, and particularly Germany, a key trading partner, reacting to the new paradigm.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As shiny German cars roll onto massive cargo ships for export, fear is spreading here that the seas could soon get a lot rougher after President Trump hit auto imports to the U.S. with a 25 percent tariff. European exporters, hoping Americans love German cars more than the U.S. leader, loves tariffs.

"For the American market, this port handles mostly higher-priced vehicles," the port's CEO says. "We hope the buyers who purchase these rather expensive cars are not so price sensitive that they would refrain from buying them simply because they're subject to high tariffs." But the German auto industry is already in a major crisis, with massive sales and revenue drops leading to job cuts and restructuring programs.

PLEITGEN: And it's not only the German auto industry that's in trouble. This country is in the midst of a protracted and worsening recession. And the last thing Berlin needs now is a trade war with one of Germany's most important trading partners.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): In Berlin, people lashing out at the U.S. President for potentially exacerbating the woes. "We in Europe really need to concentrate on ourselves at the moment," this man says. The strengths are there in Europe in terms of industry, development and technology. And this man says nobody will actually gain anything except perhaps Donald Trump's ego.

TRUMP: This is one of the most important days, in my opinion, in American history. It's our declaration of economic independence.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): From fine Italian cheese and delicious Parma ham to French champagne and cognac, the Trump administration is slapping a 20 percent tariff on goods from the European Union, citing the E.U.'s trade surplus with the U.S., a move the Europeans say is deeply unfair.

While they acknowledge Europe runs a trade surplus of about $173 billion with the U.S. when it comes to goods, for services, there's a trade deficit with the U.S. of about $120 billion, Brussels says, largely evening things out. And the bloc's leadership vows they will strike back at Trump.

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISION PRESIDENT: We are already finalizing the first package of countermeasures in response to tariffs on steel. And we're now preparing for further countermeasures to protect our interests and our businesses if negotiations fail.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): And if those negotiations do fail, small businesses are set to suffer. The small Greek Calavrita cooperative for feta cheese had its sights set on entering the U.S. market this year. But Trump's tariffs could drastically change that equation. "The tariffs certainly add a cost to the product," the CEO says, "and what share of that will go to the final consumer, where the roulette ball will land, remains to be seen."

Like for so many on both sides of the Atlantic, for those working here, the Trump administration's trade policy first and foremost means one thing -- uncertainty about who are friends and who are foes in international trade. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Back here in the U.S., there's growing concern over how the massive new tariffs will affect farmers and ranchers. During the first Trump presidency, his administration paid them billions of dollars to make up for their losses during his trade war with China.

The American Farm Bureau warned last month that new tariffs will take a toll on rural America. The U.S. Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins, claimed agricultural workers understand and will benefit down the line. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKE ROLLINS, U.S 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, 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Now, this week, two key Republican senators who represent states with heavy agricultural interests refused to say whether they support the tariffs. All right, I want to bring in Daniel Sumner, who's a professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of California. Davis, thank you so much for being here with us. Really appreciate it. So in general, do you feel this will hit Americans in the grocery shopping cart, so to speak?

[02:10:04]

On balance, do you feel this will make the trip to the grocery store more expensive?

DANIEL SUMNER, PROFESSOR OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-DAVIS: Yeah, there's no question about that. I don't think any -- there are no credible analysts who would think that food prices aren't bound to go up. And it also hits farmers, as the Secretary of Agriculture is suggesting it may sometime later be better for farmers. It's hard to see what sort of calculations she's doing to get that number.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, I wonder, because, you know, farmers, as we know, operate on such small margins. They already face so many challenges. I mean, what kind of effect do you think this will have on smaller operations? Will it be enough to -- to push many of them under?

SUMNER: Well, smaller or large, it's challenging. And farmers are resilient, so, as much as we think about small farmers or mid-size or large farms, they all make massive investments and they all are reasonably well-capitalized given their businesses. But it'll make the whole business more challenging.

Some won't make it through it. The uncertainty you've talked about a lot this evening certainly has an impact in agriculture. Some people don't remember or think through how heavily capitalized most farms are, whether it's an almond orchard here in California or a cattle ranch in Montana. There's lots of capital that goes into producing that output. You hit an industry with lots of uncertainty. It's real trouble.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, absolutely. Listen, we talked about prices going up. What do you think will be affected most? And then not everything will be going up. Some prices will actually come down. So, walk us through both elements here.

SUMNER: Yeah, let's -- let's take an example of the tree nut industry here in California, which is very heavily reliant on -- on exports. The 50, 60, 70 percent of the crop is exported depending on the year and how big the crop happens to be. It takes 10, 12 years to get a pistachio tree into full production.

So, it's not like you can turn on a dime there. And if you're exporting 70 or 80 percent of the crop, a lot of it to Europe, a lot of it to Asia, you're in real trouble with any responses to these. But even without direct responses, it's generally not good business to want your customers to be poorer. So, hurting the customer is not very -- not very often a good business strategy.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah.

SUMNER: Then let's turn to, you know, we can -- we can turn to import dependent industries. And there, of course, U.S. consumers will be paying substantially higher prices. But also, farmers will be paying higher prices for their inputs. So, whether it's energy intensive inputs based on imported energy products, or its capital goods, or -- or for that matter, fertilizers, all of these -- we have a world dependency in the current system.

That means we trade back and forth with lots of places around the world. And sometimes it's -- it's indirect. The trade goes back and forth two or three times to get the products that, say, a farmer uses to -- to plant a new vineyard or build that cattle herd.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, as you say, I mean, trade definitely not a zero sum game as so many people will be affected by this. We'll still have to see how exactly it shakes out and whether they're able to mitigate some of these effects.

We'll have to leave it there, but really appreciate you taking the time with us early this morning, Professor Daniel Sumner. Thank you so much.

SUMNER: You're welcome.

BRUNHUBER: Ruling from South Korea's constitutional court leads to dancing in the streets of Seoul. While the justices decided about the country's embattled president, we have that and more coming up straight ahead. Stay with us.

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[02:18:37]

BRUNHUBER: South Korea is headed for new elections after the constitutional court upheld the removal of President Yoon Suk Yeol from office, and that's prompting protests and celebrations in the capital.

CNN's Mike Valerio is live this hour in Seoul. So, Mike, take me through the reaction that we're seeing behind you there and take us through what happens next, as well.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, Kim, I think it's a sigh of relief is the palpable emotion that you have right here. We're pretty much in the center of the old city for anybody who's ever been to Seoul. This is right in front of Gyeongbokgung Palace, Gwanghwamun Gate. It's been here for centuries, a gathering point.

And this has been a gathering point for people who are rallying against the now former president of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol. But a lot of people are starting to leave. It's a far cry, Kim, from the thousands of people who were cramming in close to the constitutional court and all the streets and alleyways that had not been closed down by police.

So, people here are having their after lunch sort of victory celebrations. And now what happens next is that we have all on our phones read the throwing in the towel statement, so to speak, of the former president, Yoon Suk Yeol, where he apologized and said a word of thanks to his supporters.

[02:20:00]

Now, we did speak to an anti-Yoon demonstrator before we came on the air with you, Kim. Listen to her reaction, what she felt when the verdict came down earlier today.

(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 heavy feeling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: And this is a very visceral moment for millions of South Koreans, because this is all about martial law, Kim. This all goes back to December 3rd of last year, when the now former President, Yoon Suk Yeol, to try to solve a political crisis, sent troops, members of the military to the National Assembly a couple of kilometers away from where we're standing, the heart of South Korean democracy in the name of, from his point of view, resolving a logjam, resolving a political crisis.

But those gathered around us, certainly the majority of South Koreans, said sending in the military is not how a democracy functions. You don't send troops to get rid of a political logjam and solve a crisis.

So, where we go from here, later in the evening down one of these main avenues, this is where we're going to see a rally of anti-Yoon supporters, those who are thrilled with today's decision, 7 P.M. local time by City Hall.

And as you point out in the introduction of this story, Kim, we're now headed towards elections within the next 60 days. That brings us around to June 3rd. The country is going to need to elect somebody who can go toe to toe with the Trump administration after 25 percent tariffs levied against South Korea yesterday, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, turbulent times for all these changes. Mike Valerio in Seoul, thank you so much. All right, still ahead, Vladimir Putin's special envoy now says the Trump administration understands Russia. We'll look at what that means just ahead. Stay with us.

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[02:26:41]

BRUNHUBER: Vladimir Putin's top negotiator says the Trump administration understands Russian concerns after his high-level talks with U.S. officials, Thursday. According to Russian state media, Kirill Dmitriev claims a main topic now is restoring Russian-American ties, a relationship that was apparently interrupted during the Biden administration.

Earlier, he told CNN there's been a major progress regarding a ceasefire in Ukraine, thanks to the Trump White House. Here he is.

(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.

UNKNOWN: Right.

DMITRIEV: But I think there are several passes to try to address all of the issues, and only diplomatic solution can be possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Dmitriev has been highlighting Russia's absence from the list of global tariffs unveiled by President Trump on Wednesday, and says U.S. businesses would be welcome in Russia if punitive sanctions over its war in Ukraine were lifted.

All right, joining us live from Vilnius, Lithuania is Vladimir Milov. He's a former deputy energy minister for Russia, and he was also an advisor to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Thank you so much for being here with us. So, just to start, are you surprised Russia wasn't included in the list of countries facing tariffs?

VLADIMIR MILOV, FORMER RUSSIAN DEPUTY ENERG MINISTER: Hello, thanks for having me. Truly speaking, yes, because, you know, obviously there was a lot of commentary that they included very tiny countries, even some uninhabited islands. And the explanation, I think, doesn't hold water, because they say that Russia does not hold major trade with the United States.

However, President Trump just weeks ago threatened Russia with tariffs, pretending to having some tools on exerting pressure on Russia to facilitate peace negotiations and so on. So, it's one or another. Either Russia is not trading with the U.S. or you threaten it with tariffs. Somewhere, somewhere here, they are clearly not telling all the truth.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, all right. So, to Dmitriev's visit, apparently, it was the first time in years that a senior Russian official has come here to the U.S. for talks with an American counterpart. So, what's the significance of this as a signal of that rapprochement between the two countries?

MILOV: Dmitriev was recently appointed a special envoy for Putin on international negotiations. And I think Putin really captures the momentum because Dmitry is a business guy. He was chairing this so- called Russia Direct Investment Fund since 2011 for nearly 15 years already. And he has developed some good personal relations with Steve Whitkoff, Donald Trump's special representative from all these negotiations.

So, I think Putin is focusing as this business way of making inroads, discussing some potential lucrative business projects first and through that sort of winning the hearts of the Americans trying to sell their agenda.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, clearly the way to Donald Trump's heart is through business. And Dmitriev said American businesses would be welcome back to Russia. Let's listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DMITRIEV: The Russian economy has done well and we don't ask for any sanctioned relief.

[02:30:03]

I think what we see is that some U.S. businesses want to go back and if they want, if they want, as part of going back to have some sanctions relief, I think that is a good move to be done. But it's a good move for America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: So, what do you make of what he said there? Is that where things are heading, do you think?

VLADIMIR MILOV, FORMER ADVISER TO ALEXEI NAVALNY: Well, Russians are trying to play tough and say that, no, we don't need lifting the sanctions. In fact, they do. If you just look to the recent Black Sea ceasefire communique, or so it was reported, they clearly demand lifting of the sanctions as a precondition to -- to anything that can possibly happen. So here, they are lying, obviously.

But they want to seduce the Americans with some, I don't know, rare earth projects, Arctic oil and gas projects to actually win their hearts, to be able to sell their agenda, which continues to remain complete subjugation of Ukraine. This is as Russian deputy foreign minister recently commented, he said Russians don't want any ceasefire. We want our fundamental agenda to be accepted by the Americans. For this, they want to lure them into the talks about some potential investments, business and so on.

BRUNHUBER: Okay, so that -- kind of at least goes a little way to answering my next question, which was about those ceasefire talks. We haven't heard much from the U.S. side. We heard Dmitriev claim that they're making headway, even though the talks seem to have stalled recently. Trump even accusing Moscow of dragging its feet.

So, let's talk in general. I mean, Putin must be very happy about the direction of all this so far under the Trump administration. So where do you think things stand on -- on the ceasefire front? MILOV: I think two and a half months after Donald Trump took office,

we are further apart from any potential negotiations on the peace deal than we were on the 20th of January. Putin became more brazen. Russian demands had effectively elevated since then, and the U.S. basically had achieved nothing.

You know, there's been a lot of talk about this peace through strength thing, but none of that sort, not any kind of pressure on Russia is actually happening. Putin feels his strength in this regard. So, he pushes for more demands. And basically, they said it recently.

Again, listen to that interview by the Russian deputy foreign minister who said, we don't want any ceasefire as the Americans do. We want Americans to accept our fundamental demands, which is effectively subjugation of Ukraine by Russia and Ukraine giving up its sovereignty.

BRUNHUBER: We'll leave it there, but always appreciate getting your analysis.

Vladimir Milov, thank you so much.

MILOV: My pleasure.

BRUNHUBER: Greenland gets another high-profile guest. Denmark's prime minister visits her country's territory and issues a strong message to the U.S. We'll tell you what she said. That's coming up next. Stay with us.

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[02:37:38]

BRUNHUBER: There's been a major shakeup of the U.S. intelligence community. Weve learned the Trump administration has fired the director and deputy director of the National Security Agency. It wasn't immediately clear why General Timothy Clark -- Timothy Haugh, as well as his second in command, Wendy Noble, were fired. Top Democrats on the Senate and House Intelligence Committee issued statements slamming the decision.

It comes as sources tell CNN the White House fired several administration officials after President Donald Trump met with far- right activist Laura Loomer on Wednesday. Loomer urged the president to get rid of several National Security Council staffers for being disloyal.

President Trump defended the firings earlier Thursday and said Loomer wasn't involved.

Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Laura Loomer is a very good patriot. She is a very strong person. And I saw her yesterday for a little while. 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)

BRUNHUBER: More than 500 migrants from the United States and Mexico were repatriated to Venezuela on Thursday. The flight signaled an intensification of deportations and repatriations from the United States to Venezuela, despite renewed tensions between the two countries. President Trump had previously accused some Venezuelan deportees of being gang members without providing evidence. He's also pressured the Venezuelan government to accept more flights in exchange for an easing of sanctions on the country.

Denmark's prime minister has a message for the U.S.: you can't annex another country. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

METTE FREDERIKSEN, DANISH PRIME MINISTER: This is not only about Greenland or Denmark. This is about the world order that we have built together, across the Atlantic over generations. You cannot annex another country, not even with an argument about international security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Mette Frederiksen made that statement during a trip to Greenland, an autonomous territory that's part of Denmark.

President Donald Trump has called for making Greenland part of the United States. Now, her comments came as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with his Danish counterpart on the sidelines of a NATO meeting. The State Department said Rubio affirmed the, quote, strong relationship between the two countries.

I'm Kim Brunhuber. "WORLD SPORT" is next. Then, I'll be back at the top of the hour with more news.

Stay with us.

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[02:45:00]

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