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U.S. Stocks Tumble Amid Trump Tariff Uncertainty; Trump Says Tariffs Will Return If No Deal Made; Moscow Releases Russian-American Woman Ksenia Karelina; Death Toll In Dominican Republic Nightclub Roof Collapse Risers Above 200; Helicopter Crashes Into Hudson River; First Round Underway At Augusta National. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired April 10, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:25]

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: Hello, and thank you for joining us. Welcome to all our viewers from around the world. I'm Erica Hill. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

U.S. markets tumbling once again this afternoon as uncertainty looms due to Donald Trump's tariff plan. Those enormous gains that we saw yesterday on the news of that partial 90-day tariff pause short-lived.

All three major U.S. indices seeing fairly significant drops today. You can see right here the S&P 500, the Nasdaq, the Dow all down.

Take a look to at the activity of the S&P 500 over the past week, this of course, is since Donald Trump announced his tariff plan on April 2nd. Do you see those massive spikes and drops? Thats a clear picture of the volatility that we have seen in the markets, all of that fueled by uncertainty because despite President Trump pausing some tariffs, it's still not clear what happens after this 90-day pause, nor how long the current tariffs, the ones you see there on your screen will be in place.

There is now 145 percent tariff on all Chinese imports. Don't forget about that 25 percent tariff on certain Canadian, Mexican imports. And remember we did get that 10 percent tariff on nearly all other countries over the weekend. And 25 percent on steel, aluminum and foreign automobiles.

Speaking a short time ago at a cabinet meeting, Donald Trump said there would be an initial cost from his tariff plan. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Everybody wants to come and make a deal, and we're working with a lot of different countries and it's all going to work out very well. I think it's going to work out really very well. But again, there will be a transition cost and transition problems. But in the end, it's going to be -- it's going to be a beautiful thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Vanessa Yurkevich is at the New York Stock Exchange.

Transition costs, it's going to be a beautiful thing. It sounds like what we're hearing is different phrasing for there's going to be some short term pain.

How are -- how is everything being received down there at the stock exchange, Vanessa?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Well, we're seeing that pain in real time, right? Because you have the Dow down about 1,000 points, almost, the Nasdaq down over 3.5 percent. And you have the S&P down almost 3 percent.

But worth noting that we have come off the lows of the day. So that's encouraging. But at the same time the traders here are following the news, right? They watch the news. And very much the market in the last week has been moving on these news cycles. And what the president has been saying.

And at around between, I would say 12:00 noon or so, the White House clarified that the tariff that was in effect on China was actually 145 percent, and that sent markets tumbling. You had the Dow falling about 2,000 points, really shedding two thirds at that point of the gains that we saw yesterday on the Dow.

But this was a reaction to what the president said and what his administration clarified about China. You know, this was for a lot of investors, the biggest deal in the room. What was going to happen with China. They sort of thought we might be holding steady at that tariff rate of 125, and that there would be some negotiations going on.

But the clarification actually just raised that tariff and then obviously raised investors fear about the outlook of businesses and the overall economy. But worth noting, Erica, that when I did speak to analysts this morning, I said, what's today going to look like? And they were not surprised to see that futures were down because people had a chance to sleep on the fact that, yes, we are still very much in a historic trade war, not just the tariffs on China, but you have those auto tariffs, those 10 percent reciprocal tariffs, additional tariffs coming on foreign car parts.

So really the level of uncertainty is pretty much the same. Yes, we have certainty about that 90-day pause. But most of the traders and analysts I speak to just say that there's still such a high level of uncertainty, because we are just smack dab in the middle of this trade war. And you see the Dow there about down about 825 points, certainly not where we were on the lows of the day, but probably not in the direction that the president was hoping for after what he saw yesterday, that major relief rally, Erica.

HILL: Yeah, certainly not. Vanessa, I really appreciate it. Thank you.

Well, Donald Trump has said he'd bring back those so-called reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries if they are not able to reach a deal during this 90-day pause. And according to the president, in his words, everybody wants to make

a deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: If we can't make the deal that we want to make, or we have to make, or that's, you know, good for both parties, it's got to be good for both parties.

[15:05:00]

And then we go back to where we were.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Betsy Klein joining us now from the White House.

So, Betsy, I think the overarching question for a lot of folks is there was no real clear, clear plan when it came to version one of these tariffs. And what would happen? We would negotiate. We wouldn't negotiate. Now here we are.

Does it seem from the White House that there is a clear, cohesive plan for this next 90 days?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: That's a great question, Erica. And I think one that we are also waiting to find the answer to as they are hosting dozens and dozens of world leaders expected to in the coming days and weeks to potentially strike and hammer down some of these trade deals that the president has advertised. But it's really been a week of tariff whiplash from Wall Street all the way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

And really, the White House is -- the reality is setting in here that the White House is in an intensifying trade war with China. You mentioned those 145 percent tariffs. Economic advisor Kevin Hassett really downplayed the idea that we are in a trade war. He said instead that hopefully this is the beginning of a fruitful negotiation.

And he said to that end, that everyone in the president's cabinet with skin in the game involved in global trade would be meeting today at the White House to discuss some of those next steps. So, we saw that play out a few moments ago in the cabinet room of the White House. The president convening his top advisers, where they really went around and lavished praise on the president.

And even as CNN has reported, that both internally and publicly, the president's top economic advisers have really differed on how to proceed here. And really, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emerging as the key voice as the president made that decision to pause those tariffs for 90 days.

But stocks tumbling today, something the president is acutely aware of. And he offered a more sober assessment of the situation in remarks earlier today. Take a look.

Oh, excuse me. We don't have that sound.

But the president acknowledged that there will be a transition cost. He said there will be transition problems. He said he would still like to get a deal with China and called China's President Xi, quote, a friend. We are expecting so many world leaders to cycle in and out of the Oval Office in the coming weeks.

The president said that if the deals aren't good for both parties by that July deadline, the tariff pause could be lifted. He also signaled that he would be negotiating with the European Union as one bloc instead of individual countries. One of the potential goals that is being discussed here is the possibility of working together with U.S. allies, particularly in Asia, the region, South Korea, Japan, for instance, to come together, create these trade deals, and then present a united front as they seek to get a deal with China.

But also some good news today for President Trump, as he has learned that House Republicans have taken a key step toward his tax agenda today, Erica.

HILL: Yes, that was a boost for him, that's for sure. Betsy, really appreciate it, as always. Thank you.

Let's get you caught up on some of the other headlines were following outside of the tariff situation, a Russian American woman is now free headed back to the U.S. Ksenia Karelina has been serving time in a Russian prison for a little -- a little over a year on treason charges. She was sentenced to 12 years in prison after donating some $50 to a Ukrainian charity.

Her release is part of a prisoner swap. The U.S. releasing Arthur Petrov, who's a Russian German national who was being held on smuggling, wire fraud and money laundering charges.

Frederik Pleitgen has more for us now from Berlin.

So, tell us a little bit more about what we know about this swap, Fred.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the swap took place in Abu Dhabi in the early morning hours of today. In fact, it was video that was released, Erica, by the TASS news agency coming from Russian authorities of Ksenia Karelina before that being taken to an airport in Russia and then being put on an airplane for that trip to Abu Dhabi. And it was on the tarmac there that for the first time she came sort of face to face with Arthur Petrov as he was brought out of an American plane, and then towards a Russian plane, where then he got a medical check and then was brought back on a flight to the Russian capital to Moscow.

So those are the technicalities of that swap that happened. But at the same time, of course, the whole machinations behind that swap were extremely important as well. And it appears as though these prisoner swaps, this is the second one that we've seen since the Trump administration took office. The first one, of course, happened on the eve of that phone call, the first phone call between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, when President Trump's chief negotiator, Steve Witkoff, was in the Russian capital and had met with Vladimir Putin and then brought American teacher Marc Fogel back home with him.

So, these prisoner swaps appear to be turning into something like a catalyst, as the U.S. and Russia seek to improve their relations. Certainly, the Trump administration is seeking to improve ties with the Putin administration, of course, with the goal of trying to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine. One of the things that we know is that this prisoner swap today really took shape when last week, the one of the envoys of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, Kirill Dmitriev, who is also one of their top negotiators with the U.S. when it comes to economic questions, when he was in D.C. for meetings there.

However, of course, as far as the ceasefire is concerned, it really doesn't look as though there is very much movement on that front. We know from the front lines that if anything, the fighting has essentially gotten worse there than it was before. At the same time, though, of course you do have the U.S. and Russia now talking on a separate track also about improving diplomatic relations once again.

But certainly, these prisoner swaps are definitely seen as an important step to build trust between the Trump administration in D.C. and the Putin administration in Moscow, Erica.

HILL: Yeah, absolutely. Fred, appreciate it. Thank you.

Well, from rescue now to recovery, that round the clock effort to find survivors of a nightclub tragedy in the Dominican Republic taking a somber shift as authorities are now focused on retrieving bodies. At this point, they say at least 221 people were killed when the roof of the club collapsed early Tuesday. It is unclear at this hour how many people, though, remain missing. Families have begun to bury their loved ones killed in the disaster. The country's president today attending a funeral for singer Rubby Perez, who was performing when the roof collapsed.

Stefano Pozzebon is live on the scene for us in Santo Domingo.

A very somber move as we move into this now recovery phase, as they look for more of the body, Stefano.

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, indeed, it's a complete different phase. The chapter of the search and rescue, which was the first one, concluded overnight, and then the chapter of the recovery of the bodies, also concluded. The Dominican public health minister confirmed to us that now they are ready to start with the investigation into what happened. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICTOR ATALLAH, DOMINICAN MINISTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH: We are almost handling the building and giving it to the proper authorities for investigation and establishment of a perimeter of security and work up in the -- in the structural area. Now, that's important to guarantee that there is no more damage to people around. (END VIDEO CLIP)

POZZEBON: And, Erica, we are now inside that security perimeter that the public health minister referred in our interview. That's why we can bring you these images. We are very, very close to what used to be the nightclub, and we witnessed just a few minutes ago, investigators from the attorney general's office entering from that door. I don't know if you can see it from in the background because it's very dark, because of the -- of the walls of the -- of the of the club.

However, we can now confirm and it feels that this story is turning page after page. We went earlier today to speak with relatives of the victims, who of course, had told us that they are demanding justice. They want to know what happened. And so, there are very tough questions that need to be answered here by the authorities.

Public health minister told us that they will take all of these questions very seriously. And they -- they promise that they will get to the bottom of what really happened.

And we can say that they are starting this now. We have seen a couple of drones entering from above into that, frankly frightening hole that used to be a rooftop, and now it's just a hole in the middle of this four walls that are now what's left of this nightclub.

And we see that the investigators are inside. So, there is the feeling that the story is advancing, the feeling of closure as well, with that touching service, memorial service for the merengue singer Rubby Perez, who was the star of the night, attended by latin music stars such as Juan Luis Guerra and others, stars of merengue, but also the president of the country here in the Dominican Republic.

And so, now, the biggest question once again, will be the investigation. And as soon as we are able to get even closer, we will report back to you. But here is the latest, Erica.

HILL: Stefano, appreciate it. Thank you.

Still ahead here this hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, President Trump's message: it's a great time to buy, raising new questions on Capitol Hill about possible insider trading.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:45]

HILL: As we continue to follow this last 40-plus minutes or so of trading, let's take a quick look at how things are going down on Wall Street in New York here. Continuing to show the markets in the red. You see the Dow there down 2.6 percent on the day. We'll continue to keep a close eye on that throughout the rest of this hour here.

All of this coming of course as President Trump conceded a short time ago, there would be, quote, transition problems with his trade policies. He also referred to those transition costs, saying that he believes, though, that the U.S. and China, for example, will reach a deal. Again, as we're looking at that. Those are the numbers, of course, on the Dow, the S&P 500, meantime, actually down more than 3 percent at this hour.

There are a number of there. You see some of the markets, the Nasdaq as well. The number of lawmakers on Capitol Hill are now questioning whether anyone at the White House may have been able to make a profit on President Trump's U-turn when it came to tariffs.

So, at 9:37 yesterday morning, Wednesday morning, the U.S. president posted on Truth Social, this is a great time to buy. And then just after 1:00 p.m. was when the president announced that 90-day pause on those tariffs for all countries, except, of course, for China. And of course, important to note, he did leave those 10 percent tariffs in place.

Well, the Dow surged almost 8 percent by the end of the trading day on Wednesday on that news. And it turns out anyone who may have taken the presidents advice in the stock market may have seen some pretty significant gains.

The top White House economist tried to downplay, though, any accusations of market manipulation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN HASSETT, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: I don't think that I ever give stock advice about now, but I think every day is a good day to buy if you believe in the future of America, and every day is a good day to hold as well.

REPORTER: You can confidently say he wasn't trying to control what happened in the market.

HASSETT: He believes in the long run future of America, and I think everybody who sees the clarity with clarity, how strong these policies are should agree as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Meantime, a prominent U.S. House Democrat is calling out fellow lawmakers who may have taken the presidents advice to buy before the rollercoaster stock market ride. New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posting on social media any member of Congress who purchased stocks in the last 48 hours should probably disclose that now, ending her message by calling for a ban on insider trading in Congress.

[15:20:02]

And she's been joined by other lawmakers from across party lines who say it's a situation that needs to be investigated.

Here's independent Senator Bernie Sanders on last night's CNN town hall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): I don't know for a fact, but would I be surprised if there are people who, hours before knew exactly what Trump was going to do in rescinding his tariff proposals, understanding that the stock market would soar and you make huge amounts of money. Would I'd be shocked if we learned about that in the days to come? No, I would not.

REP. JEFF HURD (R-CO): Hearing that does give me some concern. I will tell you that I'm a member of Congress that does not believe we should be buying or selling individual securities as members of Congress. Me personally, I just own mutual funds, broad index-based funds.

The success of the American economy is my personal success. It is something that causes some concern for me. We may want to look at that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Joining me now is Richard Painter. He's a former White House ethics lawyer who served during the second George W. Bush administration and is currently a professor of corporate law at the University of Minnesota.

Nice to have you here this afternoon. You told NBC you thought it was a, quote, terrible idea for Donald Trump to make those posts.

Do you believe that those posts crossed a line?

RICHARD PAINTER, FORMER WHITE HOUSE ETHICS LAWYER: Well, they certainly crossed the ethical line. The president of the United States is not an investment advisor, and particularly right now, we have a situation where federal government trade policy is having an enormous impact on the stock market. The stock market clearly does not want a trade war.

The last time the United States precipitated a global trade war of this magnitude was in 1930, when President Hoover signed the Smoot- Hawley bill. At least that passed through Congress. The president didn't do it unilaterally, and that prolonged a depression throughout the world for almost a decade.

The stock market does not like trade wars, does not like tariffs. And President Trump knows that. And the stock market collapsed in response to his tariffs and then soared when he said he was going to postpone many of them. And now its back in the tank today.

The president at a minimum could stop talking about stocks. And I hope that nobody in his administration or anybody else is buying and selling stocks while all this goes on. They need to focus on coming up with a trade policy that's going to expand the economy in the United States and around the world so we can calm these markets down. Or we could end up in a very serious recession.

HILL: There have been, in response to a number of questions about the post, about possibly crossing a line or others. The White House said that the president was simply doing his job, trying to reassure both the markets and the American people.

Do you believe, though, that any of this could result in an investigation? As we've heard some lawmakers call for, you know, as we just listened to a broader investigation, perhaps not the president himself, but others who, it turns out, may have done well, and whether there may be a connection there. Do you see that happening?

PAINTER: I think there probably would be an investigation at some point, either by congress or the Securities Exchange Commission, as to who was making big trades, big bets during this very, very volatile week mostly a downside week for the stock market.

And if people were making big bets, the focus on the timing there and see if any of those people had access to material nonpublic information from the United States government, we just don't know the answers to that yet. But the integrity of the American markets depends on a fair playing field. We can't have some people who have advanced access to information about trade policy that can swing markets 1,000 points in one direction or another, and then they get to trade in advance, and then other people have to take the losses.

That's -- that's not fair. And the investors are going to lose confidence in our securities markets if we don't assure everyone, that the rules are being enforced.

HILL: Do you think some of that that trust has already been lost at this point? Just given what we've seen in the last week?

PAINTER: I believe there are two problems. One is the markets do not like, high tariffs in a trade war. The historical experience has been disastrous. With respect to global trade wars and the impact on securities markets. And so, the markets are afraid. Investors are afraid.

It doesn't help to have the president of the United States saying, we'll buy stocks. It doesn't help, to have people close to the president who may be talking about stocks instead of focusing on the underlying economics. That's their job is to solve this trade problem. It's renegotiate the trade agreements if we have to, as quickly as possible and get rid of a lot of these tariffs, which are only threatening to drive the economy into a recession.

HILL: Richard Painter, good to have you here. Thank you.

[15:25:01]

PAINTER: Thank you very much.

HILL: Still to come, the worst self-inflicted wound. Former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen giving the Trump administration a report card. Maybe not one you'd want to bring home to your parents.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: Just about 30 minutes away now from the closing bell on Wall Street. How are the major indices doing here in the United States? As you can see, we still remain in the red here. The Dow down about 2.5 percent, a little steeper for the S&P 500, for the Nasdaq, down more than 4.25 percent, as of course, there may be this pause on President Trump's tariffs, additional tariffs. But of course, no end to the trade war that was launched.

Meantime, the former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen says that the Trump administration's economic strategy is the worst self-inflicted wound she can remember on the American economy. Those comments coming in an exclusive interview here with CNN's Bianna Golodryga and Zain Asher.

The former treasury secretary saying the chance of recession now, in her view, has actually risen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANET YELLEN, FORMER U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: This is the worst self- inflicted wound that I have ever seen an administration impose on a well-functioning economy. It is -- if you take the whole complex of Trump policies, tariffs that, as I just said, could cost the average household up to around $4,000 a year. The DOGE cuts in services, whether it's for our veterans, Social Security, the Internal Revenue Service, the agencies, the public interacts with, a spending plan that is likely to involve huge cuts in Medicaid and food stamps that lower income families particularly rely on, all in order to support tax cuts that mainly benefit the wealthy.

[15:35:33]

You had an administration that said it's worker-focused, and I really can't think of an overall economic agenda that could be more devastating on every front, from tariffs to cuts in government services to leaving very large deficits, taking policies that will expand the deficit when we need to see exactly the opposite. This is going to be devastating for American households and workers.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: And quickly, the likelihood of a recession due to President Trump's economic policies, in your view?

YELLEN: Well, it's clearly risen. And in addition to the tariffs. And the negative likely impact on consumer spending, we have a huge uncertainty shock. No one knows where any of this is going.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Richard Quest is here now.

So, Richard, no one does know where any of this is going. But right now, things are going south that we do know. Just put in perspective if we can, based on everything that we've heard today, the comments that we heard from the president as well, how is this going to influence potentially these next 90 days of uncertainty?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT LARGE: I think it's interesting, by the way, I think what Janet Yellen said with her vast experience, one of the most experienced and authoritative people anywhere in the world, she gave a coruscating analysis of the situation. It was absolutely a first, first class, world class.

The reality is no one knows. The markets are down because you've still got an enormous weight of tariffs. Youve got an essentially an effective tariff rate of 22 percent. The level of which we've not seen since 1904. So that's why the market is down. Youve now got several months of really detailed negotiation between the various countries.

Remember, Kevin Hassett said there are at least 15 countries that have come with explicit plans to the United States. Now, Erica, what are they going to be discussing is non-tariff barriers getting the headline number? In the case of South Korea, I think it is 15 percent.

Getting the tariff barrier down. That headline number. That's easy. But look at the sort of thing that the U.S. is really after. It wants to get rid of the unclear package spacing regulations. It wants to get rid of the biotech approval process, the government procurement rules that favor. This is non-tariff barriers.

And all countries have them. The U.S. has them by the way as well. Look at the ones for Vietnam, that they're going to be going for the detailed ones. So, in these detailed negotiations that will be taking place. South Korea, Vietnam, Australia one after the other, they're going to be going forward.

The U.S. knows exactly what it's going for. Theres no doubt. Here we go. Vietnam. The U.S. is going for import bans on toys. It's going for price controls. The ban on offal products.

So, Erica, put it together, that's the difficulty. Over the next nine months, sorting those individual problems out.

HILL: Yeah, it certainly is. We will be watching for all of that. Richard, always appreciate it. Thank you.

QUEST: Thank you.

HILL: And, of course, we will see you at the top of the hour. Be sure to join Richard for "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS".

Ana Swanson is the trade and economics reporter for "The New York Times" and joins me now as well.

And it's good to have you here. You know, just sort of picking up where we left off with Richard there. So were hearing from Kevin Hassett 15 countries, but we are also seeing, even just from the E.U., for example, the fact that you have the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, posting -- sure, we're going to take this time. We'll pause on our tariffs, too. But oh, by the way, we've had great calls with New Zealand and our trusted ally Canada, and we're working on negotiations with the UAE.

It's interesting to see the broader impact of where we're at in the last week.

ANA SWANSON, TRADE & INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS REPORTER, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Yeah. So, the president obviously has paused his tariffs. You do have a lot of countries racing to the United States to try to preserve their trade relationships, to try to cut deals with the Trump administration.

[15:35:01]

But you have to ask yourself what this has cost the United States in terms of global relationships as well.

Certainly, a lot of countries, you know, not very trustful of the United States. And some commentators have talked about, you know, if the president is willing to rip up past trade deals, why should countries have confidence in these deals going forward? So, I think it's created a lot of uncertainty, both for foreign governments and also for business, of course, which is a problem with encouraging businesses to invest right now.

HILL: When we look at where all of this stands to in terms of encouraging businesses to invest, it's from what I understand from your reporting from some of my colleagues here at CNN. It wasn't the stock market so much as the bond market that really may have spooked the president. That played a significant role in his reversal here on the tariffs.

Theres also some concerns about the damage that may have been done to the U.S. in general and U.S. assets because of that, that maybe the treasuries just aren't seen as the safe haven that they once were.

SWANSON: Yeah, that's exactly why those movements in the bond market yesterday were so concerning, because investors typically see the United States dollar and treasuries as a safe haven investment. And the way that treasuries were moving indicated that, you know, investors were really seriously losing faith in that prospect. And, you know, I think that's something that administration officials, particularly the treasury secretary, but also the president just had to take seriously. And today, you know, you did see markets rally a bit off of the pause, but are down again.

I think folks are realizing that even though some tariffs were paused, the tariffs on China were increased by quite a lot. And so, overall, the tariff burden is still basically just as high as it was before. And you still have these other tariffs hanging over other countries in the United States, after a period of 90 days.

HILL: In terms of that tariff burden, can you put it in perspective for folks? So, the fact that the tariffs on China now stand at 145 percent, how quickly is that going to be felt in the United States by companies, by consumers?

SWANSON: So, it really depends on the product. And it also depends on the company. You know, some -- some companies have said that they're raising prices basically right away to get ahead of it.

I think for some companies, particularly small businesses, you know, they're finding that they simply just can't afford to pay the cost of that tariff, that it's totally prohibitive. So, they may choose not to import those products at all. Other companies may be able to absorb the prices a little bit. So, you

might not see price increases for many months or later on into the year. But the fact is, you know, that is money that is due to the government, a tariff of 140 percent means that the importer is paying the entire importing price of the good, plus, you know, plus more to the government in fees, paying more to the government in fees than they're paying for the actual good.

And someone has to pay that money. You know, it has to be either the importer or the American consumer or potentially the Chinese supplier. If they can negotiate that.

HILL: So when we look at all of this you know, President Trump, then you have saying, you know, President Xi is a great friend, really wants to make this happen, wants to have these meetings with him. I am struck by the fact that we are in this moment. And last Wednesday, we were told by the president that there was a national emergency. He declared a national emergency. That is why all of these tariffs were needed.

When it comes to that emergency. Is that now on pause, along with these additional tariffs over the 90-day period, or are we still in an emergency?

SWANSON: Yeah, it's a great question. You know, the Trump administration has said that this emergency is about the overall trade deficit, that this necessitates action. But you're right. It raises a lot of questions about mixed messages that they've been sending about, you know, whether the goal is negotiating better deals or is the goal keeping tariffs higher? And, you know, ultimately moving manufacturing back to the United States.

And I think some supporters of the tariffs are worried that if the tariffs come down quickly, that other goal, you know, will not be resolved. So, it has created quite a lot of uncertainty in terms of the -- the multiple goals that the administration is trying to pursue with this. And the president really just likes to keep everybody guessing. But that makes it very difficult for others to plan around it.

HILL: Yeah, he certainly does, which he has told us a number of times. That is his -- is his strategy, if you will.

One more question on presidency, if you don't mind, if we go back for one second, the fact that the president is pushing so hard and has been so vocal about why he wants this meeting. The Chinese don't have much reason at this point, right? We have heard and I've certainly heard from my colleagues who cover the region, they can't backtrack at this point.

[15:40:03]

They don't want to. They certainly don't want to be seen as weak.

Would a meeting in the Oval Office and giving Donald Trump that photo- op be seen as a weakness in China? SWANSON: So, I do think there's a risk of that. You know, first of

all, I do think that the Chinese are very concerned about these tariffs and that the U.S. tariffs hurt them very much. And -- but also, there's definitely a domestic political component to it that, you know, might be equally as important as you're suggesting.

So, President Xi, of course, does not want to look weak in front of his own populace. Unlike China -- unlike the United States, China can actually control the media, manipulate the messages that are going out there. We've seen various hashtags related to the U.S. tariffs, for example, censored in China recently.

So, China has a bit more ability to kind of control the narrative around those tariffs which might make them a bit more resilient to the impacts. And I do think that they're going to be very cautious about arranging any kind of meeting with the president. That could seem like conciliation or walking into a situation where they don't really know what are the cards on the table, and how might this meeting result.

HILL: Ana, really great to have you with us today. Thank you.

SWANSON: Thank you.

HILL: Still to come here tonight, a judge has given the United States government until tomorrow to submit evidence against a Columbia University student who's been detained now for more than a month.

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HILL: A really important hearing coming up in the case against Mahmoud Khalil, who's the Columbia University graduate student who was arrested last month for leading pro-Palestinian activism on campus? The Trump administration has accused Khalil, who is a green card holder of antisemitism and of harassment.

Gloria Pazmino has been following all the developments for us.

So, what is the latest here in this case, Gloria?

[15:45:01]

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, Erica, just to remind our viewers and it's important to remember that there are actually two cases on Mahmoud Khalil that are playing out at the same time. The first case is his immigration case, and the other case is the case that's in federal court challenging the legality of his -- of his detention.

Now, there's been some new developments in the immigration case. Remember, the United States has said that they want to deport Khalil, and that is before an immigration judge in Louisiana, where he is being held in custody.

Now, a judge in that case ordered the government to submit evidence to support their deportation order. And the government did that yesterday. We are learning details about exactly what that evidence looks like. I just spoke with Khalil's attorneys in the last hours.

So far, they say the only thing that's been submitted is a memo by Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying that he approved the deportation of Khalil, in part because of, quote, his beliefs, statements and associations. There's nothing in the memo regarding alleged criminal activity or anything else that the government is alleging against Khalil. It continues to be solely focused about what he said in his participation in those anti-Israel, the antiwar last year on the campus of Columbia University, he helped organize the protests against the Israel-Hamas war.

So, it's a pretty kind of interesting development that the government is saying that this is their only evidence. His lawyers are expecting to take this up during a hearing, which is expected tomorrow. And the judge in the immigration case has said that if she does not consider that the government submitted enough evidence to support the deportation order, she would consider releasing Mahmoud Khalil from detention.

So potential significant developments expected tomorrow in this case. But for now, learning that the government does not appear to have any more evidence to back up these claims that they have made against him.

HILL: Which that in itself is quite a development. Gloria, really appreciate it. Thank you.

Still ahead here, if you find yourself in Augusta, Georgia, you'd be thrilled to hear the yelling of birdie, eagle, bogey or for the first men's golf major of the year is underway.

Our Don Riddell is there. Up next, a trip to the Masters.

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[15:50:13]

HILL: I'll bring you some breaking news right out of here in New York City. So, you're looking at live pictures. That is, of the Hudson River. What we're being told by the NYPD is that a helicopter crashed in the Hudson River.

So, this is around the Pier 40 area. If you are familiar with this area of New York City, around the West Side Highway and Spring Street. Understandably, you can see there are a number of emergency vehicles in the area there. We are told that there will be understandably significant delays in that area as they -- as they work to get more details on what has happened.

But again, the NYPD reporting that a helicopter crashed into the Hudson River. This happened at Pier 40, around 3:17 p.m. local time. So just a little over a half an hour ago as or actually almost 40 minutes as we look at the clock. Now, CNN has reached out to a number of authorities for more detail on this.

But again, what we know at this hour it is limited. But as you can see, there is a significant presence of emergency personnel after the NYPD now confirming that just after 3:15 local time this afternoon, a helicopter unclear if this was a tourist helicopter. Of course, you can see these.

If you've ever been to New York, you can take a tour in a helicopter. If it was a private helicopter, if it is involved, perhaps with a business in the area, with a news crew, with first responders. It is unclear who this helicopter belongs to, but again, a helicopter has crashed into the Hudson River. This is just off the west side highway around Spring Street at Pier 40, and we will continue to bring you updates as we have them out of New York City.

Going to do a bit of a turn here now as we bring you down to Georgia, where it is day one for the Masters, teeing off early this morning at Augusta National Golf Club there.

This is the 89th edition of the season's first major men's championship for some of the pros' kids, though, the real fun started on Wednesday. How cute are they? Running onto the course is caddies for their dads in the events par three contest.

Get this, world number one ranked Scottie Scheffler. He's a favorite to win the Masters. Well, if he does it, he'll become just the fourth player to win in back to back years. Before all of that begins, though, he said he's struggling a little bit with the course, his famous azaleas, a bit of hay fever.

Having spent five years living in Atlanta, I can attest to that spring pollen that coats everything.

Don Riddell is live in Augusta.

There were some cute moments from the kids yesterday as well, I should point out.

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Just adorable. Yeah, I think for a lot of people it's one of the great fun, fun days. Of course, the serious business, Erica, now underway with the competitive golf. But the par three contest is just adorable.

Scottie Scheffler, a first time dad, he was there as the defending champion, also with his son Bennett for the first time. He was born just after he won the green jacket here last year and Scheffler once again is making it look like child's play. He just finished his first round just a few minutes ago, actually, and he is in the clubhouse on four under par. That's just two strokes off the lead.

Remember he's the defending champion. He's hoping to become only the fourth player to win back to back masters titles, and he's hoping to join just the great Jack Nicklaus as the only men to win three green jackets in four years. So terrific start for Scottie Scheffler, but right now, he's chasing England's Justin Rose.

This is a guy with a storied career. He's a former U.S. open champion. He's a former Olympic champion. He was heartbroken here, losing to Sergio Garcia in a playoff a few years ago. But right now, he is just dominating Augusta National. He is six under. Canada's Corey Conners on four under. He finished brilliantly with three birdies in his last four holes. But spare a thought for the American Nick Dunlap. He's just 21 years old playing here for the second time only.

He has shot an 18 over par, 90, today. That is an absolute nightmare, and I think the hearts of all golfers will go out to him, because everybody knows that when things go bad on the golf course, they can go really, really sideways. So not a good day for Nick Dunlap.

HILL: Yeah. Tough way to start.

All right. Don, really appreciate it. Thank you.

I do want to get you updated now on this breaking news that we are following out of New York City. The NYPD saying that a helicopter appears to have crashed into the Hudson River. I can tell you, according to some alerts that were just sent out by emergency folks here in New York City.

Again, this happened near pier 40 in the Hudson River. You're seeing a different view now that we have here. You can see some of that activity on the river. There is also a significant amount of emergency personnel, understandably, on land there on the west side highway in Lower Manhattan.

As we look at this, again, the NYPD saying a helicopter has crashed in the Hudson.

[15:55:06]

We do not at this hour have details on where that helicopter was coming from or going to who the helicopter belongs to, who may have been on board. That is -- that is all to be determined at this point. Of course, we do have masks out for all of that information, but at this point, we know they are warning that there will be a number of disruptions, understandably, because of all the emergency personnel in the area.

This happened just about 40 minutes ago, 3:17 p.m. local time. It's now 3:55 here in New York. Again, that helicopter crashing, according to the NYPD in the Hudson River just off of the West Side Highway. And we will continue to follow this for you.

Stay with us. The news continues on the other side of a quick break. I'm Erica Hill. Thanks for joining me.

Richard Quest is up next with "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS".

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QUEST: Closing bell ringing on Wall Street. I'm sorry to say, we're back to business as usual. And that means the market is lower --