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White House Says Tariffs on China Now at Least 145%; U.S. and Russia Swap Prisoners; Death Toll from Nightclub Roof Collapse is Now 225; Trump Admits 'Transition Problems' Amid Tariff Uncertainty; Presidential Candidates in Ecuador Focus on Curbing Drug Violence. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired April 11, 2025 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Wall Street crashes back to reality. Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM.
[00:01:05]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We think we're in very good shape. We think we're doing very well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And Donald Trump pushes on with his tariff wars.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANET YELLEN, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY: President Trump has taken a wrecking ball to it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: "It" being the U.S. economy and fears of lasting damage caused by the tariff turmoil.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Dana's an incredible guy, and we spoke to President Putin about it; and they made a deal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And that's how a jailed American Russian was set free in a prisoner exchange.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.
VAUSE: A day after an historic relief rally on Wall Street came realization, it seems, that Donald Trump's global trade war is only on hold, and U.S. tariffs remain in place at levels not seen since the 1930s, while at the same time, the U.S. and China are still locked in a tit-for-tat tariff fight, which took another turn for the worse on Thursday. During a cabinet meeting, President Trump clarified that Chinese imports to the U.S. are subject to a 145 percent tariff, not 125 percent, as many had initially been told.
Officials tell CNN the White House is waiting for Beijing to make the first move and break the impasse.
For financial markets, another beating, with the Dow losing 2.5 percent, the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 also sharp -- down sharply.
The U.S. [resident was unable to comment on yet another bloodbath on Wall Street, because he wasn't across the numbers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I haven't seen it, because I've been here for 2.5 hours, so I'll be seeing it. I think Scott went out. Scott, you want to have a statement on that?
SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: Sure. Look, the up two, down one is not a bad ratio. Or up -- up ten, down five.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Wall Street set to open a few hours from now. These are the futures. It looks flat across the board, really. Just the S&P 500 up by a touch. NASDAQ also pretty much flat, as well.
Let's check trading in Asia. It's underway right now. Let's look at these numbers. The Nikkei there, down by 4.25 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng down by half of a percent. Shanghai up a touch. Hong Kong up a touch rather, I should say. Seoul KOSPI down by 1 percent.
Live to Seoul. CNN's Mike Valerio standing by. So, what's been the reaction across the Asia Pacific region, especially to news that U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports is now a staggering 145 percent?
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is mind-blowing. That's what traders from New York to Seoul are telling us here at CNN, John.
And if we want to go back to the numbers, the sell-off is being led by markets here in Tokyo and Seoul, because even though we have that giant poster board of the tariffs that are on -- from the Rose Garden that are on hold for about the next three months, with the huge exception of China's tariff that's now risen to 145 percent, we still have the tariffs on imported cars, steel and aluminum -- aluminium, however you like to say it. CNN and I say it both ways -- that are still on those major goods that are exported from Japan and from Seoul.
That's why you have declines on the Nikkei just over 4 percent, and declines on the KOSPI that have been around 1 percent all day.
Still notable that trading is hovering in the positive territory for the Hang Seng and for the Shanghai Composite. So, where is this going? Notable that the pullback in those tariffs
for about the next three months was, according to our reporting, led by jitters in the bond market. Our own John Liu (ph) in Hong Kong, looking at the numbers.
Let's put this up on the screen. The 30-year treasury yield rising to around 4.95 percent. That is the largest -- largest weekly increase since 1982, according to our own John Liu (ph) and numbers that have been crunched by Reuters.
So, where this is going, we're all looking to who talks to whom first. And as you alluded to in the intro, John, we have new reporting from our team in Washington, D.C., that is saying that the Trump team does not want to be the one to call Beijing first. And they have conveyed that for the better part of two months.
[00:05:11]
So, let's listen in to more of President Trump's comments from the West Wing a few hours ago. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We would love to be able to work a deal. All we're doing is putting it back in shape. We're resetting the table.
I have great respect for President Xi. He's been -- in a true sense, he's been a friend of mine for a long period of time. And I think that we'll end up working out something that's very good for both countries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALERIO: So, what we're watching, John: if there is going to be a deal made relatively quickly between Seoul and Tokyo and if those deals pressure Beijing to act -- John.
VAUSE: Mike, thank you. Mike Valerio there, live in Seoul.
VALERIO: No problem.
VAUSE: Joining us now from New York is CNN business editor at large and host of QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, Richard quest. It's good to see you again.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT LARGE: Good to be with you, sir.
VAUSE: OK, so a day after hitting pause on some of his tariffs -- not all -- the U.S. president had this assessment of just how well this tariff policy is working out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We think we're in very good shape. We think we're doing very well. 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)
VAUSE: So, just a few transition problems or, as some may have suggested, the last few days have caused serious and lasting damage to the U.S. economy. Where do you stand?
QUEST: I think that it's a combination of both in the sense that the -- you divide it into -- neatly into two groups.
There is the damage that's been done and is being done by these very high tariffs on China, which is 14 percent of U.S. imports, 10 percent general tariff around the world. Auto tariffs, pharmaceutical tariffs to come, steel and aluminum tariffs. So that is already baking the cake towards recession. That's one group.
And then the second side is now the process that's going on with all the other countries that have come forward with proposals.
But, if you look at those tariffs still in place, this is huge, John. This is a massive, massive drag on global trade as the United States unilaterally rewrites the rules.
VAUSE: We also heard from the treasury secretary on Thursday, and he had this assessment, very rosy assessment, if you like, of the U.S. economy. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BESSENT: We had very good inflation numbers today. Oil is down. We had a successful bond market. So, I don't see anything unusual today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Yes, I mean the trend line on inflation is good, but it's a snapshot of where the economy was. A fall in the price of oil is often because, you know, expectations that economic growth is likely to slow.
The bond market, I guess, being back from Armageddon is a good thing.
No mention of the stock market, which is a leading indicator. This was very much the cherry picking the facts to -- to fit the argument.
QUEST: Completely. And if you listen to Janet Yellen, who was talking to our colleagues on "One World" (ph) earlier, Janet Yellen said that the Trump administration had taken a wrecking ball to the -- to the economy. A well-functioning economy was how she put it.
So, there is absolutely no justification for the rosy scenario that the treasury secretary painted, bearing in mind the fact that others have said the economy is weakening even as we speak.
VAUSE: Now that we know tariffs are once again a negotiating tactic --
QUEST: Yes. VAUSE: -- there's still a lot of negotiations now which have to take place. These trade talks are with dozens of countries. What is the plan for these talks, which could take months if not possibly years?
QUEST: Traditionally, yes. It would have taken many, many months, either bilaterally or through the WTO.
But I think this time they're hoping it's going to be a great deal quicker, because the sword of Damocles, of the -- of the tariffs is hanging over the market.
And anyway, when they all sit down, they have this document. It's the foreign trade barriers. These are what the United States has identified as the real problems.
Let's take South Korea. Here's an example from this of what they say is South Korea. It's things like unclear package rules, onerous biotech approval processes, government procurement, regulations on car emissions.
Vietnam has a whole other range of non-tariff barriers which relate to price controls, vehicle imports, ban on offal products.
And you'll be familiar with this, John. Australia. This is the sort of thing that they're going to be going after with Australia. Complex approval processes for various agric and apples and pears prohibited.
So, they know what they're talking about when they sit down to negotiate. The U.S. is basically going to say, get rid of these, and we'll take away the tariffs.
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VAUSE: You know, do you know the Jewish parable about the man who complains to the rabbi about living in a small, overcrowded house?
The rabbi tells him to get a goat, let it live inside, makes everything a thousand times worse. Eventually, the rabbi tells him to get rid of the goat. The man can't believe how much better everything is.
So, I'm just wondering if Donald Trump, did he remove the goat on Wednesday with his tariff pause? But on Thursday, the markets realized that the war is still ongoing, and the highest tariffs since the 1930s are still in place.
QUEST: Well, I think your parable is very good, especially since it's Pesach next week. And so, one can identify.
And yes, well, he -- he sort of took the goat out and then put all the chickens back in.
VAUSE: Yes.
QUEST: And he added a few cows. Because outside this house is the -- you know, it's just the stench of all these other tariffs. And there's just no way.
The markets can't be fooled. The markets know what's going to happen. And the chance of a recession is still up to 50 and beyond 50 percent.
VAUSE: Richard, good to have you with us. Chag Sameach.
QUEST: Thank you very much.
VAUSE: See you again soon.
QUEST: Chag Sameach.
VAUSE: After more than a year locked up in a Russian jail, dual Russian-American citizen Ksenia Karelina has been set free as part of a prisoner exchange with Moscow.
A short time ago, she arrived at Joint Base Andrews, just outside Washington. The 33-year-old received a 12-year-long sentence after being convicted of treason. Her crime was a $50 donation to a charity supporting Ukraine.
Details now from CNN's Matthew Chance.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are the first images of Ksenia Karelina being set free and handed over to U.S. officials in Abu Dhabi to be flown home.
The dual U.S.-Russian citizen, a beautician and amateur ballerina from L.A., was serving 12 years in a Russian penal colony for treason after donating just over $50 to a charity supporting Ukraine.
Her nightmare is now ended with the latest U.S.-Russia prisoner swap.
She was wrongfully detained by Russia for over a year, the U.S. secretary of state, Marco Rubio, wrote on X. And President Trump secured her release, he added.
Back in Russia, the swap was breaking news, too, another sign of the warming relations between the Kremlin and the Trump administration.
One Russian source tells CNN the deal was advanced last week, with a key Kremlin envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, playing an important role during his visit to Washington.
The source tells CNN that an earlier prisoner exchange involving U.S. teacher Mark Fogel in February, quote, "created additional trust and enhanced cooperation in prisoner exchanges with President Trump's team."
And this is who the Kremlin got in exchange: Arthur Petrov on the right, a dual Russian-German citizen being held in the U.S. for allegedly smuggling banned microelectronics to Russia that could be used to build weapons. The FBI said his arrest in 2023 showed it was "resolute in its
commitment to stopping Russia from rearming its military with U.S. technology."
But the war in Ukraine continues to rage. And while the Kremlin says talks with the United States are now multitracked, focusing on diplomatic normalization, economic deals, and prisoner swaps, the long-awaited ceasefire demanded by President Trump has yet to be agreed.
Matthew Chance, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The prisoner exchange took place the same day U.S. and Russian officials met in Istanbul for a second round of talks over upgrading services for the U.S. embassy in Moscow.
According to the secretary of state, right now, the embassy is barely operational because of restrictions imposed by the Kremlin in recent years, including a ban on hiring local staff, and no access to the local banking system.
Both sides have agreed to continue talks in the near future.
Well, the death toll rises from the nightclub roof collapse in the Dominican Republic as authorities call off the search for more victims. We'll have the very latest in a report from Santo Domingo in a moment.
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[00:19:00]
VAUSE: New details about who was on board a helicopter which crashed into New York's Hudson River Thursday. Siemens executive Agustin Escobar and his family were among the six people killed in the crash.
Warning: the images you're about to see may be disturbing for some viewers.
Pieces of the helicopter were seen breaking free as it plummeted into the Hudson River. Still, no word on the cause of the crash.
The Escobar family was on a visit from Spain. They were taking a helicopter tour, flying past the Statue of Liberty, the George Washington Bridge, before crashing.
FAA records show the 20-year-old helicopter had a valid airworthiness certificate.
The death toll from the nightclub roof collapse in the Dominican Republic has risen to 225. At least 189 other people were injured in Tuesday's disaster.
On Thursday, rescuers ended the search for more bodies as families buried their loved ones. Authorities frantically seek the cause of the disaster.
CNN contributor Stefano Pozzebon has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): Rescue workers stand on the sidelines, watching as the massive cranes and trucks leave the scene of the deadly nightclub collapse.
Nearly three days after the roof of the popular Jet Set Club caved in, the search for survivors comes to an emotional end. The director of emergency operations breaking down as he thanked his crews, who saved nearly 200 people.
But more than 220 lives were also lost, and it's not clear how many are still unaccounted for. The cause of the collapse hasn't been determined.
VICTOR ATALLAH, DOMINICAN MINISTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH: I don't think we can say anything about the investigation, because the investigation has not even started.
POZZEBON (voice-over): Rescuers worked around the clock, combing through the rubble, but no one has been found alive in the last 24 hours.
ATALLAH: We have no more bodies. And the -- the whole area looks -- seems to be covered. So, I don't think -- we don't expect any more recovery.
POZZEBON: The majority of the bodies have been taken here at the Institute of Forensic Medicine. And here is where the painful process of autopsies and identification can take place.
POZZEBON (voice-over): The waiting area is chaotic and hot. Many wear masks, because the smell of decomposition is so strong.
Family members comfort one another as they wait for news. Angel de Los Andes (ph) tells us his cousin died at the nightclub less than four months after the death of her father.
"She was the light of the family," he says. "So smiley, so cheerful, so talented."
The whole nation is in mourning. Hundreds lined up to pay their respects to legendary singer Rubby Perez, who was performing at the time of the collapse.
Dominican President Luis Abinader watched as Perez's daughter bid a powerful farewell to her father.
ZULINKA, RUBBY PEREZ'S DAUGHTER: (SINGING)
POZZEBON (voice-over): Mourners outside singing his music. And saying their final goodbyes to a man they considered an idol, an icon, and a brother. Funerals like this, just the beginning for a country trying to cope
with unbearable loss.
Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Santo Domingo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Stocks are down, the U.S. dollar is weaker, and Donald Trump is happy, saying his trade war is going well. In a moment, what will it take to end the tit-for-tat tariffs with China?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:27:19]
VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Let's take a look at today's top stories.
The White House has clarified that tariffs on Chinese goods are now at least 145 percent.
President Trump met with his cabinet Thursday as administration officials say China will have to make the first move to resolve this growing trade dispute.
The impasse taking a toll on U.S. markets. The Dow initially sank more than 2,000 points before recouping some losses, closing down around 1,000 points, or 2.5 percent.
Meantime, the S&P 500 fell 3.5 percent, and the NASDAQ composite slid more than 4 percent.
A Russian-American ballerina convicted of treason in her homeland is back in the United States after being released in a prisoner exchange with Moscow.
Ksenia Karelina was serving a 12-year prison sentence in a Russian prison for donating about $50 to a charity supporting Ukraine. She was exchanged for a dual Russian German citizen who's been accused of smuggling to help Moscow's war against Ukraine.
As Wall Street came crashing back to reality on Thursday, President Trump remained upbeat about his global tariff war, saying all was going well, while conceding there would be some transition problems for Americans.
CNN's Brian Abel has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN ABEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Trump further escalating the growing trade war between the U.S. and China, confirming the tariffs on all Chinese goods are now at least 145 percent.
The U.S. stock market dropping in reaction to that, while China has levied an 84 percent tariff on all U.S. goods.
In a cabinet meeting, the president said he's, quote, "very happy" with the way the country is running, saying that a lot of countries have shown they want to come and make a deal on tariffs.
ABEL: The president says he thinks it's going to work out pretty well, he said, but did acknowledge some struggles ahead for the American people.
TRUMP: 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.
ABEL (voice-over): Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also speaking in the meeting, saying that some of the countries that were set to receive those reciprocal tariffs before the president paused them for 90 days were, quote, "coming with offers they never, ever, ever would have come with" without President Trump's actions.
HOWARD LUTNICK, U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY: We have so many countries to talk to. It is a -- it's incredible. I think Scott and I, I'm not sure we could ever have enough time in the day to talk to all these countries, because they want to talk, and they want to talk now.
ABEL (voice-over): Also speaking in this meeting was Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said that the president will be directly involved in tariff negotiations.
[00:30:04]
Now, the president was also asked about China, about the tariff war. And the president said, quote, "We will see what happens with China" and said that he respected Chinese President Xi Jinping; would love to make a deal; and is sure the two would be able to get along very well after.
At the White House, I'm Brian Abel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who played a key role in bringing down record-high inflation during the Biden administration, is now warning prices are set to rise again by a lot because of Trump tariffs.
And she described this trade policy as the worst self-inflicted wound she's ever seen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YELLEN: We had a very well-functioning economy, and President Trump has taken a wrecking ball to it. I'm afraid I could not give it a passing grade.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: In a ruling which one legal expert called maddeningly vague, the U.S. Supreme Court says the Trump administration must facilitate the return of a Maryland man wrongly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador.
But the court stopped short of requiring the government to actually make it happen. It gave no deadline for Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia's return.
The U.S. Homeland Security Department -- Homeland Security Department mistakenly deported the Salvadoran national last month, citing an administrative error.
An immigration judge previously had given him protected status over concerns about his safety in El Salvador.
Ecuador is locked in a tight presidential run-off race, and issue No. 1: a surge in drug violence. We'll have a report from Ecuador after the break.
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[00:36:23]
VAUSE: Voters in Ecuador returned to the polls Sunday for a presidential run-off election. Both candidates are focused on security, especially in coastal provinces where drug violence is rampant.
As CNN's David Culver reports, the surge in violence has made Ecuador the murder capital of South America. But first, a warning. Some of the images in his report are disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ecuador, once considered the island of peace, has now succumbed to a surge of violence.
Police and military are trying to fight back. Raids like this almost daily. Desperate, they go house by house.
CULVER: You can see in his hand right there, those are two. That's 200 grams, according to police, of cocaine that they've seized. That's what he's pulling out right now. Said they also found two different explosive devices inside.
CULVER (voice-over): Sandwiched between Colombia and Peru, both top cocaine producers, Ecuador has become caught up in the international drug trade.
And where there are gangs and illicit drugs, violence follows, leaving a trail of victims.
CULVER: (SPEAKING SPANISH) Oh, my gosh. The smell is overwhelming as he's opened this door here. But from the outside looking in, you can see there's blood on the ground.
CULVER (voice-over): Another killing, another crime scene. This is now the murder capital of Latin America.
This is Ecuador 2025.
Ecuadorians are now heading back to the polls in what is expected to be a tight runoff race for president. The No. 1 issue for voters, no question: security.
Current President Daniel Noboa defending his nearly 17 months in power, declaring war against gangs, labeling them as terror groups and deploying the military into the streets early last year, after an infamous gang leader escaped prison and gunmen stormed a TV station, taking journalists hostage live on air.
The country spiraled into chaos.
Noboa's initial push to tackle crime at first showed promise, but the violence has resurfaced. More than 2,500 killings reported already this year.
But Noboa isn't going at it alone. He's counting on a powerful ally in this man.
TRUMP: Today, we will also be designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
CULVER (voice-over): Applauding President Donald Trump's inauguration day pledge to combat organized crime, Noboa and his wife front and center as Trump took the oath of office in January.
As violence escalates and the economy stumbles, Noboa faces a strong challenge from left-wing candidate Luisa Gonzalez.
LUISA GONZALEZ, ECUADORIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CULVER (voice-over): She's promising to boost the economy and crack down on crime, while pumping more money into coastal cities where violence hits hardest.
But for many, in areas overrun by gangs, it's already too late. The peace that once defined this coastal nation has shattered. Grief stretches across communities once seen as safe havens. Today, scarred by constant violence.
Folks here whisper it to us like a memory, repeated like a prayer. Ecuador, they say, was never like this before.
David Culver, CNN, Guayaquil, Ecuador.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Pope Francis made a surprise public appearance at St. Peter's Basilica on Thursday. The 88-year-old was in a wheelchair as he waved to visitors, and at one point stopped to bless a baby.
His oxygen tube could be seen, and the pope was wearing black trousers, not his usual papal vestments.
Pope Francis, this is his second public appearance since he was discharged from a hospital last month after suffering double pneumonia.
[00:40:07]
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. I'll be back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. In the meantime, WORLD SPORT starts after a break.
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(WORLD SPORT)
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