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White House Announces Tariff Exemptions; Smart Phones, Electronics Now Exempt from Latest U.S. Tariffs; U.S. and Iran High- Stakes Nuclear Talks; Russian FM Praises Trump; Inside Salvador's Infamous Mega-Prison; Trump's Immigration Crackdown; Xi to Visit Southeast Asia. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired April 13, 2025 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers around the world. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Thank you for joining me.

And ahead right here on CNN Newsroom, the White House announces tariff exemptions to some major products entering the United States. We'll tell you how consumers will be affected.

The first round of nuclear talks are finished, and round two is already scheduled. Details on the high-stakes discussions between the U.S. and Iran.

Plus, we'll explain how the Trump administration is trying to get some migrants to self deport.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Hong Kong, this is CNN Newsroom with Kristie Lu Stout.

STOUT: Donald Trump has announced exemptions for a range of electronic devices easing pressure on manufacturers and tech giants like Apple with factories and supply chains in China. And while speaking to reporters on board Air Force One on Saturday night, he was asked about possible separate tariffs on semiconductors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I'll give you that answer on Monday. We'll be very specific on Monday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you -- are you suggesting --

TRUMP: But we're taking in a lot of money. As a country, we're taking in a lot of money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Those comments came just before Trump attended a mixed martial arts event in Miami. Our CNN's Kevin Liptak has more on those tariff exemptions amid the trade war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: This decision by the president to exempt certain products from China is significant. It could have sweeping implications for global trade. It's also really the first example that we've seen since President Trump started this trade war with China of offering any kind of relief for Beijing.

But I do think it's notable that the tariffs will still apply on some of these products. Because, remember, what President Trump has been doing is essentially layering these tariffs one on top of the other when it comes to China. That 145 percent reciprocal tariff that he applied last week, that is now the exclusion for these products. But they will still be applied, that 20 percent tariff that he had put in place to try and curb the fentanyl crisis, will still be applied to these items.

And it is a relatively long list of products that will now be excluded, whether it's smart phones, laptop, computers, transistors, flat panel monitors, hard drives, semiconductors, all products that, for the most part, are not manufactured in the United States, those will now be excluded.

That could be a real boon for American consumers who had been worried about higher prices on, for example, their iPhones. It could also be a real benefit to the companies that make them. You know, Apple is someone that had been warning that these products could now cost more. They have also spent the last two months cultivating President Trump and his administration that now perhaps paying off.

But I do think it will have to be seen exactly how long this reprieve will last. Because when you talk to White House officials, they do make the point that the president has advocated in the past for more specific tariffs on these products, essentially, a more finely tuned tariff program, essentially opening the door for tariffs potentially at a lower rate on these items going forward.

I also heard from a White House official that the president will be ordering up a study, a national security study of semiconductors, those computer chips that power so many of the popular American consumer products, oftentimes those studies will result in tariffs once they're completed.

Now, what the White House said on this is a statement from the press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, she said that President Trump has made clear America cannot rely on China to manufacture critical technologies, such as semiconductors chips, smart phones and laptops. That's why the president has secured trillions of dollars in U.S. investments from the largest companies in the world, including Apple, TSMC, which is the Taiwanese chip manufacturer, and NVIDIA. At the direction of the president, these companies are hustling to onshore their manufacturing in the United States as soon as possible.

As soon as possible, is a relative term here. It could potentially take decades for these companies to uproot their production in Asia and move it into the United States. I think all of this just underscores the uncertainty that continues to hang over the president's trade agenda as really this trade war continues a pace.

Kevin Liptak, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[04:05:00]

STOUT: OK. For more, we go live now to economist, author and podcast host David McWilliams. He joins us live from Dublin, Ireland. David, thank you for joining us.

DAVID MCWILLIAMS, ECONOMIST AND AUTHOR AND HOST OF "THE DAVID MCWILLIAMS PODCAST": Morning, Kristie. How are you?

STOUT: Doing very well. We got a lot of threads to untangle here. I've been following your podcast, your thoughts that you've published to publications like Time. Let's start first on the top news line this hour. Trump's latest tariff move with these exemptions, exemptions on electronics, on stuff like smartphones, computers, monitors, et cetera. Your thoughts on this, how much relief does it give?

MCWILLIAMS: I think it's beginning to dawn on the Trump administration just how significant China is in the American consumer basket. It will have a massive impact on American -- your average American family. You think, for example, Kristie, everything we're talking on today, my monitor, my laptop, this iPhone, they're all made in China, OK? So, what we're seeing is the United States administration realizing now that American consumers will be terribly, terribly out of pocket as a result of the tariffs.

But let's cut to the chase, Kristie. Tariffs are a sales tax. They're a tax on consumption. So, who is going to pay that tax? The American consumer in the main. So, what we're seeing is -- what we've seen all week, Kristie, is we now know that the official opposition in the United States is not the Democratic Party, it is the bond market, and specifically, certain areas of the bond market and in general financial markets.

So, what we're seeing is financial markets are reacting. The White House is being bullied, ironically, in an effort to bring back Main Street, the White House is being bullied by Wall Street. It's actually -- you couldn't really make this stuff up.

But to get to the point. Your average American consumer, and I'm talking your middle class working American family, is going to pay through the nose. Why? Because most of the stuff that we use, I'm talking about, things like microwaves, hair dryers, toys, Barbie dolls, all these things that the average American buys, as (INAUDIBLE) average family, they're made in China. It's very simple.

STOUT: So, these exemptions will be a major relief for U.S. consumers, as you laid out, for big tech companies like Apple, for the markets, and we're going to see that when they open on Monday. These exemptions are also in the face of it, a major concession to China. So, David, your thoughts here, what does this mean for the general clash on trade between U.S. and China?

MCWILLIAMS: I think what you're seeing -- there's the expression, Kristie, the devil is in the detail always applies, right? So, it's the detail of what we're seeing. It's all very well to impose tariffs in China and act like the big man. But once it becomes quite obvious that those tariffs are going to hit the very people -- the very MAGA Republicans who vote for you, the very people who actually are suffering, the very people whose, for example, existence is paycheck by paycheck, those people are going to suffer incredibly badly. And as a result of that, the United States is responding in a way what we've seen, which is tariffs on, tariffs off, exemptions, et cetera.

I think what we're seeing really, Kristie, is that on the American side, there is chaos. I think on the Chinese side there is real anxiety, but at least in terms of the public front and the public face of Beijing has been stoic and silent and is basically saying, you know, have a go if you think you're hard enough. We are still going to be here.

I mean, as Kevin, your reporter said, it may take decades, decades to unravel the supply chains that have been put in place over the last 20, 25 odd years.

Now, in that period of transition, American consumers are going to pay number one. Number two, as the Trump administration reduces tariffs on specific products, they're going to get less money. And let's think one of the objectives here is to narrow the American budget deficit, to raise revenue to reduce the American debt GDP ratio.

So, what you're seeing is every time there's an exemption, Kristie, less money comes into the United States and the tariffs become less and less significant. My own view is that if we keep going down this road, think of the road we've been down since last Thursday week when the tariffs were announced in the Rose Garden, Kristie. We have seen exemptions. We have seen wealth destroyed. We have seen the bond market go mad. We have seen climb downs. We have seen folding. All these things. This is now becoming a pattern of behavior, Kristie. And that pattern of behavior is --

STOUT: Yes, it's become --

MCWILLIAMS: What was --

STOUT: -- a chaotic pattern of behavior.

MCWILLIAMS: What was up tomorrow is --

STOUT: And I to quickly ask you, David, just before we let you go, the hit on U.S. assets here. Because of the chaos that has taken place, the turmoil, the up and down, the pause and start, the exemptions, et cetera.

[04:10:00] You mentioned at the top U.S. government bonds falling U.S. dollar weakening, right, markets in disarray. From your corner of the world, how are you viewing the U.S. economy right now?

MCWILLIAMS: A very good question, because Ireland is almost like a little bit of the American economy in Europe. We are so invested in the United States, and they're so invested in us. We are worried. Everybody in Europe is worried. And there's actually moves now, you can see it, large pension funds thinking, you know, is the United States the bet it was, the safe bet it was over the last couple of decades? Is it the gold standard anymore?

And I think what we're seeing is a reassessment of the United States as a trading partner, and the consequence of that is a reassessment of the United States as an asset base. And so, don't forget, the United States owes the world when you net out all the global positions, who owes money to whom? The United States is a massive debtor. The bank of international settlements claims the United States owes the world $14 trillion.

Now, if that money were to start leaving the United States or not being reinvested, then I think the bond market would go haywire. And as I said at the top, the official opposition to Donald Trump is not the Democratic Party, it is the bond market.

STOUT: David, we'll leave it at that. Thank you for giving us some clarity as we are all stuck in this Trump induced cycle of fear and relief. David McWilliams joining us live from Dublin, thank you. Take care.

MCWILLIAMS: Thank you, Kristie.

STOUT: Now, round two of U.S.-Iranian nuclear talks in Oman is scheduled for next week. Negotiators, they held their initial meeting on Saturday. They described it as constructive and agreeing to meet again U.S. President Donald Trump later said that the talks are, quote, "going OK."

Now, Iran's foreign minister led his country's delegation. He said that the two sides made progress on setting a framework for future talks. He also described how the negotiations were conducted. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): I think the Omani foreign minister shuttled between the Iranian and U.S. delegations about four times, and the views of both sides were conveyed to each other. It lasted about two and a half hours. And in my opinion, as a first meeting, it was a productive one. It took place in a calm and positive atmosphere. No inappropriate language was used.

Both sides demonstrated their commitment to advancing these negotiations until reaching an agreement that is desirable for both parties and conducted on equal terms.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Now, the talks began after U.S. President Donald Trump gave Iran two months to reach a deal or face possible military action. Mr. Trump said that he wants to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb, but he didn't spell out how the new agreement would be different from the one he pulled out of during his first term. Salma Abdelaziz has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After an initial meeting that was described as constructive, delegations from the United States and Iran have agreed to meet again next weekend to continue nuclear talks.

Now, this initial meeting held in Oman was largely an indirect negotiation with Oman's foreign minister shuttling between the two parties. Although, according to Iran State Media, there was a brief face-to-face meeting between Steve Witkoff, the head of course, of the U.S. delegation, and Iran's foreign minister. That would be the first direct contact that's taken place between a Trump administration official and an Iranian official. That is a sign of progress. And it comes, of course, after President Trump has said that he wants to reach a deal with Iran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for potentially easing sanctions on that country.

For both of these parties, this initial meeting held essentially the same objective. They were trying to suss each other out. There's a great deal of mistrust, of course, between the U.S. and Iran, and particularly because President Trump is the one who pulled out of the JCPOA, the nuclear deal, in 2018, for many Iranians, there is a sense that he might not be a good faith actor. But the initial reports from this first meeting that lasted for about 2.5 hours are positive with Oman saying that these parties were very close to reaching the framework of an agreement to begin negotiations, but this is still very early days with the next meeting set for Saturday in Oman.

Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: U.S. President Donald Trump is sending a message about the war in Ukraine, but it is unclear which side is on the receiving end of it. Now, you spoke about his ongoing peace efforts on Saturday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think Ukraine, Russia might be going OK. And you're going to be finding out pretty soon. You know, there's a point at which you just have to either put up or shut up or we'll see what happens. But I think it's going fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:15:00]

STOUT: Meanwhile, Mr. Trump is getting praise from Russia's foreign minister who spoke at a Security Conference in Turkey on Saturday. The U.S. president said Ukraine's pushed to join NATO, is probably the reason why the war started in the first place. And the Russian minister said that was the Kremlin's position from the get-go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: President Trump was the first and so far, I think, almost the only one among the Western leaders who repeatedly, with conviction, several times stated that it was a huge mistake to pull Ukraine into NATO. And this is one of the root causes which we quoted so many times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: OK. Separately, Ukraine is now warning of a possible radiation risk at its Chernobyl nuclear plant. In 1986, Chernobyl was the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster. Now, Ukraine says a Russian drone blew a hole in the confinement structure designed to stop radiation leaks. Moscow denies that it's responsible. Ukrainian officials say the new whole has them concerned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SVITLANA HRYNCHUK, UKRAINIAN ECOLOGY MINISTER (through translator): We are actively working on this, but in order to continue the work that we had planned on unstable structures, we of course need to restore the confinement so that there are no leaks in any case, because ensuring nuclear and radiation safety is the main task.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: You're watching CNN Newsroom. And still to come, CNN gets an exclusive look inside El Salvador's massive mega-prison where the U.S. is now sending deportees.

Plus, the Trump administration's latest scheme to make the U.S. inhospitable to migrants is to count thousands of them as dead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:20:00]

STOUT: Welcome back. Now, the Trump administration says a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador's notorious mega-prison is, quote, "alive and secure." This is the only information the Trump administration has offered regarding Kilmar Abrego Garcia's wellbeing and his. Whereabouts.

Now, the father of three was a legal resident who was granted protected status by an immigration judge in 2019. However, he was arrested and deported last month on what the White House calls a, quote, "administrative error." The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return.

And just this week, CNN's David Culver got exclusive access inside the massive prison in El Salvador where Deportees are being held. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: When we first walked in to these halls, CECOT was a powerful symbol across Latin America. But now, since folks in the U.S. are far more familiar with what's happening here because it has a direct connection.

Last time we were here, there were about 80 or so people per cell. I'm looking right now and it's already 70 who have come out and they've probably got another 30 plus. You're talking more than 100 people in some of these cells now.

And the director has told me they've increased the prison population because more arrests have taken place within this country.

CULVER (voice-over): Built to isolate El Salvador's most dangerous criminals, the center for Terrorism Confinement, or CECOT, opened in early 2023 as the centerpiece of President Nayib Bukele's anti-gang crackdown.

CULVER: Why are there more people here?

He says the state of exception, essentially the state of emergency that's been declared under President Bukele going back 2022, will not end until the last gang member has been taken from the communities and brought here to CECOT.

This is a court hearing that's playing out right now. This is a preliminary hearing that's playing out.

There's one in there. And this one hasn't yet started.

Anderson Cooper last night was asking me, is everyone in CECOT convicted?

GARCIA: No, not all.

CULVER (voice-over): Garcia says many here have been convicted but others are still going through the judicial process. And when we ask, he does allow us to sit in on what appears to be court hearings underway.

CULVER: I hear you when you say that there are people who have done horrible things, but is it possible that there are people who are innocent as well in here?

CULVER (voice-over): Garcia claims every person in CECOT is an active member of a terrorist organization.

CULVER: And you're confident that that's the case?

GARCIA: Correct.

CULVER (voice-over): Critics have said there's a lack of due process, so it's impossible to say for sure. CULVER: Questions have been raised about that severity of treatment, and it is seen certainly as harsh. But when you talk to Salvadorans, they say, yes, perhaps harsh, but totally necessary to have eradicated the gangs and to keep them out.

The question is, is that same level of treatment necessary when it comes to the deportees that are coming here from, say, the U.S.?

But if you look just straight down there at the very end, that's Sector 8. That's where the deportees, including those from Tren de Aragua, are being held. We cannot go into that sector. When I ask why, he says it's not part of this approved tour.

He said everybody's got the same conditions. It doesn't matter where you are, including Sector 8.

There are four zones, and in each zone, you have two modules, the sectors that have also within them the cells, and they can have up to 5,000 prisoners within each module.

[04:25:00]

CULVER (voice-over): That's a maximum capacity of 40,000, which Garcia says they're getting closer to, but he adds they still have sufficient space. He won't give the exact prison population for security reasons, he says.

CULVER: The CECOT isn't just a prison. It's a message from this government to the gangs and really to the rest of the world. For critics, this is a place where rights vanish, but for supporters, of which there are many, including the leaders here and many of the people who live in this country, this place is a symbol of freedom, newfound freedom, as they see it. For them to see this exist in the way it does, while some may perceive it as harsh, they see it as the only reason they're able to walk freely outside these gates and not live in fear for most of their lives.

Gracias.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

STOUT: And that was David Culver reporting. Now, the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, is in the United States this week, and in fact, he arrived on Saturday ahead of a visit with President Trump. And Mr. Trump says he's looking forward to it. In a social media post, the U.S. president praised him for accepting and imprisoning, quote, "violent alien enemies."

So, far, the Trump administration's deportation to El Salvador have led to at least one documented wrongful deportation. And the migrants are in the custody of a leader with a well-documented history of human rights abuses, and in a country where all constitutional rights are suspended.

Now, the White House is trying to force thousands of immigrants with valid Social Security numbers to self deport by taking away those Social Security numbers and by making daily life nearly impossible. The Department of Homeland Security has requested the Social Security Administration add more than 6,000 living people to its database of dead people. Rafael Romo explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Social Security Administration already has a list previously created to track people who have passed away. It is now also going to be used to invalidate legally obtained Social Security numbers that were given to some immigrants. According to an official, the Trump administration is hoping this will drive these immigrants to self deport, given that it will become virtually impossible for them to do most financial transactions.

According to a White House official, the Department of Homeland Security has identified over 6,300 temporarily paroled aliens on the terrorist watch list or with FBI criminal records. The administration provided no evidence to back up the assertion. DHS terminated parole for all of these individuals effective April 8th.

Furthermore, the Social Security team, the official told us, determined these immigrants were ineligible to receive Social Security benefits and moved their Social Security numbers to a list called Ineligible Master File. This is a new name for a list that used to be called Death Master File, and this is important because this file was previously used only for people who had died so that no unqualified individuals would have access to Social Security benefits.

An Atlanta immigration attorney explained to us the severe impact this is going to have on immigrants whose previously valid Social Security numbers were placed on the Death Master File.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DUSTIN BAXTER, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY: If they're going to be cash dependent, because even though they have work authorization in these valid Social Security numbers, they're not going to be allowed in most instances to open bank accounts, to cash checks, to apply for credit cards, to lease apartments, to get on their company, health insurance, all those things are going to become virtually impossible to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: A Trump administration official told CNN this should not be a surprise to anybody. In a statement, Liz Huston, a White House spokeswoman, said that President Trump promised mass deportations and by removing the monetary incentive for illegal aliens to come and stay, she said, we will encourage them to self deport. He is delivering on his promise he made to the American people.

But Dustin Baxter, the immigration attorney we spoke with told us that the immigrants affected by this action are all people who were vetted before they came to the United States and were paroled in lawfully. This action targets immigrants who have Social Security numbers and may have entered the United States under programs that have ended like the Biden administration's temporary work programs. Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Straight ahead. You're watching CNN Newsroom. And up next, how China's leader is using neighborhood diplomacy to fight in the U.S. trade war.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:30:00]

STOUT: Welcome back to our viewers around the world. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, and this is CNN Newsroom.

A U.S. officials say many imported electronics will now be exempt from President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, that include smart phones, laptops, and computer monitors, and more. Now, this move has a major impact on tech companies that make their products in China, which is facing 145 percent tariffs.

The White House as President Trump is urging those companies to move production of critical products like semiconductors and microchips to the U.S. It added that Mr. Trump has secured trillions of dollars in U.S. investments from tech giants, including. Apple.

And while Washington makes its tariff threats, Beijing is looking to strengthen its trade ties. This week, Chinese Leader Xi Jinping is set to visit Southeast Asia, a region targeted by some of U.S. President Trump's heftiest tariffs before they were put on pause. This is Xi's first foreign trip of the year. And officials say that this three- nation tour will include Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia. This visit comes is China touts its embrace of free trade.

Joining us now to Taipei City, Taiwan is Wen-Ti Sung. He is a non- resident fellow for the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub. Thank you so much for joining us.

WEN-TI SUNG, NON-RESIDENT FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL'S GLOBAL CHINA HUB: Thank you for having me.

STOUT: OK. So, Chinese President Xi Jinping, he is set to travel to Southeast Asia. This will be his first state visit, or rather his first international visit since November. It will be a state visit to these three countries, first to Vietnam and then to Cambodian and then to Malaysia. Wen-ti, what is the overall significance of this visit?

SUNG: I think a couple way to read this. First of all, I think this is about finding a way to more straightforwardly diversify China's economic footprint around the world, and especially in the face of Trump's tariff war, of course.

[04:35:00]

There's economic irrational to it. There's, of course, also a theme of a foreign policy rationale to it, and that is I think Trump's tariff war at this juncture has been really striking a lot of anxiety into countries around the world and Southeast Asia included, including the three nations that Xi is planning to visit, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia. And so, I think what China is trying to do is to strike the iron -- strike while iron is hot.

At the moment when these nations are unsettled by Trump's tariff and what that could mean for the economic future, that could mean some kind of waiver in terms of foreign policy alignment as well. So, what Xi is trying to do now is go there in person, show them instead of fear and pressure, Xi's going to show them love, maybe some souvenirs along the way when he visit there, e.g., perhaps signing some new trade deal with these countries, perhaps some new upgrades in their strategic partnership agreement into something that may be more robust, like a comprehensive partnership agreement or even an old weather strategic partnership agreement, for example.

All these are way for China to kind of show that I'm on your side. It's safe to hang out with China, if -- especially if you're concerned about the U.S.

STOUT: Yes, there could be a number of deals to come out of this tour. Southeast Asia, as you said, Xi Jinping is going to strike the iron while it's hot. But the relationship between China and Southeast Asia is a complicated one. You know, Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, like Malaysia, et cetera, they're not only close treating partners of China, but also the United States. And we also know for many countries in Southeast Asia, the South China Sea issue has been a sticking point.

So, what do you think will be the overall tone of this visit? Do you think these challenges will come to the fore during she's visit?

SUNG: I think these leaders, when they have the summer level diplomacy, those issue that may be more controversial, more contentious, would've been worked out by working level officials before the visit. So, when it comes down to when the red carpets are rolling, when cameras are rolling, I'm sure they'll be presenting a much more of a pleasant atmosphere between Xi and the Southeast Asian leaders.

And so, on that front, I think we can predict there to be a more pleasant atmosphere between them. And I think Xi's visit, again, the purpose is to reassure to build a goodwill and to build strategic capital that Xi may potentially get to use both for foreign policy alignment purposes as well as perhaps for more economic realignment purposes as well.

We know that China has been talking about Belt and Road Initiative as a way to build a new economic order between China and its countries on its periphery especially, and this seemed to be as good as time as any for China to be doubling down on Belt and Road with these nearby countries.

STOUT: Yes. Expect to see reassurances, and as you mentioned earlier, potentially deals, deals on rail links, for example, in Southeast Asia. Now, let's pivot, Wen-Ti, and talk about the exemptions, the announced exemptions on electronics that the Trump administration announced late on Friday, Eastern time. This is a major relief for American consumers, for tech firms like Apple. It also appears to be a major concession to China. So, I am just wondering how do you think Beijing is interpreting this?

SUNG: I think Beijing is going to be reading at this and thinking that it's probably a small victory from Beijing's perspective, in the sense that Trump administration's approach has been largely unleashing maximum pressure and to usually try to start with very high reciprocal tariff rate, as we've heard so far, of course. And for many other countries and government, they are often thinking and maybe secretly hoping that those tariff rates that Trump gave them will only be a starting bit and hopefully, those kind -- we have a way to sort of gradually negotiate them down.

And the fact that we are seeing exceptions right now for those sectors that we all know U.S. cares a lot about and sector that China is driving in, will probably be read by China outside many other countries that, yes, the thinking that this could only be a starting bid was right and that there could be room for, let's (INAUDIBLE), there could be room for more maneuver when it comes to Trump's tariff towards them.

So, in that sense, Trump -- or rather China will be looking at this and we'll be thinking, yes, this Trump's tariff war is not ironclad. There's room for China to find cracks in between. And then when it can do so, you may undermine overall credibility of the Trump's pressure campaign as well. So, China's looking at this --

STOUT: Interesting.

SUNG: -- likely thinking that's potentially a window of opportunity for them.

STOUT: Yes, as you said, that there is a crack there, room for maneuvering amid the trade war. Wen-Ti Sung, we'll leave it at that. Thank you so much for your insight. Take care.

SUNG: Thank you.

STOUT: You're watching CNN Newsroom. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:40:00]

STOUT: Now, these are live pictures of Palm Sunday services underway in St. Peter's Square where the faithful are hoping to see Pope Francis appear. And despite two surprise appearances in recent days, there has been no sign of him so far. Now, it remains unclear if he will be at any of the Holy Week events.

Now, the pope, of course, is continuing to recover from a battle with double pneumonia, which hospitalized him for some 38 days. He did visit a Rowan Basilica to pray on Saturday. He arrived in a wheelchair aided by a small nasal tube, offering supplemental oxygen. Now, voters in Ecuador are heading to the polls in a runoff election just hours from now. The second round of voting for president is expected to be extremely tight. Incumbent Daniel Noboa has been president for just over 16 months. He beat Luisa Gonzalez in 2023 to finish out his predecessor's term.

Today's runoff will mark the third faceoff between the two. If Gonzalez wins, she would be the nation's first woman elected as president. Both candidates say that they will tackle gun violence and improve Ecuador's economy.

Now, while some of the candidate's position sounds similar, as one of global expert explains, there are some key differences.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL LANSBERG-RODRIGUEZ, FOUNDING PARTNER, AURORA MACRO STRATEGIES: They both sort of presented themselves as taking a very strong sort of stand against crime. In fact, in terms of sort of the what you would call manulura (ph), the sort of hard-handed approach, I'd say that they're basically, you know, sort of marching to the same beat.

[04:45:00]

The main difference is that President Noboa, who's the president now, the incumbent, he would be integrating the United States Security Forces with this anti-gang, anti-crime agenda. Whereas Luisa Gonzalez would not. She comes from a party that sort of famously told the Marines that they had to leave back when they used to be in Ecuador. And that was sort of the period in which, you know, some of the situation in Colombia was changing and a lot of the -- what had been the Colombian fart gangs started getting a little bit more internationalized. And that sort of led into the downward spiral of violence, which is really harrowing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: OK. Now, over in the U.K., its second largest city has declared a major incident after a strike by sanitation workers has left over 17,000 tons of garbage uncollected. CNN's Anna Cooban has this report from Birmingham.

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ANNA COOBAN, CNN REPORT: Are there rats in here right now, do you think?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Quite possible, yes. They'll be nestled right in the middle. It's horrible.

COOBAN: Are you seeing rats in the daytime?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Blatantly, bigger than cats. My cats actually scared of the rats.

COOBAN: Really? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that's nowhere ever lie. Whatever dispute they got going on, that's not our problem. As residents of Birmingham, our rubbish should be picked up.

COOBAN (voice-over): Birmingham is Britain's second biggest city, home to over a million people. It was an engine of the country's industrial revolution during the 1700 and 1800. And you may know it as the setting of that little BBC series, "Peaky Blinders." Right now, it's in the news for something else, trash.

COOBAN: Mountains upon mountains of garbage bags are piling up outside people's homes and businesses because garbage collectors are on strike. The strikers over changes the city government wants to make to garbage workers' pay, and there is no end in sight.

COOBAN (voice-over): In some parts of the city, people haven't had their garbage collected in weeks, and that's posing a health hazard, because with trash comes rats. Will Timms has been a pest controller here for 12 years and says he's never seen anything quite like this before.

WILL TIMMS PEST CONTROLLER: My calls have gone over 50 percent with rodents.

COOBAN: What kind of problems are people calling you up about?

TIMMS: Rats gaining access to cars, gaining access to the kitchens, air vents, getting underneath the beds. I've had people crying down on the phone saying, I've got a rat. Can you come out now? I caught one last week and it was over 22 inches in the length, tip to tail. And it wasn't fully grown.

Look at this. See, you can smell it. Look where it is. It takes off.

COOBAN: Oh, right, by a pharmacy.

TIMMS: Right by a pharmacy. And there's a store there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We own the shop and we just clean the area. And then we'd done this three times. We'd been -- we took this rubbish ourself. We load in the van. We took it ourself. And people still come at night turn and they dump here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got kids wandering around, start searching through bags and stuff. They don't know what's in there. You know, what kind of harmful things can be in there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need to do something about this.

TIMMS: Food debris. You've got shops add into it as well. So, you've got residential and commercial waste, all mixed in. Medicine bottles.

COOBAN: So, there's like med medical waste as well?

TIMMS: You've just got to be really careful. That's a rat. You can see the teeth marks. COOBAN: And so you know from looking at that, that's a rat?

TIMMS: Yes. Yes, that's a rat. That's a five-star restaurant for them, and they've got a hotel to go with it. If this is removed, then you might see rats running around all over the place.

COOBAN: Tell me about the bin strike. How has it impacted you and your family?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, you could see, look, it's behind you. It's so bad. There's rats coming in people's houses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a bit of a dilemma.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Britain. This is 2025. What's going on?

COOBAN: How does it make you feel that all of the attention on Birmingham right now is about the bin strike?

TIMMS: Birmingham's always in the news, but some are bad at the moment, and it just really isn't like that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: It's really a grim situation there. You're watching CNN Newsroom. And up next, you're going to want to watch this. The space company, Blue Origin, is aiming to make some history tomorrow and all female star-studded crew will get suited up to rocket, however, briefly into space. Their story is next.

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STOUT: Welcome back. Now, the countdown clock is ticking for a unique Blue Origin space launch on Monday. The six-person all-female crew includes the pop star Katie Perry, and American journalist Gayle King, Isabel Rosales takes a closer look at the mission.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lift off.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the first time in more than 60 years, an all-female crew is set to blast off into space. Blue Origin's star-studded NS31 mission is scheduled to launch from West Texas on April 14th on board the New Shepard vehicle. Among the six-person crew are singer Katy Perry, journalist Gayle King, and Lauren Sanchez, pilot and fiance of Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos.

The crew is set to travel just past the Karman Line, the point widely recognized as where outer space begins, and will experience a few minutes of microgravity before descending back to Earth. Crew member and former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe spoke to CNN about her hope that this landmark voyage will inspire more women to shoot for the stars. AISHA BOWE, BLUE ORIGIN CREW MEMBER: To see six women who are all incredibly unique, who are very inspiring in their own right, come together and globally on a campaign, I think what you're going to see is not only more women, but more people know that they can to become one of us, and that they also can reach and work in these fields.

ROSALES (voice-over): This will mark the first all-female space mission since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova's solo mission back in 1963.

But the historic mission has also faced criticism, including from actress Olivia Munn. While co-hosting on NBC's "Today" show with Jenna Bush Hager, Munn questioned the purpose of the mission and its cost.

OLIVIA MUNN, ACTRESS: What are they doing? Like, why? You know what I mean? Like, I'm just saying this. Okay. I know this is probably not the cool thing to say, but like there are so many other things that are so important in the world right now. Like, they aren't -- I mean, there's one astronaut.

JENNA BUSH HAGER, HOST, "TODAY WITH JENNA AND FRIENDS": One astronaut.

MUNN: But like, what are you guys going to do up in space? What are you doing up there?

[04:55:00]

ROSALES (voice-over): One crew member, researcher and civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, will conduct experiments about women's health during the 11-minute flight. Nguyen will make history becoming the first woman of Vietnamese or Southeast Asian descent in space.

Since their first successful crewed spaceflight in 2021, Blue Origin has had 10 crewed missions, bringing more than 50 people to the edge of space, including Star Trek actor William Shatner, who was brought to tears by the experience.

WILLIAM SHATNER, ACTOR: I hope I never recover from this.

ROSALES (voice-over): Isabel Rosales, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: All right. Residents of Toronto, they embraced their inner child on Saturday as they took part in the city's annual pillow fight. About a hundred people gathered for the good-natured melee with friends and strangers letting off some steam in the city's Nathan Phillips Square. Now, this event is now in its fourth year having been revived after the COVID-19 pandemic. It's good to see it back. Some fluffy fun there. I'd want to get in on that action.

Thank you for joining me this hour. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. I'll be back with more news after this quick break. Keep being here.

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