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Semiconductors And Pharmaceuticals May Be Next Tariff Targets; Xi Jinping Touts China As Reliable Trade Partner In Southeast Asia; Israeli Strikes Puts Gaza City Hospital Out Of Service; Mixed Messages From Donald Trump About Which Side Started The War; Ukraine Says 35 People Killed in Sumy and 117 Wounded; Mark Zuckerberg Testifies on First Day of Meta Antitrust Case; All-female Space Flight Crew Returns Safely to Earth. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired April 15, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:30]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world, and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead:

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm looking at something to help some of the car companies.

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CHURCH: President Trump might hand a lifeline to the auto sector as he considers tariff exemptions for the industry, but tariffs on computer chips and medicines are still up in the air.

Stuck in a mega prison over an administrative error. The fate of a wrongfully deported Maryland man hangs in the balance as El Salvador's president and Donald Trump both claim they can't help him return to the U.S.

And Hamas is reviewing Israel's newest cease fire proposal as the IDF ramps up its attacks on Gaza.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. Well, the Trump administration will begin looking closely at imports of semiconductors and pharmaceuticals this week. It could set the stage for the U.S. to impose tariffs on those industries in the coming weeks, arguing too much reliance on foreign production could be a risk to national security.

Both industries are currently exempt from the 10 percent across the board tariffs on imports, which began April 5th. The U.S. relies on Taiwan for high end semiconductors. They are an important component in today's auto manufacturing, one of the U.S. industries Donald Trump has vowed to support.

He continues to connect his tariff policies with the idea that the U.S. has been taken advantage of by the rest of the world.

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TRUMP: We're the greatest economic power in the world, if we're smart, if we're not smart, we're going to hurt our country very badly. We lost with China over the Biden years, trillions of dollars on trade, trillions of dollars, and he let them fleece us, and we can't do that anymore.

And you know what? I don't blame China at all. I don't blame President Xi. I like him. He likes me. I mean, you know, think who knows? Who the hell cares?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: U.S. stocks rose Monday, boosted by the administration's tariff exemptions on smartphones, laptops and other electronics. But there's still uncertainty over how long the reprieve will last and how the trade war with China will play out.

And here's where the U.S. Futures stand ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street, all in the red. We'll see what happens there.

And here's a look at the Asia Pacific markets. Japan's Nikkei up nearly one percent.

Joining me now is Carsten Brzeski, chief economist for ING Germany. Appreciate you being with us.

CARSTEN BRZESKI, CHIEF ECONOMIST, ING GERMANY: Good morning.

CHURCH: So, President Trump says he is now considering tariff exemptions for the auto industry. But of course, he has changed his mind on exemptions for smartphones and other electronics, announcing them on Friday, but by Sunday, we hear they will just be temporary.

So, how will investors likely respond to the possibility of auto exemptions do you think?

BRZESKI: Well, I think this back and forth is really making all of us very dizzy. Investors, financial markets analysts, so how will they react? Probably with a short lived relief, because it looks as if there might be less pressure on the -- on the global automotive industry.

But then, with all this uncertainty hanging above the entire global economy, I think any relief will be very short lived.

CHURCH: And the Trump administration is now looking closely at imports of semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, with tariffs expected to be imposed on those industries. Semiconductors, of course, are critical for auto manufacturing, and Trump has said he is very flexible when it comes to this. So, what might that mean for these industries, and what are the

implications?

BRZESKI: Well, initially, I think it means that there might be some opening for negotiations to strike a deal. I think that is -- that is one interpretation. The other one, when you really look at the economic harm these terrorists could do, it's going to be huge, because the -- for Asian economies exporting semiconductors, semiconductors are the most important export good for the Asian economies.

When you look at pharmaceuticals, for example, for many European economies exporting to the U.S. pharmaceuticals are the most important export good.

[02:05:07]

So, if we were to see export them being imposed on both female conductors and pharmaceuticals, it's going to have a big impact on European and Asian economies.

CHURCH: And how will the escalating trade war between the U.S. and China likely get resolved do you think, as we see President Xi Jinping exploiting the chaos during his state visit to Southeast Asia? Is China the winner in the midst of all of this chaos do you think?

BRZESKI: At least China is not blinking. And I think we also heard this morning that the China said they might consider no longer exporting a rare earth to do to the Western world.

So, I think it's very hard to tell whether there is any winner. In all honesty, think history has told us that there are no winners in trade wars. There are only losers. The only question is, which country, which region loses less and which one loses more. Currently, it looks as if China would lose less than other economies.

CHURCH: And we did see U.S. stocks rise Monday, despite uncertainty about what will happen with these various exemptions, and, of course, these mixed messages from the Trump administration. How do we expect markets will fair Tuesday or U.S. markets will fair Tuesday because they need certainty, and they're not getting it, not just U.S. markets, but global markets?

BRZESKI: I think volatility is clearly key. So, there won't be any certainty coming anytime soon. We have this in the 90 days pause. We will now also, then over the next couple of days and weeks, finally, get first traditional sentiment indicators, hard data showing or giving us a bitter got -- a better gage of what the real economic impact of this second fourth of the last two days weeks has really made.

So, for financial market, it's clearly volatility. Until we get some kind of guidance where this trade tensions are going to.

I personally don't expect that we will really get clarity over the next couple of weeks. It might take even until the summer before we have more clarity on where the global trading system is really heading to.

CHURCH: We'll all be watching in the coming hours. Carsten Brzeski, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

Well, China's president is continuing his state visit to Southeast Asia, looking to capitalize on the chaos caused by Donald Trump's tariff whiplash. Xi Jinping heads to Malaysia in the coming hours after visiting Vietnam, where he urged the government to join with China in resisting what he called unilateral bullying.

Xi is using this trip to cast his country as a more stable and reliable economic partner than the United States.

CNN's Steven Jiang is following President Xi's progress from Beijing. Here's his report.

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STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Xi Jinping's message to Vietnam and indeed, many other countries, is to join hands with China to resist Trump's "Unilateral bullying" and work together to maintain the current global free trade system and supply chains.

Now, this is going to be repeated and amplified throughout his trip. The goals of his trip very much two fold, economically, China trying to continue to diversify its footprint, and it's no coincidence he started in Hanoi because Southeast Asian countries as a bloc has replaced the U.S. and European Union as China's biggest trading partner, and Vietnam having the biggest share among all Southeast Asian nations. That's why Xi Jinping has signed 45 different deals and agreements with Vietnam, not only trying to sell a lot of products now being shut out of the U.S., but also while trying to invest helping Vietnam build infrastructure projects.

And this is happening despite the long running territorial dispute between the two countries in the South China Sea. So, that really speaks to the second part of its goal, that is more strategic, more foreign policy related with China trying to pull more and more country closer to its orbit, even those that may have disputes with Beijing on major issues.

The message here being, if you've been unsettled by the tariff whiplash from Washington, then come hang out with us. Instead of fear and pressure, as Trump has shown you, we are going to show you love. We are on your side.

Now this message perhaps a lot more resonant to a lot of countries compared to just a few weeks ago, as China continues to portray itself as the adult in the room with an intensifying trade war with Washington and trying to play the role of the upholder of international order and norms.

And a lot of these countries, though, including Vietnam, have to be a little careful in terms of how they track. They don't want to be perceived too close to Beijing and risk provoking Trump at a time when they still have to negotiate with the President on their pending tariffs.

[02:10:04]

And the U.S. President very much noticing this meeting Hanoi, characterizing it, in his words, as China and Vietnam figuring out how to screw the USA.

Steven Jiang, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The fate of a wrongfully deported man is still up in the air as both the White House and El Salvador's President make it clear he won't be returned to the U.S. Why they say he can't be brought back, that's next.

Plus, an Israeli air strike has incapacitated the last fully functioning Hospital in Gaza City. Why the IDF says it was hit, and how Palestinian officials are responding.

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CHURCH: U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to the White House on Monday. During their meeting, the two leaders made it clear a wrongly deported man would not be returned to the United States.

Last week, the Supreme Court endorsed a federal judge's directive asking the Trump administration to facilitate Kilmar Abrego Garcia's return from El Salvador's mega prison.

Attorney General Pam Bondi says her interpretation of the ruling is the U.S. has to provide a plane, but ultimately it's up to El Salvador if they want to return him. But Bukele says he doesn't have the power to do so.

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NAYIB BUKELE, SALVADORAN PRESIDENT: How can I return him to the United States? It's like I smuggle him into the United States or what do I do? Of course, I'm not going to do it. It's like, I mean, the question is preposterous. How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I don't have the power to return him to the United States.

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CHURCH: Donald Trump says he will continue to deport migrants. He says a dangerous criminals to El Salvador's CECOT prison facility. He's also asking Bukele to build more mega prisons, and says he's open to deporting U.S. citizens who are considered violent criminals in the future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: If they're criminals and if they hit people with baseball bats over their head, that happened to be 90 years old, and if they rape 87-year-old women in Coney Island, Brooklyn, yes. That includes them. Why do you think there's special category of person? They're as bad as anybody that comes in. We have bad ones too.

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CHURCH: A new update on the detention of a Tufts University student in a Louisiana immigration facility. Attorneys for Rumeysa Ozturk argued that her arrest was unconstitutional. The U.S. government accuses her of supporting Hamas, but a report in The Washington Post says the State Department found no evidence tying her to terrorism.

Ozturk's lawyers say she is being punished for criticizing the university's response to pro Palestine students. She's become one of several international students facing deportation as the Trump administration targets pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses.

Hamas says it is studying the latest Israeli cease fire proposal and will respond as soon as possible. Details on the plan are not clear, but Hamas has said any agreement must achieve a permanent cease fire and complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in the territory is becoming more dire by the day after a major Israeli air strike over the weekend.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports.

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, what was the last remaining fully functioning hospital in Northern Gaza has now been put out of service by that Israeli airstrike on Sunday at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City.

This is a hospital that once served about a thousand patients a day with a bustling emergency room that has only become busier as Israeli attacks have ramped up in Gaza, but now, only a few dozen patients are still being treated in that hospital, and the hospital isn't able to provide any emergency services whatsoever.

The Israeli military carried out an airstrike on this hospital on Sunday after giving about a 20-minute warning to that hospital. A boy with a head injury who was evacuated in those 20 minutes actually died in that rushed evacuation process. We know of no other casualties as a result of that strike.

The Israeli military said it carried out this strike because there was a command-and-control center, a Hamas command-and-control center at this hospital, but they've provided no evidence to back up that claim. And what they certainly haven't provided evidence of is the, you know, military necessity and value, added value of carrying out this strike when compared to the impact that this is going to have on Palestinian civilians and their access to healthcare in Northern Gaza. The Israeli military in just the last 24 hours or so has struck about 35 targets inside the Gaza Strip. And what we are also witnessing, of course, is these continued evacuation orders that are pushing Palestinian civilians into an ever-shrinking portion of the Gaza Strip where they simply are not finding the resources that they

need. And a lot of that stems from another layer of pressure that is being brought to bear on Gaza, and that is the fact that Israel has not allowed anything into the Gaza Strip since March 2nd. No food, no water, no medical supplies and humanitarian officials are warning that we are rapidly approaching crisis levels inside of Gaza.

[02:20:13]

Now, as all of this is happening, as we are seeing this noose being tightened around the people of Gaza, we are witnessing some reports of progress in these negotiations between Israel and Hamas to try and revive that cease fire and to get more hostages out of the Gaza Strip.

We know, of course, that there are 59 hostages still believed to be held in Gaza. About two dozen of them are still believed to be alive, according to Israeli authorities.

This deal that Hamas and Israel are now negotiating would be for the release of fewer than 11 Israeli hostages. 11 is the number that the Israeli government has been demanding in exchange for a month and a half long cease fire, Hamas has been willing to offer far fewer than that.

The latest we learned was that an Egyptian proposal was on the table last week that would see the release of eight Israeli hostages from Hamas custody. We understand that there is now perhaps a proposal for 10 hostages to be released, but it's not clear whether that is something Hamas will go for.

We know that there has been a Hamas delegation in Cairo since Saturday, an Israeli delegation has not yet traveled there. And so, while we certainly are seeing signs of optimism and momentum building once again, until we actually see those more concrete signals of true, meaningful progress, it's hard to tell right now if that momentum will actually lead to a deal.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.

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CHURCH: The European Union is coming to the aid of the Palestinians. The bloc has announced a package of grants and loans worth nearly $2 billion to foster recovery and resilience. The aid will cover a two year period, including 650 million in grants to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Another 600 million would go toward recovery and stabilization in the West Bank and Gaza, once the situation on the ground allows.

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DUBRAVKA SUICA, E.U. COMMISSIONER FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN: Our program aims to support the Palestinian people in building sustainable future. It's about governing capacity. It's about advanced economic recovery. It's about strengthening the resiliency of the private sector. Of course, it's about creating jobs and contributing to long term social and economic stability.

A well-functioning and reformed Palestinian authority must play a central role in the post conflict governance of Gaza.

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CHURCH: The E.U. says the program will focus on water, energy and infrastructure sectors.

The Trump administration says it will freeze $2.2 billion in grant money to Harvard University after the school refused to agree to policy changes.

Among the mandates demanded by the White House is the elimination of Harvard's Diversity Equity and Inclusion programs and reforms to the school's admissions process.

The Trump administration has made similar threats to colleges across the U.S., but Harvard appears to be the first to explicitly rebuke the government's demands. In a statement, Harvard's president said, "The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights."

Well, Donald Trump called a devastating strike on Ukraine, a mistake, but the Kremlin seems to disagree.

Ahead, Russia's take on its deadliest attack of the year, back with that and more in just a moment.

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CHURCH: More than three years after Russia invaded Ukraine, the U.S. president still seems confused about which side began the war.

On Monday, he said Russia's Vladimir Putin never should have started it, but Donald Trump also cast blame on his predecessor, Joe Biden and Ukraine's president, saying both of them could have stopped it.

Then later, President Trump once again suggested Volodymyr Zelenskyy began the war when asked about his offer to purchase more patriot missile systems.

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TRUMP: Listen, when you start a war, you're going to know that you can win the war. You don't start a war against somebody that's 20 times your size. And then hope that people give you some missiles.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: Recent remarks from Russia indicate the deadliest single attack against Ukrainian civilians since 2023 was indeed deliberate. The death toll from the brutal missile strike in the Ukrainian city of Sumy is now up to 35, more than 100 others were wounded.

The Kremlin claimed on Monday that it was targeting senior Ukrainian military commanders. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen takes a closer look at the devastation. A warning though, some of the images in his report may be difficult to watch.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sumy, Ukraine, Palm Sunday, shortly after 10:00 a.m. as folks were heading to mass, two missiles struck, killing and wounding scores.

We live in the city center, this eyewitness says.

[02:30:00]

There is no military base. There are no soldiers here. It is simply a genocide. It is genocide.

After the explosions, mass carnage, first responders trying to help any survivors. Ukrainian officials said preliminary information indicates Russia used a missile with a warhead packed with cluster munitions, weapons designed to harm people in a wide area.

Ukraine's president livid. Only filthy scoundrels can act like this, he said. Today, many state leaders, diplomats, regular people with big hearts, expressed their sympathy towards Ukraine. They condemned the Russian attack.

But while many world leaders denounced the attack, from President Donald Trump, a muted response.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I think it was terrible. And I was told they made a mistake. But I think it's a horrible thing. I think the whole war is a horrible thing.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): As mourners gathered in Sumy laying flowers for the many victims, Moscow claims its army does not go after civilians and was instead targeting a high-level military meeting.

There was another meeting of Ukrainian military leaders with their Western colleagues, the foreign minister says, who were either masquerading as mercenaries or I don't know who. There are NATO servicemen there and they are in direct control.

All this as the fighting on the frontlines remains as brutal as ever. Russia claiming its forces continue to make steady progress, while President Trump's diplomatic efforts to broker a ceasefire appear to have hit a roadblock.

Unclear if any progress was made when Trump envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian leader of Vladimir Putin on Friday, the Kremlin downplaying expectations.

The whole journey consists of small steps to recreate an atmosphere of at least minimal trust, the Kremlin spokesman says, to strengthen this mutual trust. But the Ukrainians say they are losing faith in the Trump administration.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I believe sadly Russian narratives are prevailing in the U.S. How is it possible to witness our losses and our suffering, to understand what the Russians are doing, and to still believe that they are not the aggressors, that they did not start this war?

PLEITGEN (voice-over): And there are few signs the war could end soon. Just hours after the attack in Sumy, drone struck the port town, Odessa, wounding several people and causing major damage to scores of buildings.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Back after an historic trip, just ahead, the first all-female space flight in decades returns to Earth. We'll take a look.

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[02:37:39]

CHURCH: Mark Zuckerberg is expected back on the witness stand in Washington today to defend his social media empire against allegations of creating a monopoly. During his testimony Monday, the Meta CEO countered claims that his company sought to eliminate competition with Facebook by buying Instagram and WhatsApp. The Federal Trade Commission is seeking to force Meta to restructure or sell Instagram and WhatsApp. The agency argues that consumers don't have reasonable alternatives. But Meta says its platforms face competition from the likes of TikTok and YouTube.

Billionaire Jeff Bezos greets his fiance after an historic trip. Lauren Sanchez joined Katy Perry, TV host Gayle King, and three others in the first all-female crew on a space flight in decades. CNN's Ed Lavandera has more.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We witnessed a West Texas party and it was more spectacle than science. It was a rocket launch, taking a star-studded crew into the lower levels of outer space, and it included Katy Perry, Gayle King, Lauren Sanchez who is Jeff Bezos' fiance, as well as three others. Many of them spoke very emotionally as they walked out of the capsule minutes after landing back here in the west Texas desert.

Gayle King dropped to the ground, kissed the ground, and said, "Thank you, Jesus" as she exited the capsule here. As I mentioned, many of them spoke very emotionally about all of this. There was definitely a very festive kind of scene, but also a little bit of tension like the unexpected of what might happen. But all of that sense of relief kind of just lifted up as that capsule descended back to earth.

The trip lasted a little more than 10 minutes and the capsule landed just not too far from where it had just taken off just a few minutes earlier. But definitely, a great sense of emotion from all of the crew members who talked about what it was like experiencing and seeing the earth from that perspective, in that point of view. And it all ended as they got back into their seats after experiencing several minutes of weightlessness. And on the way back down, several crew members and Katy Perry talked about how they listened to Katy Perry Sing "What A Wonderful World," the classic song by Louis Armstrong. Back to You.

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CHURCH: I want to thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is coming up next. Then I'll be back at the top of the hour with more "CNN Newsroom." Stick around.

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