Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
Tariffs to Kick in August 7, Despite Claims of Firm Deadline; Mom Picking Up the Pieces after Losing Son in Russian Strike; MAGA Media Rallies Around Trump as he Downplays Epstein Ties; Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Warns of Recession, Unemployment; CNN Talks to the Man Who Paid $10M for a "Birkin" Handbag. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired August 01, 2025 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ERICA HILL, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Decisions in Washington soon to impact ports, businesses and consumers around the world. Now that President
Trump's tariff deadline day is here. This is a live look for you there to port in Cape Town, South Africa, where it is 03:00 p.m. 09:00 a.m. there in
Washington, also 09:00 a.m. here in New York.
I'm Erica Hill in for Becky Anderson, this is "Connect the World". Also coming up. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff inside Gaza for a vid to visit
a controversial aid distribution site. And a deadly night in Ukraine, where Russia made a direct strike on an apartment complex, killing dozens.
U.S. stock futures being driven lower now by the White House's plan for higher tariffs. We begin though with an 11th hour change in President
Trump's global tariffs deadlines. You can see the futures there, all across the board, in the red today. Of course, you'll recall was the original
self-imposed deadline for countries to make a deal or face punishing new import taxes.
The Trump Administration, though, has now pushed back that implementation to next Thursday, so that U.S. Customs and Border Protection will have more
time to process the changes. The highest tariffs right now appear to be on goods from Syria, Laos and Myanmar at around 40 percent, Brazil looking at
50 percent.
President Trump has also raised the tariff rate on Canadian goods, jacking it up to 35 percent, it was 25. He's exempting the goods covered by the
U.S., Mexico, Canada agreement. Larry Madowo is live in Nairobi. CNN's Kevin Liptak is at the White House. Kevin, let's start with you there in
Washington.
So, a little 11th hour change, as we noted, punting the implementation to next week. But overall, the president feeling pretty good this morning.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, very much so. And I think it's evident that we're entering an entirely new era of global trade,
reimagined by the president, you know, he promised to do this as a candidate, to try and rebalance some of these trade relationships.
And after so many fits and starts, you know, delays, exemptions, it does appear as if this is now heading in the president's direction, this delay,
this different timeline, was something of a surprise. The president giving a weeks' long grace period as countries continue to try and negotiate some
of these rates down.
The tariffs now taking effect next Thursday, the seventh of August, it allows time for the customs inspectors to sort of reorient themselves with
some of these rates. But the president and his advisors do say that they continue these trade negotiations as countries try and work to bring the
rates down.
We should note that any good that is loaded up onto a ship by next Thursday and arrives in the U.S. before October 5th, will not be subject to these
rates, and that could also have the effect of staving off some of these higher consumer prices that economists have warned will be the result of
these newer tariffs.
And so, there are a lot of rates here to work through. The baseline rate is 10 percent for any country that runs a trade surplus, or that the U.S. runs
a trade surplus with it only goes up from there. 15 percent rates for countries where the U.S. has a mild trade deficit. Some of the highest
rates are actually on some of the world's poorest countries, Syria, Myanmar.
It's not precisely clear how those rates were determined. The experience of the two North American neighbors of the U.S., I think, provides a good
illustration of how all of this is working. The president jacking the rate on Canada from 25 percent to 35 percent in part because he doesn't think
that Canada is doing enough to stave off the fentanyl crisis.
The experience of Mexico has been far different. The president speaking yesterday with the President Claudia Sheinbaum, and putting in place this
90-day reprieve as the U.S. continues to work out a deal with that country and so a lot to work through there. I think there is still an open question
of how this will all affect American consumers and the American economy.
Certainly, many companies are warning that higher prices could be in the offing, but that may not be seen for several months. And even though we've
seen markets trading sharply lower today in Asia, Europe and the DOW, futures were down pretty sharply before the open.
For the most part, for the last several months, investors have been shrugging this off, and you've seen markets trading at historic highs. I
think the other big question is whether all of this is set in stone, and if history is any example, the president isn't necessarily all that
permanently affixed at any particular rate, he's shown a degree of flexibility as he works out these trade deals for various countries.
[09:05:00]
But I think if one thing is clear, it's that this is now sort of an entirely new way of exchanging goods, and the president very intent on
putting his stamp on the global trading markets.
HILL: Yeah, absolutely. Larry, I also want to bring you into the conversation. Now, when we look at how this is playing out in Africa, it's
a far different situation. When we look at those key U.S. trading partners on the continent, where do things stand this morning?
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. did not sign a single trade deal with any African country before that deadline, even for South Africa, which
needs this trade deal, the U.S.'s second largest trading partner, and it is now facing 30 percent tariffs if nothing happens by that August 7th
deadline.
And I'll get back to the U.S. in a second. But already, the April tariffs hate some of the world's poorest countries, such as Lesotho. I was just
there recently. Do you see the impact, especially in the garments and the textile industry, which heavily is reliant on the U.S.?
It employs more than 100,000 people, and some of those factories are already looking at closing these people who are out of work, and that will
have a huge impact on that economy. That applies across the board in other parts of the continent that have been exported to the U.S., partly because
of this 2004 law known as the African Growth and Opportunity Act that allowed some African countries to export the U.S. market duty free.
But back to South Africa, it's been working the phones, trying to get a deal, and as recently as Wednesday night, the South Africans were on the
phone with the U.S. Embassy, with the U.S. Trade Representative, but it did not lead to a lot of success. Listen to what the South African Trade
Minister told the SABC News.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PARKS TAU, SOUTH AFRICAN MINISTER OF TRADE, INDUSTRY & COMPETITION: And they were unable to give us a firm indication as to what it is that we need
to do now to get to the point of a decision in relation to South Africa.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
TAU: They suggested that look maybe present a revised offer, because we had given an offer when we're in the U.S., you'd recall we announced that we've
given a framework deal to the U.S. with a set of issues that we thought we should be able to offer them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
TAU: But also, a reciprocal engagement on what we would require from the U.S. side. We haven't had confirmation as to what their stance is so far.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MADOWO: In other words, as the kids might say, South Africa was left unread by the United States, and they are sort of resigned to the fact that these
30 percent tariffs will come into effect. President Cyril Ramaphosa saying today that they will support companies that will be vulnerable because of
those tariffs obviously will make them not competitive in the U.S. market.
But they point out, Erica, that they're not a threat to U.S. industry, that this trade is a reciprocal arrangement, and that's the attitude that they
should go into negotiations with.
HILL: Larry, there's been so much discussion since April 2nd about how these tariffs could potentially be resetting the World Economic Order,
specifically when it comes to China. Is Africa likely now in this moment, to move economically closer to China?
MADOWO: Absolutely, while the U.S. is raising tariffs on African countries, 30 percent for South Africa, Algeria, Libya, 15 percent for some of the
countries it runs a surplus with, such as Nigeria and Angola. China has announced that it intends to drop all tariffs for all African countries
except Eswatini, which recognizes Taiwan.
And China is already Africa's largest trading partner. In 2023, Africa exported about 100 and $70 billion worth of goods to the Chinese market.
That is four times more than the whole of the continent exported to the U.S. So, you can see where that's an easy decision for any African leader.
The U.S. is making it harder to export to that market. The African Growth and Opportunity Act is expiring September 30th. Few people here expect it
will be renewed, and China is saying, you're welcome, and it's been critical of the U.S. for using trade as a leverage in these negotiations,
Erica.
HILL: Yeah, certainly a lot to watch for in the coming days and months. Larry, Kevin, appreciate it. Thank you both. Well, we are waiting, of
course, still for a deal with China that is up in the air today, at least one of the world's most important trade relationships in limbo right now.
CNN's Marc Stewart explains now from Beijing.
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As the rest of the world grapples with these high and historic tariffs. The trade relationship between the United
States and China is still very much uncertain. Earlier in the week, we saw trade talks with diplomats from both the U.S. and China in Stockholm,
Sweden.
They came to a conclusion. Overall, the response was positive, but no agreement, no handshake, so to speak, took place. That according to the
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is going to have to come from President Trump. He's going to have to be the one that signs off on an
agreement between the U.S. and China.
This is a tricky relationship, because it doesn't just involve tariffs and trade. It involves other things, such as rare earth minerals, substances
that American companies want to build, things like electronics, like lights, electric vehicles, as well as American made computer chips, which
China's high-tech industries certainly want.
[09:10:00]
And it goes well beyond economics. There's also this issue of ego. Of course, President Donald Trump wants to look strong to China, but Chinese
Leader Xi Jinping also wants to look strong as not to sound like he's being told by the United States as to what he can and cannot do, not giving in to
us demand.
So that too, makes this very complicated. China is not necessarily a U.S. ally. There is an adversarial relationship between these two nations, and
that makes things complicated. Perhaps by this weekend, we'll get a better idea, a better indication by the White House as to where things stand
between the U.S. and China. Marc Stewart, CNN, Beijing.
HILL: A heartbreaking 36 hours in Ukraine's capital, at the scene of a massive Russian attack. Authorities are now reporting at least 31 people
died in that pre-dawn bombardment Thursday, most of them in one apartment block. More than 150 people injured. Ukrainian officials describe this as
the deadliest single attack on Kyiv in a year.
Rescuers have been working around the clock to search for any sign of life. We know at least five children have been reported killed in that apartment
strike in Kyiv, and one of them which is two years old. The UN says more than 700 children have been killed in Ukraine since the war began.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh brings us now the story of a 10-year-old who died of visiting his grandmother's house. And I do want to warn you, this report is
disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): When wars kill for years, names bleed into lists without faces, but each loss still burns a black hole in the worlds they left behind. Tymur
was age 10. He was visiting his grandmother in Kramatorsk.
He really wanted to see her when a 250-kilogram Russian bomb hit her top floor home. It was 04:40 a.m. on July the 22nd and Tymur slept alone in the
spare room. Toys flipped up on the roof. His mother, Nastya, had left them together that night and was due to take Tymur home to Kyiv the next
morning.
ANASTASIYA CHAICHENKO, TYMUR'S MOTHER: He said, he wanted to stay. I said "No, son, we're going, we're definitely going." Then at that very moment, I
wasn't at home, unfortunately. I don't know why or how -- what forces took me away from it. But I should have been with him. And I blame myself very
much for that.
WALSH (voice-over): Tymur grew up in war, born in 2015 when Vladimir Putin was also annexing towns while talking peace. His father, Evhen, playing
with him here was killed fighting the Russians near Liman, 26 months ago. When Nastya's sister rang at 05:00 a.m. she sensed it meant more loss, and
at first hung up, didn't want to take the call.
CHAICHENKO: She said "they took mom away and they are searching for Tymur under the rubble. From that moment on, I felt like I was in a dream.
WALSH (voice-over): At the scene, rescuers had pulled Tymur out, and here at their desperate efforts to resuscitate him.
CHAICHENKO: It was like a new breath of hope when one of the soldiers came out and said that he had a pulse and they were resuscitating him. And for
those 40 minutes while they were pumping him. I prayed to God to give him life. But the miracle didn't happen. And I couldn't go up there. I went
straight to my mom at the hospital.
WALSH (voice-over): Tymur was the only one to die that night and is buried on the edge of Kramatorsk, where the graves are ready for more and the
skyline often loud, Nastya remembers their last moment together.
CHAICHENKO: You know, it was such a very warm last moment with him. We went crazy, I showed him how I used to give him massages when he was a baby we
laughed and that was it.
TYMUR HRYHORENKO, 10-YEAR-OLD DIED IN RUSSIA'S WAR ON UKRAINE: "I wish you a beautiful love. I wish you a happy family."
CHAICHENKO: He loved all the animals very much and kids. At home in Kyiv, he has two pet rats waiting for him. He loved them madly.
[09:15:00]
He constantly called me and asked "Mom, did you clean their cage?" "Did you feed them? Do they have water?" Very caring, very bright boy, very.
WALSH (voice-over): Its towns fall and deadlines pass. Remember Tymur Hryhorenko, aged 10, who knew only war, whose teacher said he spoke up when
girls were picked on, who had two pet rats and who really wanted to stay with his grandmother on the night a Russian air strike killed only him as
he slept. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kramatorsk, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Heart wrenching. You are watching "Connect the World" coming to you live today from New York. Is still ahead here U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff
takes a look at an aid distribution site in Gaza, what Hamas is saying about his visit. Plus, the family of one of Jeffrey Epstein's most vocal
victims speak with CNN about their frustrations around this case.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: U.S. President Donald Trump's Special Envoy to the Middle East, visiting Gaza today, Steve Witkoff was shown a distribution site run by the
controversial American owned and run by America -- Israel Foundation. He was joined by the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee.
The visit, of course, comes one day after Witkoff met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. The White House says they
discussed the delivery of food and aid to Gaza. Hamas official dismissing Witkoff's Gaza tour today as a quote staged visit. Jeremy Diamond is
following all of these developments for us. So, Jeremy, what is expected to come from this visit today?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, Steve Witkoff on the ground for the second time since he's been in this position inside the Gaza
Strip, this time visiting one of those aid distribution sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
He was alongside the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, and you can see them in these photos wearing bulletproof vests, sitting down with
Israeli military officials as well as officials from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, where they got a briefing on the current aid distribution
situation inside of Gaza.
And what these pictures and what this visit tells us not only that President Trump has clearly decided to make this a priority to address the
starvation crisis in Gaza, but it also tells us that the United States is doubling down on this very controversial distribution model helmed by the
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, one that is backed by the Israeli government.
The U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, talked about the fact that GHF has distributed 100 million meals over the course of the last two
months. That may sound like a lot, but it is just a small fraction of what is actually needed in Gaza, particularly over that large period of time.
[09:20:00]
The number that Huckabee left out, though, is the number 600 and that is the number of Palestinians who have been shot and killed by Israeli forces
while trying to reach these GHF sites over the course of the last two months. GHF has called those numbers exaggerated and says that there is
violence around all aid efforts in Gaza.
But the bottom line is that what has played out in Gaza around these GHF sites is exactly what the United Nations and other humanitarian aid
officials who have been operating on the ground in Gaza for years have warned about, that having a very small number of sites, past Israeli
military lines, making large numbers of people walk through those lines, walk long distances, was going to result in people getting killed, and that
is exactly what is unfolding.
Now Witkoff doesn't appear to have met with U.N. or other NGO officials who are operating on the ground in Gaza. Those officials say that what is
needed is for Israel to continue to relax many of the restrictions that they have begun to take down over the course of the last week.
We're now at a point where it seems about 200 trucks of aid per day are getting distributed in Gaza. Officials say that what's needed is more in
the range of 5 to 600 trucks a day in order to alleviate the starvation crisis currently and very much still gripping Gaza. So, a lot more work
that needs to be done here before the people of Gaza get some reprieve.
HILL: Yes, absolutely. And we'll see if some of that work can actually come out of this visit. Unclear for a number of reasons you point out, Jeremy,
appreciate it. Thank you. And we'll continue to discuss in our next hour with CNN Global Affairs Commentator, Former Deputy Pentagon Press
Secretary, Sabrina Singh, will join us to talk more about the international pressure, the growing international pressure, changing opinions as well in
the United States.
And whether those are actually impacting the Trump Administration's approach to Israel and the situation in Gaza. Meantime, there are growing
calls for further transparency when it comes to the U.S. government's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. The family of the late Virginia
Giuffre, one of Epstein's most vocal accusers, is talking with CNN, telling us what she would have wanted they believe in terms of those documents
related to the sex offender having them be made public.
Giuffre died by suicide earlier this year. She was 41. This is her brother now making that emotional plea for justice. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SKY ROBERTS, VIRGINIA GIUFFRE'S BROTHER: We want to know why aren't the documents being released. They deserve justice. These survivors were had
something taken away from them, they can never get back. And it's time for these monsters to be exposed and get something they can never get back,
which is their freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Now, a reminder here, the White House has said President Trump barred Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago club for, quote, being a creep. Mr. Trump has
not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. Well, as this Epstein saga continues to make headlines across most media, some MAGA
friendly news networks are doing their best to shift the focus. Here's CNN's Donie O'Sullivan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN GLENN, CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT OF REAL AMERICA'S VOICE: Those that say they'll no longer support President Trump because he didn't
release every single thing we've ever known about Jeffrey Epstein, just because they say they're done, they're not done.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Epstein saga has rocked the MAGA base for weeks.
MIKE BENZ, TRUMP SUPPORTER: February 2015, Trump stands at CPAC.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bill Clinton.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Nice guy. Got a lot of problems coming up in my opinion, with the famous island, with
Jeffrey Epstein.
BENZ: Like you trained us to go after this issue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the president believe that justice has been served in Epstein case?
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): President Trump can't get away from questions about Epstein.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ghislaine Maxwell says she'll only testify if you pardon her or she gets immunity.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): But at the White House, few of those questions are coming from Trump supporting media outlets.
GLENN: If you look at the 20 of the top 47 promises President Trump made, he delivered on all those campaign promises.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Brian Glenn is the White House Correspondent for MAGA media outlet, Real America's Voice.
GLENN: People say, Brian, why don't you ask questions about Epstein? I'm like because everyone else is asking the question, Epstein.
STEVE BANNON, HOST OF "THE WAR ROOM": We need to get to the bottom of Epstein, because Epstein is the key that picks the lock.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Some in MAGA were initially unhappy with Trump's handling of the Epstein case, but after "The Wall Street Journal" broke
this story and Trump denied it and sued the paper for defamation, many in the MAGA base rallied to his defense.
BANNON: This is a centerpiece of the deep state trying to destroy Trump. Going to destroy Trump, and going to destroy the MAGA movement.
MATTHEW BOYLE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF FOR BREITBART NEWS: And the wake of "The Wall Street Journal" attack on the president, I think the
administration has already taken several of the steps that are going to be good steps in the right direction. So, but the idea that, like Donald
Trump, is covering up the whole Jeffrey Epstein thing like that does make sense, right?
[09:25:00]
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Matthew Boyle is Washington Bureau Chief for Breitbart, an outlet that supports Trump, but has asked questions about
Epstein.
O'SULLIVAN: You mentioned "The Wall Street Journal" story is an attack. I mean, was that an attack, or was it just "The Wall Street Journal"
reporting a good scoop?
BOYLE: Well, the president says that he never wrote that thing, and I have no reason to believe that he did right, like I -- at this point, I don't
know --
O'SULLIVAN: But their reporting shows --
BOYLE: Well, their reporting says that he did right, like they say that. But I mean, we've seen other media outlets get stories wrong about
President Trump.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Potentially trying to distract from Epstein, the Trump Administration has started baselessly accusing Barack Obama of
treason, even posting a fake AI video of the former president being arrested.
O'SULLIVAN: Trump posted the video of Obama getting arrested.
GLENN: Well, you know, I, you know, we all know that President Trump has an insane sense of humor. You know he's -- he likes to troll, and we all know
that. He is the master at that. Could that, in a way, mislead the base thinking that that's going to happen.
I think there's a chance that could happen, because people will see that and go, oh, it's going to happen. It's going to happen next week. When it
doesn't, they get a little disappointed.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): But while some in MAGA might be happy for now on how the administration is handling Epstein.
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): You guys can watch Brian's pre show.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Brian and his girlfriend, the Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, warned that the Trump base still wants answers.
O'SULLIVAN: Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is your partner, said, if you tell the base of people who support you of deep state treasonous crimes,
election interference, blackmail and rich powerful elite evil cabals, and you must take down every enemy of the people. If not, the base will turn
and there's no going back.
GLENN: Pretty hard work -- Maybe people in the administration saw that tweet. Maybe they understand that they have to be as transparent and do
what's best for the American people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: And our thanks again to Donie O'Sullivan for that reporting. It's still ahead here, Trump's sweeping tariffs. When will they take effect?
What will the impact be? We'll take a closer look just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Welcome back I'm Erica Hill in New York. You're watching "Connect the World". These are your headlines. Dozens of countries reacting to increased
tariffs on trade with the United States announced by President Trump on Thursday. His promise, though, to apply those new tariffs beginning today.
That's been pushed back now to next Thursday to give U.S. Customs officials more time. U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, visiting
an aid distribution site in Gaza today.
[09:30:00]
He was joined by Mike Huckabee, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, who praised the U.S. backed foundation that runs the program. And the opening bell
there, of course, on Wall Street on this Friday morning at the NYSE. So how are the markets which were in the red?
Well, we're looking at futures just a short time ago. How are they reacting in this moment? As you can see the DOW down there, just about just a little
over 1 percent we'll of course, continue to watch the markets today to see how they do react to President Trump's sweeping tariff plan.
Markets globally being pulled lower in a number of respects. Again, you see the U.S. markets right there, the DOW, the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ, all in
the red. Those tariffs, a reminder, were set to go into effect today, but that's now been delayed until next week. Why?
Well, U.S. Customs and Border Protection need more time to prepare. We should note too, the tariffs are also raising fears of inflation. Those
costs will get passed on to consumers. Investors, digesting, of course, not only these tariff headlines, but also some new U.S. data, specifically
jobs.
So, the U.S. added 73,000 jobs, as you can see there, in July. May and June's payroll gains were revised down as well in those latest numbers
coming out this morning from the Labor Department. Joining us now from Switzerland, the Chair and Chief Economist for LBV asset management,
Cornelia Meyer.
Cornelia, pardon me, it's good to have you with us today. So, when we look at where we saw some of the global reaction right overnight here in the
United States, but seeing how the global markets were reacting to these tariff deals and the tariffs that are coming next week.
It is still unclear what the finer points, frankly, of many of these deals are. But given what we saw in the initial reaction. How much of that do you
expect to continue?
CORNELIA MEYER, CHAIR AND CHIEF ECONOMIST FOR LBV ASSET MANAGEMENT: I expect to continue a fair bit. And you are absolutely right when you say
there is still a lot of uncertainty. I look at a lot of these deals, and we have fantastic deals, like with the United Kingdom of 10 percent but the
details are not worked out.
Neither are they worked out with the EU where you say, OK, there's that much investment, there's that much purchasing of U.S. energy, but it's the
private sector has to do that, and these are government to government agreements. So, we have a lot of uncertainty. It's the devil's in the
detail with trade deals.
I used to work on trade deals, so I can tell you, the devil is very much in the detail, and we will see. And there's a lot of uncertainty going down
the road, and that will give us, that will throw us, especially also in terms of markets, the old curveball, or the other.
HILL: In terms of that uncertainty, I wonder, you know, there had been, I would say, over the last several weeks, maybe the last couple of months,
actually, as we look at the markets, some of the uncertainty felt like it was baked in, to a certain extent, as we were waiting for these deals.
Now that we have at least the broad strokes of some of them. How much do you think you know as someone who has dealt in this realm before? How much
you think these deals could actually change? And I bring up as an example, Canada, which we saw a real swift reaction from the White House on the
heels of Canada talking about potentially recognizing a Palestinian state in September.
The fact that so many of these deals for this president are blurring the lines between political demands personal investments, in some ways. It
gives the opportunity for there to still be a fair amount of wiggle room.
MEYER: There's a fair amount of wiggle room. And you know U.S. President Donald Trump is true to his background. He's a real estate mogul. And when
you do real estate deals in New York, you just throw everything in, not just the kitchen thing, you throw the bathtub in, and that's essentially
what he has done.
But when you do that on a multilateral basis, it becomes much more complex. So, I think, I wouldn't call it wiggle room, I'd call it uncertainty going
down the line, especially when I look at EU, when I look at some of the deals, also some of the ASEAN deals, there's so much that has been
promised, but that's really in the purview of the private sector, has been promised by the government. So, it is not going to be that easy.
HILL: There's also, you know, as I mentioned, there have been a lot of concerns and concerns raised over the last number of weeks and months,
which in many ways, we are waiting for those to materialize. I was struck by some comments that we recently heard from Larry Summers. I just want to
play a little bit of what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY SUMMERS, FORMER U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: It's more likely than not that we're going to have a recession, and in the context of a recession,
we'll see an extra 2 million people be unemployed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[09:35:00]
HILL: So, he's talking about the impact in the U.S. Do you agree with that assessment that a recession is, in fact, looming, along with large numbers
of unemployment?
MEYER: I would agree in the U.S. that what you really need to worry about is inflation. And you know, looking that President Trump's core base are
people who, you know, he promised them we are getting rid of inflation and bringing jobs back. So, that's that, in terms of the recipient countries,
you know, the guys who got the tariffs, there may well be a recession.
When I look at the EU in terms of their modus operandi was cheap energy costs and high labor costs, not high energy costs, high level costs, plus
taxes. Then you look at the small, little country like Switzerland, where they now have 39 percent tariffs with their largest single country trading
partner, this will cost them tens of thousands of jobs.
HILL: Yeah, I'm glad you brought that up, because it's 39 percent for Switzerland, just looking at, we're talking pharmaceuticals are a major
export. The fact that you have, in fact, the country's president and finance minister saying that they hadn't been able to reach an agreement,
they had had this final call that the trade deficit was still the issue there.
What does that raise in terms of questions for you about the way that they do these deals are actually being done? And how those deficits are
understood from the U.S. perspective?
MEYER: Look for the U.S., and I have some sympathy for President Trump. He says he doesn't like multilateral frameworks, so the people like the EU,
they have some clout. It's the second largest economy together. All these countries in the world, they will spend more on defense.
So, they have some clout. Even Canada, Mexico, they have some clout because they're so close and it's so important. But smaller countries like the
Switzerland of this world, they don't have that clout, and in that sort of environment, clout matters.
HILL: Indeed. Really appreciate you joining us today. It's great to have your perspective. Cornelia, thank you.
MEYER: Thank you very much indeed.
HILL: Still ahead here on CNN, we'll speak to the man who bought that Hermes Birkin bag for the bargain price of just $10 million. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:40:00]
HILL: Now to the most expensive handbag in history. This is it. Take a look. There it is, the bag that fetched a jaw dropping $10 million when it
came up for auction in Paris just a few weeks ago. CNN spoke with the 43- year-old footballer turned businessman who bought the Hermes Birkin prototype to find out why he believes this bag is worth such a hefty sum.
Here is CNN Saskya Vandoorne.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER (voice-over): This is the moment a bag made history. The original, Hermes Birkin, designed for a 60s icon,
smashed auction records in July, selling for an eye watering $10 million and this is the mysterious buyer on the other end of the phone.
SHINSUKE SAKIMOTO, CEO OF VALUENCE: I was sitting in this very chair. It was the most expensive purchase I've ever made per item. So, to be honest,
it was very exciting, but it really made me sick to my stomach.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): Tokyo based Shinsuke Sakimoto is a businessman and collector. In an interview with CNN, he revealed what was really going on
behind the scenes in that dramatic 10 Minute bidding war.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We now come to the Star Lord Mako. Do you want to bid Mako 6 million? At 6 million euros?
SAKIMOTO: Are there many enemies? It's a one-on-one match -- Here comes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 7 million euros.
SAKIMOTO: Wow, amazing. For real.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): A former professional soccer player, the auction appeared to bring out Sakimoto's competitive nature.
SAKIMOTO: We were almost at the upper limit. And those few minutes, we were actually strategizing to inflict a certain psychological damage on our
opponents. And force them to give up by making a bid without delay.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): His company, Valuence, specializes in circular design and the purchase and sale of rare, pre owned luxury items. But this
bag won't be resolved anytime soon.
SAKIMOTO: I think it's a truly artistic piece. We will like to exhibit this at museums and venues to convey this value and background to the next
generation and to inspire people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: And our thanks to Saskya Vandoorne for that reporting. That does it for this hour of "Connect the World". Stay tuned. "World Sport" is up next.
I will see you right back here at the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
[10:00:00]
END
