China Says U.S. Should Revoke Tariffs; Trump Approval Rating Drops

Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Good morning, I'm Nathan Hager and I'm Karen Moscow. Here
are the stories we're following today.
Can we begin with the latest developments in the trade war.
This morning, China demanded that the US revoke all unilateral tariffs.
Spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce says there are
no talks on reaching a trade deal. This comes less
than twenty four hours after President Trump said he would
be willing to substantially pair back tariffs on China.
We're dealing with a lot of countries right now, and
it could be with China. But maybe we'll make a special,
you know, a deal, and we'll see what it will be.
Right now, it's one hundred and forty five percent.
That's very high. It got there because of the fentanyl.
They're sending massive amounts of fentanyl into our country.
President Trump said he could announce tariff rates for countries,
including China, over the next two to three weeks.
Well Nathan stocks are coming off back to back gains
after President Trump eased off on two of his frequent
punching bags, China and Jerome Powell, and sources say Trump
turned down his aggressive rhetoric a day after meeting with
executives from Walmart, Home Depot and Target, who said important
taxes could disrupt supply chains and raise the prices of goods. Meanwhile,
Citadel founder Ken Griffiths said the trade war has disrupted
the ability of business leaders to focus on long term growth.
All of us were really looking forward to four years
of having a chance to really grow our businesses, and
unfortunately the trade war, which has devolved into a nonsensical place,
means that we're spending time now thinking about supply chains,
thinking about strategically how we're going to source goods around
the world. And I'll tell you what's not going to happen,
because people are not going to raise the build manufactured
in America.
Citadel founder Ken Griffin made the comments at the Semaphore
World Economy Summit.
Thank Karen.
The Trump administration and is considering whether to reduce certain
tariffs targeting the auto industry. We get the very latest
on that now with Bloomberg's John Tucker.
John and Nathan Discussions or underway after auto executives where
in taris would deal as severe blow to profits and jobs.
Sources tell us one proposal would spare automobiles and parts
already subject to taris from facing additional duties from steel
and aluminum imports. Another option being studied would fully exempt
to auto parts that comply with the US Mexico Canada
Trade Pact. But President Trump's tarrent policies often changed quickly,
so nobody knows for sure. In the Oval Office he
as today, Trump was asked if he's considering changes to
auto terrace and indicated he was not well, also suggesting
he might even increase levies on the Canadian auto sector.
And meantime, President Trump plans to mark one hundred days
in office by visiting the carmaking hub of Macomb County,
Michigan that's home to facilities tied to General Motors and
Stilantis in New York. I'm John Tucker, Bloomberg Radio.
All right, John, thank you. Well. There's at least one
company saying tariffs will benefit its business going forward. Whirlpool
says the long term impact of tariffs will benefit its
position in the US home appliance market. We spoke with
Whirlpool CEO Mark Bitzer.
No matter how you look at it, we're structuring a
net winner of a tariff now, there's always two sides
of equation. In a short term, there are some what
I would call manageable headwinds in the form of higher
component costs. We also saw quite a bit of loading
by competitors into the industry. But the long term, in
particular one mid term particular, once week tariffs fully kick in,
we are net winner in this environment.
And world pool of CEO Mark Bitzer maintained the refrigerator
makers full year forecast.
Well, Karen, Controversies over tariffs could be taking a slice
out of President Trump's approval rating. The New York Times
is reporting the rating has sunk to about forty five percent.
That's down from fifty two percent one week after the
president took office.
Well, now, Nathan, let's get the latest on the war
in Ukraine. Russia launched a barrage of missiles and drones
on eight regions over including the capital Kief. At least
nine people were killed more than seventy others hurt. The
latest assault came hours after President Trump accused Ukrainian leader
of Vladimir Zelenski of prolonging the war.
I think we have a deal with Russia.
We have to get a deal with Zelensky, and I
hope that Selenski. I thought it might be easier to
deal with Zelenski. So far it's been harder. But that's okay.
It's so right.
President Trump spoke from the Oval Office as heard on Bloomberg,
and President Zelenski is in South Africa but now says
he'll cut that visit short and return to Kiev following
this latest attack.
And back in this country. Karen Harvard University is indicating
it wants to move quickly on its legal fight with
the Trump administration over more than two billion dollars in
federal funds. The university is telling a federal judge it
will not ask for a temporary to block the government's
funding freeze. Instead, its plans to seek a quick judgment
on its central claim that the administration is threatening its
independence and free speech. The White House froze two point
two billion dollars in research grants this month after Harvard
refused to overhe Hall its governance, hiring and diversity practices.
Well, Nathan, let's turn back to the markets now and
check out some stocks that are on the move this morning.
Shares of IBM, they're down almost eight percent. The company
said the government's cost cutting actions led Myightinlon must Department
of Government Efficiency are having an effect. About fifteen of
IBM's contracts with the federal government have been canceled or paused,
amounting to about one hundred million dollars in future payments.
And we're watching shares of Chipotle in the pre market
as well, Karen. They are down four percent. The fast
food chain lowered it's full your outlook after quarterly sales
declined for the first time in almost five years.
On the flip side, shares of Texas Instruments they are
up more than five percent. The biggest maker of analog
semiconductors gave a better than anticipated forecast for the current
period after demand for industrial and automotive components improved.
And staying in tech, Karen, After the bell, we hear
from one of the magnificent seven Google parent alphabet reports,
and we get a preview from Bloomberg's Tom Busby.
Key to Alphabets Q one results is growth and it's
Google Cloud unit, which will show whether the boom and
AI technology and the company's investments in AI infrastructure are
paying off. Despite being an also ran to Amazon and Microsoft.
Investors also looking to see what the company says about
the mounting regulatory pressures from the EU and the US
about alleged monopolies in search and ad tech. Bloomberg consensus
calls for total revenue of just over eighty nine billion
dollars on earnings per share of two dollars and one cent.
Tom busby Bloomberg Radio, and.
It's time now for a look at some of the
other stories making news in New York and around the world.
And for that we're joined by Bloomberg's Michael Barr.
Michael, Good morning, Good morning Karen. Many people lined up
to see Pope Francis lying in state at Saint Peter's Basilica.
The Vatican decided to keep the doors open pretty much
all night. In the first eight and a half hours
of public viewing, the Vaticans said more than twenty thousand
people had paid their last respect yesterday. Some had waited six.
Hours because of the respect that I hug for here,
the great person he was, It's worth the wait.
Walking in there, it was so silent, but you could
feel how much people really cared about him and how
much love there was for this man.
Francis, who died Monday after a stroke is lying in
a simple wooden coffin. Parts of New Jersey remain on fire.
Wildfire continues to burn in Ocean County. The fire is
expected to keep growing in size before rain is forecast
on Friday. It has burned nearly twenty square miles and
thousands at one point had to be evacuated. State Environmental
Protection Assistant Commissioner John Cecil says the fire is forty
percent contained.
We had one commercial structure that was destroyed. There were
a couple of smaller cabins that appears that were impacted
in some vehicles.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Meanwhile,
there are air quality alerts near the fire that will
include New York City. Testimony will resume today in Harvey
Weinstein's retrial on rape and sexual assault charges. Opening statements
began yesterday, including a newly added third claim from a
former model, Kaja Sokola. The disgraced movie local is charged
with forcing oral sex on her in two thousand and six,
but she also accused him in a civil lawsuit of
groping her against her will four years earlier, when she
was sixteen. Weinstein has pleaded not guilty of the charges.
New York Stop Court throughout Weinstein's twenty twenty conviction after
the previous trial judge allowed prejudicial testimony about allegations separate
from the case. Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, who is the
number two Democrat and the ranking member of the Senate
Judiciary Committee, will be leaving Congress at the end of
his term in twenty twenty six. Durbin made the announcement
in a social media video.
The people of Illinois have honored me with this responsibility
longer than anyone elected to the Senate in our state's history.
I'm truly grateful.
Global News twenty four hours a day and whenever you
want it with Bloomberg News Now Michael Barr, and this
is Bloomberg Karen.
All right, Michael Barr, thank you. Time now for the
Bloombergy sports update. Here's John Stanshawer. John, good morning, Good morning, Ken, Karen.
The Mets are amazing.
They keep getting great pitching, They keep winning at City Field.
Even after the Philly scored in the top of the
tenth inning, Mets came back in the bottom. Another big
hit for Pete Alonzo is league leading twenty sixth RBI
tied the game. Alonzo was then at second base. Darling
Marte hasn't done much this season, was at the plate
with two outs.
And Martin Bucks wanted.
The center field comes on, so Stevens's to plates.
Seventh straight for New York the hell.
Yes and why the call?
The Mets won four to three to complete the second
best home stand in team history. They won seven and zero,
and in eighteen and seven, the Mets have MLB's best record.
The Yankees avoided getting swept in a three game series
in Cleveland that still hasn't happens since nineteen seventy Yanks
one to five to one behind Carlos Rodon, who went seventies.
Both the Mets and the Yanks today have their first
day off in two weeks at Fenway. Seattleby at the
Red Sox eight to five, and DC Nationals again beat
the Orioles four to three. Home teams won in the
NBA playoffs. Celtics played without the injury Jason Tatum, who
got thirty six points from Jalen Brown one oh nine
to one hundred over Orlando. Cleveland made twenty two to
three pointers in a one twenty one, one twelve win
over Miami both teams up two games to none. Houston
beat Golden State one O nine ninety four. That series
tied at one, as are the Knicks and Pistons. With
Game three tonight in Detroit. The Knicks simply need to
score more than ninety eight points in the game two loss,
the fewest points they scored in the game all season.
The NFL Draft is in Green Bay, Round one tonight,
with Tennessee expected to kick things off by taking quarterback
cam Ward. The Giants have the third pick, the Patriots
the fourth the Jets. The seventh Hall of Famer Steve
McMichael has passed away. He was sixty seven. He suffered
from als. McMichael played thirteen season on the defensive wine
in Chicago. In nineteen eighty five, he was a big
part of the Bears only Super Bowl winning team. John
Stanshawerd Bloomberg Sports Care.
NAKA Coast to Coast on Bloomberg Radio, nationwide on Sirius XM,
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Bloomberg Business app. This is Bloomberg Daybreak.
Good morning, I'm Nathan Hager. But back and forth continues
at the White House over tariffs and trade after slapping
China with duties totaling one hundred and forty five percent,
President Trump now says he's looking forward to a deal.
We're going to have a great deals.
And by the way, if we don't have a deal
with a company or a country, we're going to set
the tariff. We just set the tariff for something that
we think that will happen.
I'd say over the next couple of weeks. When you say,
I think so over the next two three weeks.
That was the President speaking from the Oval Office. Has
heard on Bloomberg But this morning, China is saying there
are no talks on a trade deal and that the
US should revoke all unilateral tariffs for the very latest
spear joined Bloomberg News senior editor Bill Ferries and Bill,
this latest rhetoric out of Beijing is coming after President
Trump said he planned to be very nice with China.
Does it seem like the pendulum is swinging when it
comes to the rhetoric around trade between these two superpowers?
Good morning, Good morning.
I think absolutely, it does look like the rhetoric is
kind of shifting here. President Trump kind I think offering
a fig leaf here, olive branch to China to try
to perhaps get negotiations that really haven't begun started here.
For a while, he was saying he just wanted to
hear from Xi Jinping and get a call. There's been
no call. China has kind of stuck to its gun
so far and is now saying that the US needs
to dial back all of its unilateral tariffs as basically
a precursor to getting talks going. And interestingly enough, that
comes with a lot of Shi Jinping's economic aids actually
in Washington this week for all of those IMF World
Bank meetings that are going on.
How long can China hold out around a deal with
the US given the economic challenges that the country has
been facing for really a couple of years now.
Yeah, they've had their own issues, a real estate crisis,
kind of a lack of domestic consumption. They seem to
be willing to let things continue to unfold, and I
think they're betting that Donald Trump hits his pain point
before Shi Jinping does. There may be some opportunities for
lower level staff to engage in some informal talks. I mean,
there's still time for things to happen in Washington, but
right now, you know, I think Beijing is trying to
take a longer view. They do have the ability to
unleash domestic stimulus to try to kind of overcome some
of the barriers that are popping up from the lack
of trade that's taking place. But I think Donald Trump's
comments also signal, you know, a little bit of light
at the end of the tunnel, in the sense that
one hundred and forty five percent tariffs are probably what
we're not going to be staring at indefinitely.
Yeah, and while these talks continue, bill or at least
this rhetoric goes around, we're getting some more insight, aren't
we into what the president's potential pain point might have
been that they could have led him to sort of
dial back this rhetoric around not just China but Fed
Chair Powell.
Yeah.
Absolutely. I mean, you know, the week started with the
markets again taking a beating over the comments about both
Powell and the lack of agreement with China and other countries.
We've seen him dialing back to the rhetoric on both
of That is interesting. Some of that came after he
met with the heads of companies like Walmart, Home Depot
and Target. Obviously, just like bread and butter retailers in
the American economy who have been warning that the China
tariffs and really the lack of trade taking place between
the two countries was going to be a big problem,
and that potentially you could be in a situation with
the empty store shelves in a few months after stores
worked through the work through their inventories. That seems to
have had an impact. We also think that he's continuing
to hear from a lot of people on Wall Street,
channeling perhaps through Scott Bessett, Howard Lutnik, people with really
strong white or Wall Street ties.
Just thirty seconds left, Bill, But while the president's diling
back with China, it's really fascinating to see him sort
of ramping up the rhetoric and the pressure on Ukraine's
president as Ukraine continues to come under fire from Russia.
Yeah, Donald Trump's saying that he thinks Zelenski has been
a barrier to peace so far. He's been harder to
deal with than Putin. The Zelensky and the Ukrainians coming
back saying, listen, we agreed to a ceasefire forty four
days ago. It hasn't happened. Russia hasn't complied Russia overnight,
sending more than seventy missiles of various types and a
dwarm drone swarm into Ukraine.
This is Bloomberg Daybreak, your morning podcast on the stories
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