Latest / The Ben Ferguson Podcast / Tariff Tango-China & Japan arrive in DC plus Guantanamo Bay Expansion
Transcript
- 0:01Speaker 1: I work for the greatest president in my lifetime, Donald Trump.
- 0:04Speaker 1: He secured that border in five weeks. As we're talking
- 0:06Speaker 1: Royron Lawrence, we have the most secure border in my
- 0:09Speaker 1: lifetime right now because the President Trump's actions, We're coming
- 0:13Speaker 1: to sanctuary cities. We're going to put all hands on debt.
- 0:16Speaker 1: Sanctuary cities are not going to get away with the
- 0:18Speaker 1: late illegality that's killing Americas at record numbers.
- 0:21Speaker 2: You're listening to the forty seven Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
- 0:24Speaker 3: Good Thursday morning. Welcome it as the forty seven Morning Update.
- 0:28Speaker 3: Ben Ferguson with you, and here are the three big
- 0:30Speaker 3: stories that you need to know about. First up, Donald
- 0:33Speaker 3: Trump touting major progress after trade talks with Japanese officials.
- 0:38Speaker 3: The moral of the story, if you show up and
- 0:41Speaker 3: you're willing to work with America, We're willing to work
- 0:43Speaker 3: with you. I'll give you all those details in a moment.
- 0:46Speaker 3: And comparing that story to our second one, China is
- 0:50Speaker 3: now signaling a readiness for talks quote if the US
- 0:55Speaker 3: shows respect amid the numbers gang as some tariffs have
- 0:58Speaker 3: gone to two hundred and forty percent. And finally, in
- 1:02Speaker 3: a big story, a memo now is revealing US plans
- 1:06Speaker 3: to send migrants who are linked to organized crime to
- 1:10Speaker 3: Guantanamo Bay. It's the forty seven Morning Update and it
- 1:14Speaker 3: starts right now.
- 1:15Speaker 2: Story number one.
- 1:16Speaker 3: There is a major theme coming out of the White
- 1:18Speaker 3: House with consistency, and that is, if you work with
- 1:22Speaker 3: the Trump administration on tariffs as a foreign nation, you're
- 1:25Speaker 3: going to get a very good deal. Well, the Trump administration,
- 1:29Speaker 3: we're now being told, is working with dozens of countries
- 1:32Speaker 3: in direct negotiations on new trade deals. There's one big
- 1:37Speaker 3: success story that's coming out of the White House. President Trump,
- 1:41Speaker 3: we are now being told, met with Japanese officials at
- 1:44Speaker 3: the White House yesterday to discuss trade negotiations, and his
- 1:48Speaker 3: quick reaction on social media afterwards suggested a very positive
- 1:53Speaker 3: result quote a great honor to have met with the
- 1:56Speaker 3: Japanese delegation on trade, big program. He was also joined
- 2:02Speaker 3: by the Treasury Secretary of Scott Mescent and the Commerce Secretary,
- 2:05Speaker 3: Howard Lutnik. The talks were scheduled after Trump announced he
- 2:09Speaker 3: would impose tariffs on the island nation Now. Trump previously
- 2:13Speaker 3: confirmed that he would attend the meetings and that discussion
- 2:17Speaker 3: topics would include the cost of military support, and also
- 2:20Speaker 3: quote trade fairness. The United States and Japan have had
- 2:24Speaker 3: a decade long military alliance formed in the aftermath of
- 2:28Speaker 3: World War II. Thousands of American troops are also stationed
- 2:32Speaker 3: on Japanese soil, a majority of them on a military
- 2:36Speaker 3: base in Okinawa. Trump also said last night, quote, hopefully
- 2:40Speaker 3: something can be worked out, which is great for Japan
- 2:44Speaker 3: and the US. Now. This month, Trump announced a ten
- 2:47Speaker 3: percent baseline tariff on nearly every country in the world,
- 2:52Speaker 3: but added higher reciprocal tariffs on a number of significant
- 2:55Speaker 3: trading partners. This included Japan, Vietnam, the European Union, China,
- 3:01Speaker 3: and others. Later, he announced a ninety day pause on
- 3:04Speaker 3: the higher tariffs for every country except China, which was
- 3:09Speaker 3: hit with a total rate of one hundred and forty
- 3:11Speaker 3: five percent and some categories higher than that overall. Now,
- 3:16Speaker 3: the higher tariffs on imports from China were needed, Trump
- 3:19Speaker 3: said in his announcement suspending the other duties because the
- 3:22Speaker 3: Chinese regime has taken advantage of the United States for
- 3:25Speaker 3: decades on trade. The Chinese regime has responded by imposing
- 3:29Speaker 3: higher tariffs on US products, which we'll get to more
- 3:32Speaker 3: on that in just a moment in story two. But
- 3:35Speaker 3: the big news here is this. Even Bascent had said
- 3:38Speaker 3: that there is quote a first mover advantage, given that
- 3:42Speaker 3: Washington has stated that more than seventy five countries now
- 3:45Speaker 3: have requested direct talks. Japanese Prime Minister said on April
- 3:50Speaker 3: the fourteenth that his country quote won't rush to reach
- 3:53Speaker 3: a deal and does not plan to make quote big concessions,
- 3:57Speaker 3: although he said he would not impose countermeasures on US tariffs. Well,
- 4:01Speaker 3: some of this may be posturing, because what we're seeing
- 4:04Speaker 3: coming out of the White House is significant that this country, America,
- 4:10Speaker 3: and Japan are clearly looking to get a deal done soon.
- 4:13Speaker 3: We also are being told that about fifteen countries so
- 4:16Speaker 3: far have submitted proposals on trade. That is coming from
- 4:20Speaker 3: the Press Secretary Caroline Levitt. She also noted that dozens
- 4:24Speaker 3: more countries have reached out to the White House and
- 4:27Speaker 3: are looking to sit down as soon as possible. Her
- 4:30Speaker 3: exact timeline, she said, is as quickly as we can
- 4:34Speaker 3: put people at the table, and the proposals that we're
- 4:37Speaker 3: getting are actively being considered. As we've said consistently, there
- 4:41Speaker 3: are more than seventy five countries that have reached out,
- 4:44Speaker 3: and those that reached out first with the best deals
- 4:47Speaker 3: are those that are sitting down with us quickly.
- 4:50Speaker 2: Now story number two.
- 4:51Speaker 3: You may have seen the headline, and the headline is
- 4:54Speaker 3: one that was shocking to the world and it was
- 4:56Speaker 3: done on purpose by the Trump administration. When it comes
- 4:59Speaker 3: to China, China is now facing up to a two
- 5:02Speaker 3: hundred and forty five percent Trump tariff. Now, there's a
- 5:06Speaker 3: lot that has happened in the last twenty four hours.
- 5:09Speaker 3: Not only did the White House say China's facing this
- 5:12Speaker 3: two hundred and forty five percent tariff on imports the US,
- 5:15Speaker 3: but they said it was because of a result of
- 5:17Speaker 3: its retaliatory actions from China against US. Now this is
- 5:22Speaker 3: going back and forth at a rapid pace. Why does
- 5:25Speaker 3: this matter Because the trade war is obviously rattling global markets.
- 5:30Speaker 3: Cutting off Chinese imports is complicating American supply chain, and
- 5:35Speaker 3: it is also hurting Chinese exporters all but losing the
- 5:40Speaker 3: US market is quote a severe blow. And now they
- 5:44Speaker 3: are putting pressure on their own government to get a
- 5:47Speaker 3: deal done. So here's what we know. Now, there has
- 5:51Speaker 3: been movement from China. Quietly. China has now appointed a
- 5:56Speaker 3: new trade negotiator. China pointed demand by the name of
- 6:01Speaker 3: Lee Chong as its new trade negotiator on Wednesday, in
- 6:05Speaker 3: the midst of its terrifight with the US. Now, this
- 6:09Speaker 3: is a significant move that signals a change in the
- 6:12Speaker 3: style of their negotiations or lack thereof from Beijing. Now,
- 6:17Speaker 3: let me tell you more about Lee that you will
- 6:19Speaker 3: hear nowhere else. Prior to this new appointment, Lee spent
- 6:23Speaker 3: about four and a half years as China's ambassador to
- 6:27Speaker 3: the World Trade Organization that is, the body that governs
- 6:31Speaker 3: global commerce into which Beijing has appealed in its tariff
- 6:35Speaker 3: dispute with the US. Lee has also had permanent representative
- 6:40Speaker 3: status to the Chinese delegation to the UN Office in Geneva,
- 6:45Speaker 3: as well as other international organizations in Switzerland. We also
- 6:49Speaker 3: know that Lee participated in negotiating China's ascension to the
- 6:53Speaker 3: WTO known as the World Trade Organization more than twenty
- 6:57Speaker 3: years ago. This means there is real movement now, and movement,
- 7:02Speaker 3: as it was described by one as saying this quote,
- 7:05Speaker 3: there might be another style of negotiations from China. Lee
- 7:09Speaker 3: is an open minded person and supports free trade. That
- 7:13Speaker 3: is with the dean of the China Institute for Wto
- 7:16Speaker 3: Studies at the University of International Business and Economic sendeness
- 7:19Speaker 3: statement to the press. So what are people saying about
- 7:23Speaker 3: this in China? Well, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said
- 7:26Speaker 3: there is no winner in tariff wars and trade wars,
- 7:30Speaker 3: the first time signaling that they may be willing to
- 7:32Speaker 3: do a deal. And China, he went on to say,
- 7:35Speaker 3: does not want to fight. Let me say that again.
- 7:38Speaker 3: China does not want to fight, but it is by
- 7:42Speaker 3: no means afraid to fight again, a major change in
- 7:46Speaker 3: the rhetoric coming out of Beijing. President Trump also wrote
- 7:49Speaker 3: on True Social nobody is getting off the hook for
- 7:53Speaker 3: the unfair trade balances and non monetary tariff barriers that
- 7:58Speaker 3: other countries have used, again, especially not China, which by
- 8:02Speaker 3: far treats us the worst. That's what Trump said on
- 8:06Speaker 3: True Social On the thirteenth, he said, we are taking
- 8:09Speaker 3: a look at semiconductors and the whole electronic supply chain
- 8:13Speaker 3: in the upcoming National security tariff investigations. What has been
- 8:18Speaker 3: exposed is that we need to make products in the
- 8:20Speaker 3: US and that we will not be held hostage by
- 8:23Speaker 3: other countries, especially hostile trading nations like China, which will
- 8:28Speaker 3: do everything within its power to disrespect the American people.
- 8:32Speaker 3: Which brings us now to the newest headline. As I
- 8:35Speaker 3: said a moment ago, things are moving rapidly and this
- 8:38Speaker 3: is good news for Americans as well. The newest headline
- 8:43Speaker 3: reads like this, China is now signaling a quote readiness
- 8:47Speaker 3: to talk if US shows respect amid the numbers game. Again,
- 8:52Speaker 3: this is very different than what they were saying just
- 8:55Speaker 3: twenty four hours ago. China is now expressing openness into
- 8:59Speaker 3: trade talks the US under certain conditions, even after the
- 9:04Speaker 3: White House clarified that China now faces up to a
- 9:07Speaker 3: two hundred and forty five percent tariff on imports to
- 9:10Speaker 3: the US. This goes back to what Donald Trump said
- 9:14Speaker 3: all along, I'm not flinching on countries that are taking
- 9:17Speaker 3: advantage of the American workers, the American people. He also
- 9:20Speaker 3: said it was going to be a national security issue,
- 9:22Speaker 3: which you just heard them mentioned yet again, and the
- 9:25Speaker 3: President said, I'm more than willing to sit down to
- 9:27Speaker 3: get a fair deal for the American people. And with
- 9:30Speaker 3: China pointing Lee as its new trade negotiator, it signals
- 9:34Speaker 3: a major potential shift in the approach to trade discussions,
- 9:39Speaker 3: and that is not only good for Americans, but also
- 9:42Speaker 3: for the entire world.
- 9:43Speaker 2: And here is story number three.
- 9:45Speaker 3: It is a major story that no one seems to
- 9:48Speaker 3: be covering, and our good friends over at the National
- 9:50Speaker 3: Polls are the first to expose this big news. A
- 9:54Speaker 3: new memo shows the Trump administration's wide reaching authority to
- 9:59Speaker 3: detain my rents at Guantanamo Bay is going to be
- 10:02Speaker 3: expanding beyond only the worst offenders quote unquote. This development
- 10:08Speaker 3: is part of Trump's broader policy to crack down on
- 10:11Speaker 3: illegal immigration. Now, what I'm about to tell you, I
- 10:14Speaker 3: hope you'll share with everyone you know, and I hope
- 10:17Speaker 3: you will share this podcast on social media. Also, make
- 10:21Speaker 3: sure you have that subscribe or auto download button, because
- 10:24Speaker 3: these are the stories you're not going to get anywhere
- 10:27Speaker 3: else now. This agreement was signed in early March by
- 10:30Speaker 3: top officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the
- 10:34Speaker 3: Department of Defense. It sets criteria for detaining migrants based
- 10:40Speaker 3: not on criminal history, but rather a nexus to transnational
- 10:45Speaker 3: criminal organizations or criminal drug activity. Officials have defined this
- 10:51Speaker 3: connection broadly, which could include paying a criminal group for
- 10:56Speaker 3: smuggling services into the United states of a mayor America
- 11:00Speaker 3: that would be a game changer. Now. The guidelines also
- 11:04Speaker 3: allow for detaining migrants with final deportation orders who have
- 11:10Speaker 3: interacted in any way with organized crime, including direct or
- 11:16Speaker 3: indirect interactions. The Department of Defense confirmed the memo. The
- 11:21Speaker 3: DoD has highlighted a trol in clarifying operational roles at
- 11:26Speaker 3: Guantanamo Bay between the Department of Homeland Security and the DoD.
- 11:31Speaker 3: Teresa Cardinal Brown, a former US immigration official, stated that
- 11:36Speaker 3: many illegals could have some form of interaction with a
- 11:40Speaker 3: crime syndicate. This is due to the territorial control established
- 11:45Speaker 3: by the cartels in Mexico. Now, the Trump administration officials
- 11:50Speaker 3: are defending the strategy as vital to quote national security.
- 11:55Speaker 3: The White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller set
- 11:58Speaker 3: operations at on Tanamo for detaining migrants will proceed without changes.
- 12:04Speaker 3: Currently forty two individuals are detained at the base. This
- 12:09Speaker 3: story we expect to change, and I promise you we
- 12:12Speaker 3: will cover it here for you every step of the way.
- 12:15Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to the forty seven Morning Update
- 12:18Speaker 2: with Ben Ferguson. Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever
- 12:22Speaker 2: you're listening to this podcast right now and for more
- 12:25Speaker 2: in depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson podcast,
- 12:29Speaker 2: and we will see you back here tomorrow