Global News Podcast - Trump and Meloni talk up chances of US trade deal with Europe

Episode Date: April 18, 2025

US President Donald Trump says he's 100% sure that he'll strike a trade deal with the European Union, after hosting the Italian PM Giorgia Meloni in Washington. Also: Rico the sloth gets surgery to cure toothache.

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Jackie Leonard and in the early hours of Friday the 18th of April, these are our main stories, President Trump says he's certain he'll strike a trade deal with the European Union after the head of the International Monetary Fund said US tariffs had sent global trade uncertainty off the charts. The French president has spoken positively about a day of talks on Ukraine in Paris involving both US and European representatives. And a US judge has ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly on advertising technology

and has deprived rivals of the ability to compete. Also in this podcast, tributes are paid in the Philippines to actress and singer Nora Onor who has died at the age of 71. Over the decades she built a career that shaped the very soul of our culture. President Trump has a frosty relationship with the European Union, claiming it was only established to, in his words, screw the United States. When he started his global trade war two weeks ago, he imposed 20% tariffs on EU goods entering America,

but these were later suspended for 90 days. There's one EU leader who believes she could persuade Mr Trump to agree a favourable trade deal for both sides, and that's Georgia Maloney. The Italian Prime Minister shares similar conservative views with President Trump, and he has described the far-right politician as fantastic. On Thursday, she visited the White House in Washington, making her the first EU leader to do so since Mr Trump announced new tariffs which caused chaos on the financial markets. Both of them were asked, as they sat next to each other in the White House, if a deal could be achieved

before the 90-day suspension was over. There'll be a trade deal, 100%. Of course there'll be a trade deal, very much. They want to make one very, very much and we're gonna make a trade deal. I fully expect it, but it'll be a trade deal, very much. They want to make one very, very much. And we're going to make a trade deal. I fully expect it. But it'll be a fair deal. I'm sure we can make a deal. And I'm here to help on that. My goal would be to invite President Trump to pay an official visit to Italy and understand if there's a possibility when he comes to organize also such a meeting with Europe. Our Washington correspondent is Nomiya Iqbal. So was the president serious when he said

there would be a deal with the EU? Donald Trump has said that, but it's always about what he does, isn't it, and not what he says. I mean, the meeting, as far as I'm sure Georgia Maloney goes, went very well. President Trump started off by praising her. They get on very well, saying that she's taken Europe by storm. She hit all the right buttons, didn't she? She was saying, make the West great again. She criticised woke ideology and said that her and Donald Trump were having the same battle against illegal migration and DEI, diversity, equity and inclusion. And that was a way of

her reminding, I suppose, everybody and maybe him, that they are ideologically aligned. And perhaps that was a way of her reminding, I suppose, everybody and maybe him that they are ideologically aligned. And perhaps that was a way of her sort of saying, you know, they've got this chemistry that perhaps you can use that as leverage to get him on the positions where they disagree on such as Ukraine and such as tariffs. Well, yes. How much is this in defense spending and so on an area of difference between Georgia Maloney and Donald Trump? On Ukraine, there is a of difference between Georgia Maloney and Donald Trump.

On Ukraine there is a big difference. Georgia Maloney stands with Ukraine, she's pro-Ukraine. She was asked by a reporter regarding Donald Trump's comments in which he's blamed President Zelensky for Russia's invasion. She said to quote, there clearly was an invasion and that invader was Putin and Russia. A reporter also asked Donald Trump if Italy should join a European peace mission in Ukraine and he said Italy will need to make that decision but said peace missions are always okay with me.

On NATO spending we know that's a big bugbear of Donald Trump's. He believes that NATO partners should be increasing their defence spending. Italy is amongst the slowest to reach that goal and Trump wants it raised higher and she did concede that Europe was working on doing that, she was working on doing that. And the Italian Prime Minister has also invited Donald Trump to go to Rome. She has, that was one of the first things that she said when the Oval Office meeting started, inviting him to Rome. Bear

in mind that the Vice President will be going later on this week. But she said that Trump had accepted that official visit to Rome. But the thing is, Donald Trump's visit won't just be about Italy. And that is what Ms Maloney said. She said it will be about all of Europe and that will be an opportunity for him to meet other European leaders. They really struggle to try and get a meeting with Donald Trump and I think that will be music to their ears because the EU is closely watching this meeting. Georgia-Milonga is seen as some sort of a bridge for them and with America and certainly

the US I think sees Georgia-Milonga as a bridge. That was Nourmia Iqbal in Washington. Meanwhile, concerns grow about the impact of the Trump tariffs on global trade. In the latest warning, the head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, described the trade uncertainty as off the charts. She said growth would suffer, although she didn't forecast a world recession. Her warnings of a downturn echo those of the head of the US Central Bank, Jerome Powell. He's been the target of a fierce attack by Donald Trump. The US president wants him to be fired for not cutting US interest rates.

I don't think he's doing the job. He's too late, always too late, a little slow and I'm not happy with him. I let him know it and if I want him out he'll be out of there real fast, believe me. Mr Powell argues that cutting interest rates would send prices soaring. Our economics correspondent Andy Verity reports. Donald Trump posted on social media that the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's termination cannot come fast enough and that he was too late and wrong because he hadn't yet cut interest rates. The furious tweet followed comments Powell made overnight, unsettling markets,

that the scale of tariffs announced was bigger than expected and that meant the economic effects would be too, boosting inflation and slowing down trade and therefore economic growth. Today the European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde echoed that view as the ECB cut its official rate by a quarter of a percentage point. Increased uncertainty is likely to reduce confidence among households and firms and the adverse and volatile market response to the trade tensions is likely to have a tightening impact on financing

conditions. The IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva warned that trade disruption carried costs. Ultimately trade is like water. When countries put an obstacle in the form of tariff and non-tariff barriers, the flow diverts. Some sectors in some countries may be flooded by cheap imports. Others may see shortages. Ms. Kiorgieva stopped short of predicting a global recession, but said there would be notable markdowns in the IMF's growth forecast due to be published next week because of trade uncertainty that was, in her words, off the charts. Andy Verity. The price of gold has fallen back from the record high it reached on Wednesday as investors seek safety in response to

the turbulence unleashed by Donald Trump's tariffs. At one point it climbed above $3,350 an ounce. Gold has risen in price by nearly 30% so far this year. Tim Franks heard more from Jesper Kohl, executive director at Monarchs Group, one of Japan's largest brokerages. There is no surprise in the surge of the price of gold during these incredibly uncertain times, during the times of the COVID and corona crisis, when central banks everywhere in the world started to print money, people started buying gold as an inflation hedge. And now that we've got this brewing crisis of credibility at the epicentre of global finance, the United States of America, the price of gold surging is actually what you would expect. Is this similar to what we've seen at other points in recent economic history or do you think

this is a bit of an outlier? During, for example, the euro crisis or the Asian currency crisis, you typically get moves of around 30-40 percent. But what is different this time is, number one, the magnitude. Just before Corona, gold was trading at around $1,300. Now it's at $3,300. So it's a huge increase coming through. And then the second point is that unfortunately, the euro crisis, the fall of the Shah of Iran, all these crises that we've gone through never were at the epicenter of global finance. And unfortunately now it is that epicenter of global finance,

the United States of America, that is playing with fire. Gold, of course, most of the time is priced in dollars. Could that have a sort of doubly inflating effect? There's growing pressure on the dollar and perhaps it will go down in value that that's only going to force the price of gold up. It's a little bit of a relative game, but there is something more profound going on, which is that the value of the dollar is entrusted to be maintained by the Federal Reserve, by the Central Bank of the United States of America. And we're seeing some very big broad sides of attack with President Trump threatening

to perhaps even fire the head of the central bank. So as a result of that, what happens is that gold as a tangible asset, something that you cannot take away from me, something that cannot be produced at random at the whim of some president or dictator, that's why people are going into gold. Yes, the dollar is going down. But more importantly, gold is going up because it's the ultimate safety, the ultimate store of value. You say people are going into gold. Are we looking at everyone from central banks, institutional investors to people who just want to buy a bit of jewelry?

Or are you seeing specific groups? It is very, very broad based. And over the last five months, you've had as much turnover as much buying in gold as you had over the previous five years. So there's this mad rush from retail investors and also of course institutional investors are reducing some of the treasury holding some of the US assets and putting it into gold. Is this good for gold producing countries? I'm thinking about Central Asian countries where gold is mined. Absolutely. I mean, it's very similar to what we saw during

the oil crisis in the 1970s and as a result of that there will be over the next six seven months an increase in the production of gold but the benefit to the suppliers of gold particularly in Southeast Asia I think are going to be relatively small compared to the stampede of buying that you're getting as the uncertainty over the global financial system could grow further from here on. That was Jesper Kohl, Executive Director at Monex Group. Next to the French capital, Paris, the US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and top diplomat Marco Rubio have met their European and Ukrainian counterparts there

to discuss efforts to end the war in Ukraine. The talks were described as excellent by their French hosts. Here's President Emmanuel Macron. This is a very important occasion to have convergence with our Korean friends and amongst the Europeans alongside with you because I think everybody wants to get peace, sure, and a robust and sustainable peace. Mr Witkoff came to Paris after holding talks with Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg. Ukraine's President Zelensky, who wasn't actually at the Paris talks, said the envoy was now spreading Russia's narrative about the war. Our diplomatic correspondent, James Landale, reports on Thursday's proceedings.

In Paris today, a rare sight. American, European and Ukrainian diplomats face to face around a table discussing the war. And more than that, they were all smiles, even when Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, compared the glories of the Alize Palace to the president's Florida resort. You know what this looks like? This actually looks like President Trump's club, in my life. It was not always thus.

In recent months, the Americans have talked to Russia and Ukraine separately and alone, but to no avail. Kiev may have agreed an unconditional ceasefire, but Moscow has not. The Russians say conditions must be met first and, in the meantime, have stepped up their attacks on Ukraine's cities. European diplomat said the talks were a chance to hear first-hand Mr. Witkoff about his meeting with President Putin last week. It was also a chance for them to impress on the US the need to put more pressure on Russia. But for all the talk, Ukrainian trust in the US is not high.

President Zelensky fears Mr. Trump's envoy wants to offer Russia Ukrainian territory in return for peace. Thirdly, I think that Mr. Witkov has taken the strategy of the Russian side. I think that it's really dangerous because consciously or unconsciously I don't know he is disseminating Russian narratives. At the very least, the US and Europe are finally talking seriously about Ukraine. But the newfound diplomacy may reflect American frustration at their lack of progress rather than any hope of an imminent breakthrough.

James Landale, a judge in the United States has ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly in advertising technology, which determines where online adverts are placed. The judge said the tech giant had willfully engaged in anti-competitive acts to dominate the market. Rahul Tandon spoke to the BBC's technology correspondent Lily Jamali who's in San Francisco. So this is quite a crucial moment. It is. There's a lot of momentum in the antitrust space here in the US and this is the latest example. This is a ruling having to do with Google's advertising technology and this judge, Leonie

Brinkama in Alexandria, Virginia, has ruled that they do in fact hold a monopoly in two of the three buckets that were up for discussion here. The ad tools that publishers use as well as the exchange that Google operates that connects buyers of ads with sellers of ads. So it's a big deal. And it comes at a time when big tech is under a lot of scrutiny. You've been covering that meta hearing, haven't you? Yes, that's right. So the Federal Trade Commission, which is a different body that deals with antitrust matters, has been suing Metta, which owns, let's count them together, Facebook,

they own Instagram, they own WhatsApp. And as you hear me say there, you know, there's a lot of scrutiny on Metta around, do they have too much control over these various spaces? And the one that's under the microscope by the FTC and on trial this week has to do with social media. Do they have a monopoly in social media? We've seen Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Metta, take the stand today to make the case that no there's plenty of competition. Look at TikTok for example, that's the big one that they've been dwelling on a lot, as has the former Chief Operating Officer at Metta, Sher Cheryl Sandberg, who followed Zuckerberg on the stand this week.

That was Lily Jamali. In China, the government is standing firm in the face of Donald Trump's huge new tariffs imposed on Chinese goods, but officials have nevertheless acknowledged this week the potential for economic pain as a result of Washington's new charges. One answer for China's policymakers has been to try to increase domestic consumption and a target group in this campaign has been the country's growing number of retirees who are being encouraged to spend more of their savings. Our China correspondent Stephen MacDonald went aboard one of the new silver trains which have been designed to provide just such an opportunity.

The karaoke microphone is being passed around and the cocktail preparations are in full swing. On board one of the new silver trains, named this way because of the hair colour of the passengers, is Daniel Lee. Along with a group of his retired friends, he's tucking into a plate of barbecued goose, washed down with Chinese white spirit alcohol. We have been working so hard for many years, so I'm 66 years old. So important thing is that when we reach this year, this age, we must know what is the right thing to do

and must really enjoy our life. These silver trains are an attempt to turn an economic problem into an economic solution. Every year, the proportion of older people here becomes greater with lower birth rates, making it harder for the economy to sustain them. But what if specialist trains could take retirees with plenty of time and cash to places they've never been where they could spend some of their retirement money and boost the local

economy? Dr Huang Huang, research associate from the China Tourism Academy, has been studying the potential impact of this plan. The main places where the silver trains will stop are rural areas or small towns with less developed economies. Though these big city travellers will consume various products on the trains. After they pull into a station, they will also visit tourist attractions and traditional villages. It has huge development potential.

In Baisha, built by the Nashi ethnic minority, our retirees are off the train and checking out the modest street stalls at the bottom of old two-storey wooden houses. In the street I'm standing in you can buy cured meats, potatoes with spicy sauce, fresh orange juice, lamb and the clothing of the local Nashi people. This is an area which already has a problem with youth unemployment, incomes are not great and it's in places like this that the Chinese government would like to boost domestic Chinese consumption to give the local economy a kick-along. 69-year-old Shirley Li, who's been joined on this trip by her granddaughter, says recently

the travelling spirit of her earlier years has been rekindled. When I was young I really liked exploring other places by myself. Now I'm older, I have my family who can go with me. If only the smallest percentage of China's retirees take a silver train, this can mean millions of ticket sales. Yet even with growth of this magnitude, these trips alone are not going to fix China's difficulties with low consumer spending. The problem is just too big.

However, economists would say at least it's a step in the right direction. So back on board the train, the Silver Adventurers can crash out knowing that their big day out was at least partly for the benefit of all. Then it's on to the next town. That report by Stephen MacDonald. Still to come... His dental predicament came to light when the team at Chester Zoo noticed swellings on the side of his face. So what do you do when a sloth has a toothache? toothache. Unless you've been hiding under a very large pixelated rock, you've probably heard of

Minecraft. It's the best-selling video game of all time, and the franchise's first feature film is in cinemas now. But how much do you know about the game's creator, software developer Marcus Persson? Find out about the man behind Minecraft on Good Bad Billionaire, the podcast exploring the minds, motives and money of some of the world's richest individuals. Good Bad Billionaire from the BBC World Service. Listen now wherever you get your BBC podcasts. It's Samana Santa, holy week in Colombia, but there's a warning that anyone travelling

to certain areas over the Easter period must get vaccinated against yellow fever. The government has declared a national emergency after an outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus, which has so far killed more than 30 people. In the capital Bogotá, people have been queuing at public health posts to get vaccinated, which is free in Colombia. For two reasons, one for my health, because I'm going to travel, and second for a social reason, which is simply to comply with what the president has told us and be aware that this is everyone's problem.

We have to get this vaccine so the virus doesn't spread. The authorities have said that those going to high-risk areas would be required to show proof of vaccination. The illness can be prevented by a vaccine which in most cases provides lifelong protection. So what is yellow fever? Our Online Americas editor Vanessa Bueschluter is following the story. It's a virus that is transmitted by mosquitoes which are normally active during the day and if you get it there's two phases. In the first one it's a disease that causes quite general complaints like headache,

fatigue, your joints can ache and that's why it's often mixed up with other fevers and other diseases and cannot be easily diagnosed. Then there's a second phase which actually not many people get but when you do get it it's much more serious. It can produce jaundice, that's why it's called yellow fever, that's that yellowing of the skin and the eyeballs, and also very high fever and also haemorrhaging. So how serious is this outbreak in terms of severity and numbers and so on? So when you look at the numbers they don't appear that high, there are over 70 confirmed cases and at least 30 deaths that have occurred since the outbreak started in September. But you have to look at the figures of previous

years. Between 2019 and 2022, there was not a single case of yellow fever anywhere in Colombia. So to suddenly have it jump to more than 70 confirmed cases, of course, is very, very worrying. The Colombian authorities are particularly concerned because this outbreak seems to have a very, very high mortality rate. Now, the WHO, the World Health Organization, says that normally the mortality is 15% of cases, but here we've had a mortality rate of almost 50%. So which areas are affected? There have been cases across the country. Now the mosquitoes that transmit yellow fever normally don't go above a certain altitude, so if you're higher than 1800 metres normally

you're safe. There has been an outbreak in Tolima province which is the coffee growing area and which is very popular with tourists. So the health authorities are particularly worried because Easter is almost upon us and a lot of people will travel to lower lying regions, warmer regions, the coast where those mosquitoes are active. Now looking at how the authorities are responding to this, they're talking about vaccination, they're introducing travel restrictions if you can't prove that you've been vaccinated. A member of the public on board with this? There has been some criticism of the president because there have been people in Colombia

who think that he is fear-mongering. He mentioned something about the capital being at risk and of course there was immediate pushback because people said no, it's at too high an altitude to ever be at risk. He then came back and said he was making a wider point about climate change and how of course mosquitoes are spreading further as the climate is warming. But in general, as we've just heard, people have been queuing at health centres in order to get that vaccination in time for their travels. That was Vanessa Buschluter. The Philippine actress and singer Nora Onor, considered by many to be her country's greatest performer, has died aged 71. The cause of her death hasn't been disclosed.

After breaking into acting in the 1960s, she went on to star in 170 films. Our Asia-Pacific editor Mickey Bristow looks back at her life. Nora and Nor had a career that spanned more than half a century. She won numerous awards but it was a life that began in poverty. As a child she contributed to the family income by selling water and snacks at a railway station. Then her grandma taught her to sing. She won a talent contest and in the following years found fame as a singer and actress. Early on she was one half of an on-screen romantic couple known as Guy and Pip.

One of their films ran for six straight months. Later she took on gritty roles. In total she starred in 170 movies as well as TV dramas. After her death her son paid tribute to his mother. From a very young age, our mom captivated hearts with her talent, grace and unmatched voice. Over the decades she built a career that shaped the very soul of our culture. One fellow actress said that every tear Nora and Nor had shed on screen felt like a collective

heartbreak. The president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos, described her as a gift to the nation. She'll be given a state funeral next week. Mickey Bristow on the life of Nora Onor, who has died. Tick-borne encephalitis, which causes brain inflammation, is caused by a virus, one which, as the name suggests, is passed on by ticks The tiny creatures latch onto people's skin usually when they're out and about in the countryside It's become a growing problem in Sweden which is where a campaign has been launched there

Asking the public for help to monitor the ticks which cause it by sending in 10,000 of them is our Europe regional editor Paul Moss. The first most sufferers know is when they get a headache, fever or perhaps an ache in their body. If they're lucky, that soon passes. But sometimes tick-borne encephalitis then comes back a week later and much more severe. The symptoms then can include poor coordination, tremor, personality changes, even psychosis, and a small percentage of people infected with TBE will die from the disease. Which is why Sweden is asking its people to help keep track of the ticks which pass on the virus,

how many there are and what variety. The country's veterinary medicine agency wants anyone who comes across a tick to send them a photograph. Or better still, says its researcher, Morial Årlund, mail them the actual sample. So the best way is to put this in a bag inside the freezer for at least two hours so they die and then you can just put them in an envelope and post it to us. No need for a stamp." Sweden's population is particularly susceptible to TBE because they tend to spend lots of time outdoors where ticks can easily latch on to people as they walk through long grass. But the disease appears to be

spreading. It's long been present in northern China, Mongolia and Russia but it's now endemic in eastern, central and northern Europe, with cases also increasing in countries like Britain and the Netherlands. Vaccines are available but scientists say the best protection is to cover your arms and legs if you're walking in rural areas where ticks are known to gather. Most important, do remove any ticks which bite you, carefully but quickly. Paul Moss. Now let's slow things down. The sloth is a slow-moving tree-dwelling mammal and now Rico, the 25-year-old sloth at Chester Zoo in north-west England, has had pioneering surgery to cure his toothache. He had two abscesses removed

during a three-hour operation, which is believed to be the first of its kind to be performed on a sloth. Nicky Schiller takes up the story. It's not as though Rico, the two-toed sloth, could tell his keepers he had toothache. His dental predicament came to light when the team at Chester Zoo noticed swellings on the side of his face. Further investigations showed that he had two root abscesses, which it was feared could have eventually prevented him eating his usual diet. But the team didn't just want to pull his molars out, worried it could impact on how Rico ate.

So, working alongside dental experts from Newcastle University, they carried out the pioneering three-hour root canal operation. Dentist Fiona Beddis said it really was a step into the unknown as sloths have very different teeth to humans. The infected tissue was removed and the root was sealed with a special cement. Charlotte Bentley is a veterinary resident at the zoo. He's doing really well. We're very fortunate that he is trained now that we can take conscious x-rays of him so he can keep an eye on the fillings and also he will let us look in his mouth. Thankfully since this procedure he's had no signs of other swellings or infection coming back.

So it's all smiles again for Rico but he is living up to the sloth's reputation when it comes to those health checks. His keeper says it can be slow progress as he goes at his own pace. Treats and toys are used to get him into position for his x-rays. That report by Nikki Schiller. And that's it from us for now but there will be a new edition of the Global News podcast later. If you'd like to comment on this edition or the topics covered in it, do please send

us an email. The address is globalpodcast.bbc.co.uk. You can also find us on X at BBC World Service. Just use the hashtag globalnewspod. This edition was mixed by Pat Sissons. The producer was Liam McShephry. Our editor is Karen Martin. I'm Jackie Leonard. And until next time, goodbye. I'm Krassi Twigg from the Global Jigsaw Podcast on the BBC World Service, where we are asking, what does the future hold for the Kurds? In February, Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the biggest Kurdish militant group, the PKK,

called for the group to lay down arms and disband. The announcement could change the geopolitical map of the Middle East. The Global Jigsaw looks at the world through the lens of its media. Find us wherever you get your BBC podcasts.