Reuters World News - China’s hike, tariff politics, Hollywood and brain drain

Episode Date: April 11, 2025

Beijing raises U.S. tariffs to 125% but calls time on further retaliation. The political fallout for President Trump as recession fears pummel the dollar. Hollywood is in China’s crosshairs on trade. Plus, Europe eyes a potential intellectual windfall by luring over scientists hit by U.S. job cuts. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter here. Find the latest Reuters Econ World podcast here. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, China hikes U.S. tariffs but says it won't retaliate again. We look at the political fallout for Trump. Beijing bites back at U.S. tariffs by punishing Hollywood's film industry. And how Europe hopes to reap an intellectual wimful by poaching scientists targeted by U.S. job cuts. It's Friday, April 11th. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes every weekday.

I'm Sharon Reich Garson in New Jersey. And I'm Tara Oaks in Liverpool. We're ending the week much as we began, with markets whipsawing over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policy and an escalating trade war with China. Beijing says it'll raise tariffs on U.S. imports to 125%. But says it won't go higher, even if the U.S. introduces further increases.

On markets, the dollar and US treasuries are in the firing line. Here's common crimmons with more. After initially rallying on the back of Trump's tariff reversal, markets are once again rattled. The tit-for-tat between the world's two biggest economies has reignited recession fears. It's also shaken confidence in US assets. Investors are actually selling the dollar and US treasuries, two things that people traditionally flock to as safe havens during market turmoil. The dollar has sunk to a decade low versus the Swiss franc

and yields on 10-year treasuries are on course for their biggest weekly jump in nearly 25 years. If that continues, it could spell trouble for US homebuyers because the 30-year mortgage rate is closely linked to that yield. As the tariff roller coaster continues on markets, what's the political fallout for Trump? Again, there'll be a transition cost and transition problems, but in the end it's going to be a beautiful thing.

Our reporter Jim Oliphant covers the president. So Jim, Trump has weathered so many scandals that would have toppled any other politician by now. But is this different? I think the thing that you have to remember is that Trump ran on competence and, you know, suggested, as he's done for a long time, that as a CEO-type president, he was going to get things done.

And his biggest vulnerability is when, when he looks like he's not able to handle the situation, when it looks like things are spiraling out of control. And for all the talk that there is about him being Teflon and being immune to political gravity, the truth is this is where his weak point lies. Like, the American public will forgive the president for a lot. But when your retirement account start disappearing,

when food prices are through the roof, that's a grudge they're going to carry. And over the last several days, you could see a sense of panic rising among Trump's allies, hedge fund managers, Wall Street, Republicans on Capitol Hill. And there's a bunch of Senate and House Republicans who are up next year. And they were getting very, very anxious about the declining stock market and the effect of Trump's tariffs. Hollywood is finding itself tangled up in the U.S.-China trade war. Beijing is restricting the number of American films playing in the country. In response to U.S. tariffs,

entertainment reporter Lisa Richwine is here to break down what this means for an ailing U.S. film industry. It's really China taking aim at a very high-profile industry. They're getting big headlines, you know, going after one of the most famous American exports, which is Hollywood movies.

And there's really a little downside for the Chinese government analysts say because American movies are not huge in China anymore and Chinese audiences are flocking to Chinese made films. So what sort of financial impact are we looking at? You know, five or ten years ago, this would have been devastating to Hollywood. Hollywood was getting $100 million easily on big blockbuster films from China. That amount of money has really diminished for Hollywood studios.

Now American-made films make up only 5% of the Chinese box office. But that's also a point of pride for China, that they have, taken over their market with Chinese-made films, and they are trying to show the world that, look, we've got plenty of entertainment here, and we're not afraid to further limit the reach of American movies in our country. The U.S. Supreme Court is upholding a judge's order requiring the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a man who the government accidentally deported to El Salvador. Kilmore-Abrego-Garcia is a Salvadoran migrant who is living in Maryland

and has had a work permit since 2019. The court decision says that the U.S. government must also ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador. A tourist helicopter crashed into the Hudson River on Thursday, killing all six passengers on board. New York City Mayor Eric Adams says the victims were believed to have included a family from Spain and the pilot. The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to pass a budget blueprint, setting the stage for legislation

later this year that could make Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent. The 216 to 214 vote cleared the way for Republicans in the House and Senate to work on specific tax cut and spending cut legislation that could take months to complete. A Russian TV report showing footage of a U.S.-Russia prisoner swat. Ksenya Karilina is seen boarding a plane in Abu Dhabi after she was released by Russia. The ballerina had been sentenced to 12 years in jail for donating to a charity aiding Ukraine. In exchange, the U.S. released Arthur Petrov, who was accused of smuggling sensitive electronics to Russia's military. I have found, like myself, a lot of people have been,

and the sciences have been rather aghast at what's happening. That's Michael Olison, an epidemiologist in the Department of Health and Human Services. President Trump's cuts to funding for universities and research bodies have Olison and other scientists in the U.S. looking abroad for opportunities. Olivia LePo de Van has been talking to researchers about what some experts say could be a brain drain. I would describe the mood as nervous in the US among the scientists and researchers that we spoke to for this report. One person, in particular, David Dijon, he is a tuna researcher based in Miami. He was hired by Noah in October and loved his job.

But then as of February, he was part of the cuts made by the Trump administration. and he has now started to rethink his options. If the opportunities are going to be overseas, I will move to wherever the opportunities for research are there. Pulling in US talent to Europe requires more than goodwill, though. It also requires money. The White House says that even with the cuts, the US would still account for the most global research funding

and says that Europe can't fill the void. And for decades, Europe has lagged far behind the US on investment, in its seats of higher learning. So, Olivia, what exactly are the countries doing? So we know that Germany is planning to recruit about 1,000 researchers, and that theme is being replicated across Europe. We've spoken to at least a dozen universities and research institutes in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK,

who are all setting up schemes to attract scientists. And of course, money is important. And we know there have been calls from certain European countries for the EU to up its investment in luring scientists. For example, the European Research Council is going to double its relocation fund to two million euros per researcher to try and lure those scientists and researchers in. And it's Friday, so we're going to end with a recommended listen. We've got a special episode of the podcast out tomorrow all about Myanmar and where the recent earthquake leaves matters in the country politically. It'll be available wherever you get your podcasts. For more on any of the

stories from today, check out reuters.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget to follow us on your favorite podcast player. We'll be back on Monday with our daily headline show.