Reuters World News - Tariff stress, Musk and Myanmar

Episode Date: April 4, 2025

President Trump's tariffs pile more stress onto a struggling world economy. Elon Musk's high-profile involvement in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race raises questions over whether he has become a political liability. And Myanmar’s deadly earthquake may bring a diplomatic payoff for its junta chief.  Find our recommended read on the bidders to buy TikTok here. 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, Trump's massive tariffs shock markets. What Elon Musk's defeat in Wisconsin means for Republicans in the midterms. Plus how the disaster in Myanmar may transform the political fortunes of its military leader. It's Thursday, April 3rd. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes every weekday. I'm Jonah Green in New York. And I'm David Spencer. in London.

This is one of the most important days, in my opinion, in American history. It's our Declaration of Economic Independence. President Donald Trump announcing his global reciprocal tariffs in the White House's Rose Garden. Reciprocal, that means they do it to us and we do it to them. Trump says he will impose a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the United States and higher duties on dozens of the country's biggest trading partners. Trump displayed a poster that listed the tariffs,

including 34% on China and 20% on the European Union. European Union, they're very tough, very, very tough traders. And the EU chief Ursula von der Leyen described the tariffs as a major blow to the world economy. Let's be clear-eyed about the immense consequences. The global economy will massively suffer, uncertainty will spiral and trigger the rise of further protectionism. Fondolans not alone amongst world leaders in condemning the terrorists

as these sweeping penalties unleash turbulence across world markets. Before Trump's speech, his administration confirmed tariffs on auto imports announced last week and they'll take effect from today. Countermeasures are expected that could lead to dramatically higher prices for everything from bicycles to wine. Jonah caught up with our economics editor Dan Burns after the announcement to gauge initial reaction. Generally, the reaction that these are much stiffer

than investors had been anticipating. And it looks like the market, at least for the early hours tomorrow, is going to take it on the chin. Trump says tariffs will return manufacturing to the United States. What happens in the meantime? Well, in the immediate future, the vast majority of incoming commentary from economists is that this raises a very near-term risk of a recession in the U.S. and certainly among some of our larger trading partners, it will likely raise prices for goods brought and sold into the United States. And that's going to add to inflation, which is already proving more stubborn to bring fully to heal than had been expected.

Goldman Sachs, even before the tariffs came out, raised their probability for a recession to 35% from 20. We've seen other estimates come in from other economists just in the hours since the announcement was made, suggesting that we could see negative GDP growth as early as the second quarter, which we're in right now. China has urged the U.S. to immediately cancel the tariffs, promising countermeasures to protect Beijing, interests. Trump announced that China would be hit with more tariffs on top of what he's already slapped on Chinese products, meaning the total new tax is 54%. His bid to remake the World Trade Order has sent shockwaves through the markets. Carmel Crimmons is here to digest it. Investors have really taken fright. These levies were harsher than many analysts were anticipating,

so stocks are down across the board. Wall Street, futures are slumping and the yield on the 10-year treasury bond has dropped. Tech shares have been hit particularly hard. High tariffs on Asian countries, as high as 46% for Vietnam, for example, are bad news for their supply chains. So Apple shares slid 7% after the bell on Wednesday. It's not clear how permanent these tariffs are going to be. Traders are bracing for retaliation from China and the European Union and months of

grueling trade negotiations. And all that uncertainty means it's going to be hard for. firms to plan long-term investments. Shortly after Trump's tariff announcement, the Senate passed legislation that would terminate new tariffs on Canada. Four Republicans joined Democrats in voting to approve the bill that would end a national emergency Trump declared which he used to target Canada. The bill now heads to the Republican-controlled House where it is likely to be shelved. A new poll finds Trump's approval rating has fallen to 43. percent, the lowest since his return to office. The Reuters-Ipsos poll found that Americans are

souring on his tariffs and his administration's handling of information about a military strike in Yemen. The judge who banned Marine Le Pen from running in France's 27 presidential election is now under police protection. According to a source, she's had death threats and her home address has been shared online. Le Pen has condemned the threats. A U.S. judge has dismissed the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams and said the charges cannot be brought again. Adams pleaded not guilty to accepting bribes and illegal campaign contributions from Turkish officials in exchange for favors. He found support from the Trump administration who urged prosecutors to dismiss the case. Elon Musk, the asset?

or Elon Musk the liability. In Wisconsin's Supreme Court race, it was the latter. After pouring millions into his preferred candidate, he came up short. His choice decisively defeated in a race viewed as an early referendum on the Trump presidency, with experts saying the billionaire's involvement fueled high democratic turnout. Of course, the ballot box is not the only place that Musk is seeing backlash. Tesla sales have plummeted amid recent pre-exempt. protests against him at dealerships across the U.S.

According to a political report, President Trump has told members of his cabinet that advisor Elon Musk will soon be stepping back from his government role. Reuters has not independently confirmed the report. Reporter Alexandra Ulmer is looking at what this all means for Musk and Republicans. The White House on Wednesday dismissed those reports and said Musk is going to stay on to complete his mission with Doge. But what's not clear is if that would mean that he would leave before his 130-day mandate as a special government employee is up, which would be around May. That's what the political reports seem to suggest, but it's not entirely clear.

What's interesting with the timing of this report is that it comes one day after the Wisconsin Supreme Court race results, which were a big rebuff of Musk. This sets up a really difficult quandary for a lot of Republicans who are running in 2026. On one hand, this is the world's richest person, right? And he's shown an almost limitless appetite to spend in U.S. elections. He put down over $250 million to help Trump win last year. On the other hand, you know, this Wisconsin race is a warning that being too closely associated with Musk, who is, you know, trying to dismantle large swaths of the federal government. and halting thousands of programs and contracts

could really make him even more unpopular with voters who could then punish Republicans affiliated with him. The continuing search for survivors of Myanmar's deadliest natural disaster in years. Last week's earthquake has killed more than 3,000 people but has strengthened the position of ruling general Min Ong Huang. It's opening diplomatic channels that have been closed for four years after his hunter ousted an elected government to unleash a brutal civil war and displacing three and a half million people.

Today he's set to make a rare trip to a regional summit in Bangkok, according to state television. Reporter Devjog Ghashal has been looking at how an outpouring of sympathy following the disaster may end the general's isolation. It's too early to say how this plays out domestically because Menong Lange has been on the losing side of that civil war with the once powerful military losing large parts of Myanmar over the last four years.

This earthquake, which is one of the worst to hit Myanmar in a century, it will create domestic pressures for him. However, internationally, this has played out pretty well for him because before this earthquake, you know, he really had been shunned by most world leaders, including, you know, some of his allies. So, you know, he traveled to China last year for the first time since the coup, but didn't get a meeting with Xi Jinping. But, you know, you have the earthquake.

And then within days, he's on a, he's, you know, he's on a call with Xi Jinping. He's had a call with the Indian Prime Minister Modi. He's had a call with Anwar from Malaysia. So, you know, internationally, I think this has suddenly given him sort of leverage for diplomatic re-engagement in a way that he hasn't had since the coup. For our recommended read today, we look at the weekend deadline for TikTok to find a buyer. Bidders for the app are piling up with Amazon and a consortium led by OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely, the latest bids. Find out more by following the link in the pod description. For more on any of the stories from today, check out roiders.com or the Reuters app.

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