The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | May 12th, 2025: US-China Agree To Slash Tariffs In Major Trade Breakthrough & White House Secures Release Of American-Israeli Hostage From Hamas Captivity

Episode Date: May 12, 2025

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:  We’ll begin today with a surprise breakthrough regarding U.S.-China relations, as the two global economic powers agree to substantially roll back tariffs on each other’s goods for 90-days and remove most economic barriers as part of a deal to defuse the trade war. Later in the show—Hamas unconditionally released American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander from captivity in Gaza on Monday, following direct talks between the Iranian-backed terror group and the Trump administration.  To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief TriTails Premium Beef: Visit https://TryBeef.com/PDB for 2 free Flat Iron steaks with your first box over $250 Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold DeleteMe: Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you text PDB to 64000. Message and data rates apply Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's Monday, the 12th of May. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, the U.S. and China reached a breakthrough during trade negotiations this weekend. How about that? agreeing to a 90-day tariff pause that will significantly slash rates, marking a major de-escalation in the economic standoff that has global investors celebrating. Markets are up on the news. We'll have those details. Later in the show, following direct talks between Hamas and the Trump administration, the Iranian-backed terror group unconditionally released American-Israeli hostage, Eden Alexander, from captivity in Gaza on Monday. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. We'll begin today with a surprise breakthrough regarding U.S.-China relations, as the two global economic powers agreed to substantially roll-back tariffs on each other's goods for 90 days, as well as to remove most economic barriers as part of a deal to diffuse the trade war. As we've been tracking here on the PDP, delegations from the U.S. and China met in Geneva this weekend for marathon trade

negotiations, and the talks apparently did not disappoint. Both sides agreed to lower their reciprocal tariffs on the other by 115 percentage points for a period of 90 days, during which discussions will continue on securing a long-term trade deal. That's according to a report from a NBC News. The announcement, which was made in a rare joint statement released by Washington and Beijing, signaled the short-lived but economically devastating trade war may soon be coming to an end. The temporary boss will effectively lower U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, leaving in place only the 10% baseline tariff that Trump has imposed on all countries, along with the 20% duty imposed on China earlier this year related to fentanyl.

manufacturing. China will in turn slash its 125% retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods to just 10% and will remove all non-tariff countermeasures such as export restrictions on certain rare earth minerals. In their joint statement, both sides said they recognized, quote, the importance of a sustainable, long-term, and mutually beneficial economic and trade relationship, end quote, oh, just get a room. Many analysts did not expect much to come from, this first round of trade talks, which were, as you know, led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jameson Greer on the U.S. side and top economic star Hei Lefong on the Chinese side. But it appears they overestimated just how much economic punishment China was willing to absorb.

As we previously discussed, China's export-dependent economy has been battered by the tariffs, which have forced factories across the country to shut down and put as many as 16 million jobs in jeopardy. Secretary Besson remarked that the tariff war had amounted to, quote, the equivalent of an embargo between the U.S. and China that threatened to imperil the global economy. Besson said that both sides, quote, concluded that we have a shared interest. The consensus from both delegations is that neither side wanted a decoupling. President Trump echoed that sentiment on Monday, saying, quote, we're not looking to hurt China. The reductions are set to take effect on Wednesday the 14th of May, at which point both

nations have agreed to establish a mechanism to continue discussions about economic and trade relations. The discussions will take place in China, the U.S., and possibly mutually agreed upon third countries. Secretary Besson said, quote, I would imagine that in the next few weeks we will be meeting again to get rolling on a more fulsome agreement. Notably, President Trump said Monday that as part of their new understanding, China has agreed to, quote, open up to U.S. businesses, calling it perhaps the, quote, most important thing, to come out of the negotiations, though he did not elaborate on the development. Secretary Besson, however, said the communist regime had discussed potential purchase agreements

of key American goods, which, if they materialize, could go a long way towards narrowing America's nearly $300 billion trade deficit with China. That deficit, which Trump says is the result of unfair trade practices that have offshoreed American jobs and undermined U.S. manufacturing, has been the main driver of the President's tariff agenda. Investors reacted jubilantly, and when was the last time he used the word jubilantly, to the news of a trade breakthrough with China, which comes on the heels of a trade deal struck between the U.S. and U.K. just last Thursday. All major U.S. stock indexes rallied after the announcement with the S&P 500 hitting

a more than two-month high, and the Dow Jones Industrial average jumping more than 900 points. Still, we should caution that uncertainty remains, and much hinges on the actual problem. made towards a lasting trade deal in the weeks ahead. All right, coming up next, Khamas unconditionally released American-Israeli hostage Eden Alexander from captivity in Gaza on Monday, following direct talks between the Iranian-backed terror group and the Trump administration. I'll have those details when we come back. Hey, Mike Baker here, now this July, and maybe you've heard about this, but this July,

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all birds continue to trust and use them. With Shopify on your side, turn your big business idea into sign up for your $1 per month trial at Shopify.com slash special offer. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. After over a year and a half in Hamas captivity, Eden Alexander, the last known living American Israeli hostage, was released unconditionally today following direct talks between the Iran-backed terror group and the Trump administration. The release took place just north of Kan Yunus, where Hamas transferred Alexander to the International Committee of the Red Cross. He was then handed off to a special unit of the Israel Defense Forces, evaluated by military doctors, and reunited with his family, before being airlifted

to a hospital in Tel Aviv for further care. The major win for President Trump follows days of direct engagement between Hamas and the President's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Whitkoff, who landed in Israel earlier today to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu. According to Israeli officials, Trump's team informed the Prime Minister's office Sunday night that the release would be offered as a, quote, gesture to the Americans without conditions or concessions. Alexander, a 21-year-old dual citizen raised in New Jersey, moved to Israel after high school to enlist in the IDF. He served in the Golani Brigade and was abducted during Hamas's 7 October 23 terror attacks

on Israel. His release, after more than 550 days in captivity, marked a sharp departure from previous hostage spectacles staged by Hamas, which were covered here on the PDP. Gone were the public parades, the masked gunmen, and forced expressions of gratitude by the hostages. This time, Hamas's military wing made clear there would be no ceremony, no release certificates, no propaganda optics. Alexander's freedom was granted without demands or performance. In a statement posted to Truth Social, President Trump called the release, quote,

a step taken in good faith toward the U.S. and the efforts of the mediators to put an end to this very brutal war and return all living hostages and remains to their loved ones. Hamas framed Alexander's release as part of, quote, steps toward a ceasefire, the opening of border crossings and the entry of aid and relief into Gaza. But Israeli officials were quick to downplay any notion that this marked a shift in war policy. Government spokesman David Menser credited the release to, quote, relentless military pressure exerted by our brave IDF forces while Netanyahu's office reiterated that, quote, negotiations will take place as fighting conditions. As of today, 59 hostages remain in Hamas captivity. Only 21 are believed to be alive. Prime Minister Netanyahu

acknowledged as much last week in stark terms, saying, quote, we know for certain that there are 21 alive. There's no argument about this. There are three where there is doubt. The bodies of four American citizens believed to have died in captivity remain in Gaza. Alexander's parents issued a statement thanking President Trump and Whitkoff calling their son. return, quote, the greatest gift imaginable. They urged Israeli leaders to keep pressing forward, adding that no hostage living or dead should be left behind. For now, Hamas says no further hostages will be released unless Israel agrees to end the war, and that is an ultimatum that Netanyahu has flatly rejected. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Monday,

the 12th of May. Now, if you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, please reach out to me at at thefirsttv.com. And I hope you had a chance over the weekend to catch our latest episode of the PDB Situation Report. If you did not, well, don't fret. You can find past episodes of the Situation Report on our YouTube channel, which you can find at President's Daily Brief. And of course, we're on all the podcast platforms wherever you get your podcast stuff. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let's talk about your security, right? Especially your online security. And what I want to do is tell you about a great company called Delete Me. Now, delete me makes it easy,

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