Up First from NPR - Tariffs View From The EU, Ukraine Weapons Plan, Texas Flood Update

Episode Date: July 14, 2025

President Trump sent letters to leaders of the European Union and Mexico threatening to impose higher import sanctions. The President has expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin and says he will cut a deal coordinating arms shipments to Ukraine. And, as flood recovery efforts continue in central Texas, the magnitude of the disaster is coming into clearer focus.Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today's episode of Up First was edited by Miguel Macias, Ryland Barton, Russell Lewis, Janaya Williams and Lisa Thomson. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Damian Herring. And our technical director is Zo van Ginhoven. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

I just want to say welcome. Thank you, Steve. It's good to be here always. I'm glad you could come this early in the morning. Yeah. Studio 31. I'm glad you finished editing because we need to record some stuff now. Oh, we have to work?

Yeah. Okay, let's do it. A French winemaker says tariffs may push him out of the U.S. market. I have some talks with my distributors and if the tariffs go above 20 percent, they just can't buy. How are European negotiators responding? I'm Sarah McKammon with StevensKeep, and this is Up First from NPR News. The president promised an announcement today about Russia regarding its war with Ukraine. He's been talking of sending more American weapons.

And in this case, Europeans would pay for them. What more can we expect? Also, crews in central Texas face the aftermath of a flood. The latest priority is clearing out the debris from a disaster. We had many RVs that went down the river. They broke up. You've got sewage. You've got, you name it.

Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day. The House of Representatives has approved a White House request to claw back two years of previously approved funding for public media. The rescissions package now moves on to the Senate. This move poses a serious threat to local stations and public media as we know it. Please take a stand for public media today at GoACPR.org. Thank you.

You have your job, but you also have a life. And you're not just one thing. Neither is the Here and Now Anytime podcast. Every weekday, we break down the biggest story of the day and something else, like a new trend everyone's talking about. It's Here and Now Anytime, a daily podcast from NPR and WBUR. President Trump has sent out more tariff letters. He's been copying and pasting similar language in letters to multiple countries promising higher tariffs beginning August 1st. He then posted those letters on social media, and the targets included Mexico, one of the most important U.S. trading partners. The president blamed Mexico for not doing enough to stop the fentanyl trade.

President Trump also issued a letter to the European Union promising a tariff and demanding changes to European trade policies. And Paris Eleanor Beardsley is covering the European response from Paris. Hi there Eleanor. Good morning Steve. Okay so the president says now 30 percent tariff will be imposed on the Europeans even though they were in the middle of negotiating all this at the time. How have Europeans responded? Well, they were stunned even though by now they're used to these Trump shocks, but many know it's a negotiating tactic, but there's a lot at stake. So there was anger. You know, the EU-US trade is around a trillion dollars a year and this could be upended if 30% terrorists would come into effect. The European Union includes 27 countries with more than 450 million

consumers and as you said they had been negotiating furiously. They thought an acceptable deal was being made for both sides and they clearly expected to keep tariffs at 10 percent. So yesterday they held an emergency meeting in Brussels and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke afterwards. Now the Commission negotiates for the EU members. She did not hit back. She said the EU would actually suspend retaliatory tariffs on US goods that were scheduled to take effect today, this in the hopes of reaching a trade deal by the end of the month. And she spoke about stability and a constructive transatlantic partnership. Here she is. We have always been very clear that we

prefer a negotiated solution. This remains the case. Though she did say we will protect Europe's interests and the EU is ready to respond with countermeasures. This is very interesting not immediately responding with pushback, perhaps presuming that the United States will back off on the tariffs as Trump has

repeatedly done all year long. But are all Europeans on board with this approach? Well, not completely and there's a feeling that Trump is trying to exploit possible divisions. French President Emmanuel Macron had the toughest words. He warned of being ready for a trade war with Washington and said Europeans must remain united. You know, Europe is under a lot of pressure, Steve. They've already agreed to hugely increase defense spending in NATO because of pressure from President Trump, but also because of the war

on the continent. And last night, Macron spoke ahead of today's Bastille Day, France's national holiday. He said Europe is not only threatened by the war in Ukraine, but he said there is a threat to its economic model. Let's listen. He said when companies think they're states and states act like empires, he said, taking lands and confiscating resources and capturing world markets.

What do business leaders think of all this? Well, you know, I was actually talking to winemakers in Burgundy before this latest announcement and they are huge exporters to the U.S. And they say they've had zero tariffs for decades and even centuries, and they just don't get this. Winemaker Pierre Vincent Girardin says the U.S. is his biggest market, Americans love his wine, but that relationship could soon be over because of President Trump's actions. Here he is.

I have some talks with my distributors, if the tariffs go above 20%, they just can't buy. I think by being a protectivist and nationalist, he won't really put the U.S. wines higher. He says it will just keep people from having the products they want and upend trade. Well, maybe he can just pour himself a drink. Eleanor, thanks so much. Thank you, Steve. That's NPR's Eleanor Beardsley.

The Secretary General of NATO is meeting President Trump in Washington today. The members of the Western Alliance seem to be more aligned in their approach to Russia than they were just a few months ago. Trump has expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has continued his war in Ukraine. The president said he will make a major announcement of some kind today. So naturally NPR Russia correspondent Charles

Maynes is following all this and is on the line from Moscow. Hey there Charles. Morning. What if anything is known about President Trump's planned announcement? Well quite a lot actually. For all of Trump's flair for intrigue He's been rather open about at least part of what we can expect today He says he's cut a deal by which NATO will purchase American weapons for Ukraine including Patriot missile systems to help Ukraine Defend itself from what's really become nearly nightly onslaughts of Russian drone and missile attacks Here's Trump speaking at Andrews Air Force Base last night. We will send them patriots, which they desperately need, because Putin really surprised a lot of people.

He talks nice and then he bombs everybody in the evening. So there's a little bit of a problem there. I don't like it. The impression is given that the person who's really surprised by Putin is President Trump himself. What went wrong with the president's confidence that he could get peace in Ukraine? Yeah, you know, Trump seemed convinced he could leverage his personal relationship with Putin to, if not secure a peace agreement, then at least stop the fighting and work towards one. Moreover, you know, think back to when Trump came into office, he seemed to really embrace

Russian positions when it came to Ukraine. Remember, he blamed Ukraine for embrace Russian positions when it came to Ukraine. Remember, he blamed Ukraine for provoking Russia into the war. He suggested Moscow should be able to keep territory seized by force. And he outright rejected any future membership of Ukraine and NATO.

The problem has been that Putin wants more. He rejected Trump's efforts even for a temporary ceasefire, seemingly convinced that he could secure even better terms, if not outright victory through military means. Continues to say things about addressing the root causes, meaning what Russia wants out of the war. Um, now that president Trump is talking differently, what do Russians think?

Well, at least the Kremlin is taking a wait and see approach. Uh, perhaps waiting also to see whether these U S arms deliveries through NATO include more offensive weapons that could strike inside Russia. I think they're also curious to see whether Trump includes new sanctions in his announcement today. In that sense, you know, it's been interesting to see Moscow remain fairly deferential to

Trump, turning the other cheek, for example, even when Trump has used profane language to call Putin unserious about negotiations. I asked Sergey Politayev of the analysis group Vat4 here in Moscow about this, and he argues that in part that's driven by an awareness that whatever Trump says today may not be what he thinks tomorrow. So here Polatayev says that Russia sees various groups around Trump trying to influence his decisions and he's often influenced by whoever has his ear last. So Polatayev says who knows when Trump's opinion towards Russia might change again.

Well, when president Trump says that Putin bombs Ukraine in the evening, what is Russia doing in Ukraine lately? Well, it seems to ramping up the attacks more and more. So the war seems to be ramping up, not down. Maybe this was always naive for Trump to think that he could negotiate a peace quickly, but it

does seem like we're at the end of this period where there was at least an attempt to find a diplomatic solution. You know, Trump's efforts here fell short because Putin seems convinced that time and numbers are on Russia's side. As one military analyst here in Moscow who no longer gives interviews

due to wartime censorship laws told me the other day, you know, negotiations are over. This will now be settled on the battlefield. NPR's Charles Maines, thanks for your insights as always, really appreciate over. This will now be settled on the battlefield. And for us, Charles Maynes, thanks for your insights as always, really appreciate it. Thank you. The search for victims from the July 4th flood in Kerr County, Texas had to be

suspended for several hours yesterday. That's because there was another flash flood emergency along the Guadalupe River. Crews had to retreat suspended for several hours yesterday. That's because there was another flash flood emergency along the Guadalupe River. Crews had to retreat in case water cascaded down the valley again. Right now, the death toll is at least 132 people with more than 160 listed as missing. NPR's Frank Morris has been in Central Texas,

part of a large NPR team that's been covering this story day by day. Frank, good morning to you, sir. Morning, Steve. How bad has the weather been in Kerr County over the weekend? Well, it rained buckets for a while. It rained up 10 inches of rain

on parts of the Texas Hill Country here. First responders rescued dozens of people around Lempasas, Texas. Streams across the region swelled, including the Guadalupe River, which flooded so catastrophically on July 4. Kirk County Judge Rob Kelly issued an emergency order, mostly closing off the main road along the river here and ordering most volunteers out of the disaster zone.

That took a lot of volunteers out of service on the last day they would be here to help out before needing to get back to work at their paying jobs. Cleanup resumed after the river receded, but it was a stark reminder of what happened on July 4th. So what do local governments, the people who now have to remain and try to help the local population, what are they doing now that we're more than a week past? Well the Kerr County Commissioner's Court meets this morning and it's got a lot to discuss. The water supply for one. Kerrville gets most of its drinking water from Nimitz Lake, which is a reservoir on the Guadalupe River.

Used to anyway because former Kerrville mayor, Judy Eichner, says the flood dumped all kinds of stuff into that lake. It's hard to say, but from animals to possibly humans and gasoline and everything that comes from automobiles. And we had many RVs that went down the river. They broke up. You've got sewage. You've got you name it.

Eichner says the city has wells it can draw on for now, but says eventually the lake and maybe also the river is going to have to be dredged. Frank, I'm just thinking about what people have been through. You have this night of terror. You have days of horror afterward of finding out how severe the damage was. How are people doing now? Well, you know, it varies, of course, Steve.

Most of Kerrville didn't have any flooding at all, but it seems like most people in town know someone who died. And all the bodies of the flooding victims have gone to Grimes Funeral Chapel in Kerrville. It's a quiet but intense focal point of this tragedy. John Onstad, the funeral director there, says generally this place may see zero to maybe five deceased people a week. Since July 4th, first responders have brought more than 100 bodies, including at least 36 children here.

All of them died violently. It's an unimaginable tragedy and more than anyone would ever expect in their lives to encounter. So of course even the most seasoned and professional people are going to be, we all are overcome. On-Stuff staff isn't involved in identifying victims, that work is done by state and county agencies, but employees here have talked to a steady stream of distraught people, hoping to lay eyes on their lost family members or friends. And Pierce Frank Morris, thanks for being there. Thanks for talking to people face to face so that Americans can hear each other. Really appreciate your work.

You bet, Steve. And that's it first for this Monday, July 14th, Bastille Day, I'm Steve Inskey. And I'm Sarah McKammon. Here's something good to know, the NPR app lets you keep public radio in your pocket. You'll find a mix of local, national, and international news, plus a selection of the best podcasts from the NPR network.

Download the NPR app in your app store today. Can I get Sarah McCammon stories on this app? You can get the NPR politics podcast, can we get plug for that? I'm looking forward to that. Today's Up First was edited by Miguel Macias, Rylan Barton, Russell Lewis,

Jenea Williams and Lisa Thompson. It was produced by Ziad Bach, Nia DeMass, Christopher Thomas, our patient director, who is hanging on as we do things late. We get engineering support from Damian Herring and our technical director is Zoe VanGoonhoven. Join us tomorrow. Inventor Ray Kurzweil predicted we'd have personal computers and facial recognition

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