Up First from NPR - Trump's Tariffs Hit Groceries; GOP Spending Bill; College Basketball and Hockey

Episode Date: April 5, 2025

With some of President Trump's hefty tariffs in place, Americans will see the prices of some grocery items rise - we'll tell you which items might get hit first. Plus, Senate Republicans are pushing a spending bill that would make some of President Trump's signature policies permanent. We'll also look at a hockey great's goal record, finally matched last night after 26 years, plus, a look at what's ahead in college basketball finals.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Trump's tariffs are here and that means higher prices for many things Americans buy every single day. We'll tell you what to expect at the store checkout. I'm Scott Simon. I'm Ayesha Roscoe and this is Up First from NPR News. Bacon is through the roof. They're all through the roof. The milk, everything is bad. And we're going to straighten it out. We're going to bring prices way down. And we're going to get it done fast. That was then candidate Donald Trump on the campaign trail. We'll look at how his new tariffs are going to affect grocery prices.

We'll also take a look at a Republican spending bill intended to help enact President Trump's domestic policies. Also a big hockey record tied and college basketball. So stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend. This message comes from Mint Mobile. Mint Mobile took what's wrong with wireless and made it right. They offer premium wireless plans for less, and all plans include high-speed data, unlimited talk and text, and nationwide coverage. See for yourself at mintmobile.com slash switch. Ted Radio Hour through line, the NPR Politics Podcast, Code Switch, Embedded, Books We Love,

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Upfront payment of $45 for three-month 5-gigabyte plan required. New customer offer for first three months only. Then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details. Lowering grocery prices was one of President Trump's repeated campaign promises. But shortly after he was elected,

the President did admit it would be hard to bring prices down once they have gone up. Well, hold on to your wallet, Scott, because according to economic experts, the tariffs President Trump just imposed on dozens of our trading partners will make prices on many things go up even higher. And here Scott Newman is looking at which items in our grocery cart might get hit first. Scott, thanks for being with us. Good to be here. What food could see the biggest price increases?

Seafood. The U.S. imports around 80% of the seafood we consume. That's fish, but also other things like shrimp and scallops. We get a lot of it from Asian countries that have high tariff rates. India with a 26% rate and Indonesia with a 32% rate. So if these countries pass along to consumers even a portion of their higher costs, the price of seafood could skyrocket. And what else might be affected? Well, I spoke with food industry analyst Phil Lampert. He also edits a site called supermarketguru.com.

I would estimate that probably almost half of the products in a supermarket have some issue that these tariffs are going to affect. So another item on my list is coffee. Something like 80% of the coffee consumed in the US each year comes mostly from Brazil and Colombia. They only have 10% tariffs, but as most of us know, coffee prices are already high, and this might force us to rethink our morning routines. Then there's alcohol.

The US gets a lot of its imported beer from Mexico, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Canada, and a lot of its wine from European Union countries that will now have a 20% tariff. And I guess it looks like a lot of Asian countries will face higher tariffs also. Right. We already mentioned seafood, but another major export from Asia is rice. About a third of the rice the US consumes comes from there. Jasmine rice from Thailand, which will have a 36% tariff, and basmati from India, which faces a 26% tax. Kenneth Rogoff, a Harvard economics professor, says some minority communities that rely on imported food are probably going to be affected.

And I expect Asian Americans, particularly, but all of us, are going to face a big hit. Scott, do you have an idea of how much prices are going to rise because of the tariffs? It's too early to say. There are just too many factors at play. For example, you wouldn't immediately think that steel and aluminum tariffs on China would have any impact on groceries.

But for canned goods like soup and vegetables, those cans are mostly made out of steel. And of course, beer cans are mostly aluminum. Then there's palm oil. Indonesia, a leading supplier will have a 32% tariff. Palm oil is used in everything from cooking oil and snacks to cosmetics and shampoo. Domestic suppliers too could see the higher costs of their

foreign competition as an opportunity to raise their own prices. And peer correspondent Scott Newman, thanks so much. Thank you, Scott. Senate Republicans are moving ahead with their budget plan. It's intended to help realize some of President Trump's domestic policies, such as his tax and energy agendas. And pair congressional correspondent Claudia Grasalis has been following the bill's progress. Thanks so much for being with us. Thanks for having me, Scott. And Senate Republicans unveiled this plan earlier in the week.

What can you tell us about it? Right. This is a blueprint for a multi-trillion dollar measure that could become a hallmark of Trump's second term. It reimagines defense, energy, immigration, and tax policy spending. So lots of major elements here. That includes an extension of tax cuts passed during Trump's first term that are set to expire by year end. Republicans argue Americans would see their tax bills rise without it, but critics say it will come with a huge price tag that would raise the federal deficit. It would also lift the U.S. debt limit by $5 trillion to avoid a breach this summer.

And without that, we could be looking at a default. So a big concern there they're hoping to address. But we should also note this is just the beginning of a very long complicated process known as budget reconciliation. And that includes a series of legislative hurdles designed to overcome a Senate filibuster. Because Republicans control the Senate, but only 53 seats. Could they ultimately pass this plan with a simple majority? I mean, can they get there? Maybe, but it's clearly looking to shape up

to be an uphill battle. The House has their own blueprint, and there's big differences between the two chambers they're going to need to sort through. through and by big they're more than a trillion dollars apart in their blueprints. Now if both sides can sort those differences they'll move to pass one final blueprint, start crafting actual text for this massive plan, then try to pass that plan in both chambers on very tight margins. So while there's this lower vote threshold in the Senate,

congressional Republicans need to stay virtually united with little room for error. What are some of the divides between Senate and House Republicans? Well, Senate Republicans say they want to make those Trump tax cuts permanent. And they claim it will not increase federal debt through an accounting tactic.

But even Republican fiscal hawks in the House are not buying it. Then the Senate blueprint aims to reduce the deficit by around $4 billion. That's a small fraction of what House Republicans want to do. They want to cut at least $1.5 trillion. Also in the House, Republicans have directed the Energy and Commerce Committee to cut $880 billion in spending. That's raised the specter that those cuts cannot happen without a significant hit to Medicaid benefits. And some Republican members say that's something they cannot stomach. How do Republicans overcome the divide?

Is that where President Trump's temp's at? We expect he will. He's virtually become a congressional closer in terms of getting key legislation past the finish line, whether it's involved direct meetings at the White House with Republican leaders or holdouts, including those fiscal hawks in some cases, and last-minute phone calls to flip Republican no's to yeses. So expect that to ramp up as this process heats up and he'll likely have to weigh in on that huge divide between the chambers that at one end we see fiscal hawks who have proven in past congressional sessions they're willing

to rebuke leadership but they have yet to do that this year and they're gonna be facing off against Republicans firmly opposed to Medicaid cuts so it's shaping up to be one of the biggest obstacles to final passage that will test Republicans' appetite to touch a political third rail in a pivotal moment for the party. And Pierce Claudia Grasales, thanks so much for being with us today. Thank you. Basketball and hockey fans had a big night last night.

A Hockey Legends goal record, which many people said was unbreakable, was matched after 26 years. And of course, looking ahead to college basketball finals, Howard Bryant of Metterluck Media joins us. Howard, thanks for being with us. Good morning, Scott. How are you? I'm fine, thanks, my friend.

Let's try April Hysteria. Women's tournament, final set after South Carolina beat Texas 74-57, UConn throttled UCLA 85-51. Who do you think has the edge in the final tomorrow? That's a great question. You're talking about one team, UConn, that's won the thing 11 times at Gini Aurema, then you're talking about Don Staley in South Carolina, they're the defending champions. So tough to say who's got the edge.

I think that, I mean, Scott, we've been doing this for a long time. You're always, you're the champion until somebody beats you. So even though UConn looked phenomenal, even though I think they've got the best player in the country in Paige Becker's, and they look like they are absolutely ready to finally do something that Paige hasn't done,

which is to win the championship. She's been in the Final Four almost her entire career, other than the 2023 knee injury, but she's so close. And you wanna climb that mountain, now's the time to do it, but at the same time, you're going up against a championship team that has looked beatable, but here they are again. South Carolina's champion for a reason.

Men's tournament, Final Four tonight, Florida, faces Auburn, Houston, faces Duke. All the number one seeds in play, first time in the Final Four since 2008. So, I mean, what was March about? Yeah, well, it's interesting, what was March about? Yeah, well, it's interesting because the last time it happened, and the only other time it happened

was in 2008 in San Antonio, and here we are again in San Antonio, so, but you've got great teams. I think that these, they are the four best teams. They've all been sort of trading being number one, or very close to it. I didn't think Auburn was gonna get there because they can be so erratic, but they've all played close games.

They've all won blowouts as well. They all play defense. I think Houston's the one whose offense isn't really, isn't as good as the other ones. I mean, Duke has got Cooper Flag, who you're probably going to see him in the NBA in about six months. And so every team here has a reason why they can win.

You look at even in a team like Florida that nobody thought was as good as they are, good team. They haven't, you know, they lost one game since February 1st. So everybody's great. They all play similar styles. Then you've got the superstar with Cooper Flagg and Duke, but they're the youngest team. So here we go. And of course, last night in the NHL,

Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals tied the NHL's all-time scoring record held by Wayne Gretzky. He scored two goals last night, 39 years old, still playing at such a high level. And broke his leg this year, by the way. Right, I'd forgotten that. And broke his leg in November.

Incredible. And I think this is, I mean, this is one of those records, Scott. You're not supposed to break Wayne Gretzky's record. And to have done it in one, and to tie it in one fewer game is sort of also amazing. And I think that when you look at Ovi, the scoring, the goals, the ferocity, the way he plays the game, there is so much to love about what he's done.

I think the amazing thing is obviously, this is one of those records that you never expected anyone when Gretzky broke Gordie Howe's record at 801 back 30 years ago. You didn't think anybody was going to get to 8.94 and here we are. And if he wants to, because he's still playing so well, he could score 950, he could score 1,000 goals

if he wants to keep going. But it's fascinating to see it happen, to witness one of the all-time great records go. And I think the thing that I really sort of enjoy about it as well is that this is also what it takes. Because let's not forget before they won the cup, you know, seven years ago, people were thinking that he was finished, that he was done.

That's right, that's right. And here he is at the top of the mountain, a Mount Rushmore moment for the unbreakable record about to be broken. Okay, Howard Bryant of Better Luck Media, thanks so much for being with us. My pleasure, Scott. And that's a first for Saturday, April 5th, 2025. I'm Scott Simon. And I'm Aisha Roscoe. Martin Patience produced this podcast with help from Gabe O'Connor and Elena Twarek.

Deepar Vaz edited along with Melissa Gray, Avi Schneider, and Martha Ann Overland. Daniel Hensel is our fine director with expert support from technical director Andy Huther, engineers Jay Sizz, Zach Coleman, and Simon Laszlo Jansen. Our senior supervising editor is Shannon Rhodes, Evie Stone is our executive producer, and Jim Kane is our deputy managing editor. Tomorrow on the Sunday story the Trump administration's crackdown on immigrants means those communities are living through uncertain times. We'll hear from immigrants in several states on how they're coping. And for more news,

interviews, sports and music, you can tune in to Weekend Edition on your radio. Go to stations.mpr.org to find your local NPR station. But hold up. Wait, wait, so to speak. before you go, we have one more thing for you today. Now you know, we take keeping you informed very seriously. Our friends at NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, they take making fun of the news very seriously. And they do it so well, each week they create a news quiz. We want to give up first listeners the chance to play along. You can test your knowledge of the week's news

against the show's panelists by listening every weekend. Check out this weekend's Lightning Fill in the Blank News Quiz. Now onto our final game, Lightning Fill in the Blank. Each of our players will have 60 seconds in which to answer as many Fill in the Blank questions as they can. Each correct answer now worth two points.

Bill, can you give us the scores? Sure can. McGeehan has one. Tig and Josh each have three. Oh my goodness. How am I sucking so bad? All right. McGeehan, you're in third place.

You're going to go first. Fill in the blank. On Tuesday, the longest speech in Senate history was completed by blank. Cory Booker. Right. On Monday, the White House began another wave of blanks affecting employees at U.S. health agencies. Layoffs. Right.

On Monday, the astronauts who were stuck in the blank spoke publicly for the first time. International Space Station. Right. On Wednesday, the CDC warned that cases of whooping blank were on the rise throughout the country. Cough. Right. This week, an AI recipe generator was flagged after it posted a recipe for blank

Biscuits no cyanide ice cream And also quote actual cocaine on Tuesday teachers at a high school in Virginia said they saw notable grade increases after enforcing a blank ban Phone ban cell phone ban right known for his roles in Top Gun Batman forever and top secret actorank passed away at the age of 65. Val Kilmer. Right. This week, a man in Texas who broke into a car dealership was caught after he blanked. Fell asleep in the car he was stealing. No, he called police because he couldn't figure out

how to get out of the building. Police say there was actually several unlocked doors the man could have gone through. Reports also say the only thing he managed to steal was a handful of candy, and even worse, he somehow ended up paying an extra $700 for undercoating. Bill, I think Nagin did pretty well. Very well. Six right, 12 more, and that gives her 13 in the lead. All right. All right, Josh, I'm arbitrarily picking you to go next.

So here we go, fill in the blank. On Tuesday, despite over $20 million in spending by Elon Musk, the liberal candidate won the Supreme Court election in blank. Wisconsin. Right. On Monday, the DOJ directed prosecutors to seek the death penalty against blank. Luigi Mangione. Right.

On Monday, Italy said it would tighten regulations after a huge increase in people applying for blank. Citizenship. Right. On Monday, Italy said it would tighten regulations after a huge increase in people applying for blank citizenship. In a first for women's sports, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley blanked after making the final four for a second straight year. Celebrated? She celebrated by specifically by signing a baby's butt. On Monday, Mexico banned the sale of sweet treats in all of the blanks. Bakeries?

No. Schools. On Wednesday, the Switch 2 was announced, the latest gaming system from blank. Nintendo. Right. This week, a British man on his way to a soccer game who noticed papers littering the street quickly discovered they were blank.

Wanted posters for him? No. Top secret documents about British troop movements. The papers included details about patrol routes, weapons checks, and even included soldiers' names and phone numbers. It's like top British military officials heard about the US group chat and were like, hey, hold my room temperature beer. Bill, how did Josh do in our quiz?

Pretty good. Four right, eight more points, total of 11 is in second place. All right. So, Kate's already been very impressive. How many does she need to win in her debut appearance on our show? One. Five to die. Six to win.

All right, Tig. This is for the game, fill in the blank. On Wednesday, a federal judge dismissed the case against New York Mayor Blank. Eric? Adam? Yes. This week, the FAA confirmed the creation of stretch managing teams to help blanks deal with understaffing issues.

People. Yes. Specifically, air traffic controllers, though. On Monday, an iceberg the size of Chicago broke off an ice shelf in blank. Water. The Antarctic. This week, a high-speed chase in Nashville ended when officers caught the car they were pursuing when its driver blanked.

Stopped. Yes! I want to give it to you. Submittedly, he stopped at a gas station to put more air in his tires. On Wednesday, the Queen Mary II was forced to end its cruise early after almost 250 passengers caught blank. Diarrhea. Norovirus.

According to a new data, getting the blank vaccine could protect against dementia. Shingles. Right. This week, a flight from LA to Shanghai had to turn around mid-trip because blank forgot their passport. Pilot.

That's right. Two hours into the flight, the 275 passengers heard the pilot's quote, very frustrated voice on the intercom, announced they were turning around because he had forgotten his passport. The flight resumed six hours behind schedule. But don't worry, passengers were awarded food vouchers worth up to $30, just enough to buy one egg to throw at the pilot. Did diarrhea count as a neurovirus? I don't know.

I think, I think, I don't know if you can... They wanted to. Give the people what they want. Diarrhea! So Bill, using your best judgment, did Tignitar do well enough to win? Well for a rookie she did great. Four right, eight more points, total of 11. That means our champ is McGeeen Farsal.

Oh! You see? Came up from behind. You did. Oh, my god. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. This is Tonya Mosley, co-host of Fresh Air. You'll see your favorite actors, directors, and comedians on late night TV shows or YouTube, but what you get with Fresh Air is a deep dive. Spend some quality time with people like Billie Eilish, Questlove, Ariana Grande, Stephen Colbert, and so many more. We ask questions you won't hear asked anywhere else. Listen to the Fresh Air podcast from NPR and WHYY.

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