Your World Tonight - Trump vs China, bail reform, asylum seekers to Canada, and more

Episode Date: April 9, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump has made another surprise announcement – dropping tariffs against most countries to 10 per cent. The major exception – China. That country will see a jump to 125 per cent. Trump’s moves have roiled the stock market, and the foundation of the financial system – the bond market. Our senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong explains what it all means.And: On the federal election campaign trail, the Conservatives are pitching a “three strikes and you’re out” policy on bail reform. But is it constitutional?Also: Another Trump policy is having an effect in Canada – leading to a sudden rise in the number of asylum seekers arriving from the U.S.. A surge that began after the Trump administration ended protections for some refugees.Plus: Dozens dead after Israeli airstrike, shortage of skilled tradespeople in Canada, and more.

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It is, I have never seen such a chaotic administration action when it comes to something so vital and that affects everybody everywhere. Another hard turn in Donald Trump's dizzying rewrite of global trade rules, pausing his latest move just hours after it came into effect, reversing a market tailspin and sending stocks skyrocketing. But as exporters around the world breathe a sigh of relief, Washington's biggest tariff target of all is getting hit with even more. Welcome to your world tonight. It's Wednesday, April 9th, just before 6pm Eastern. I'm Dave Seglands. Also on the podcast...

We've been robbed before where they've taken a lot more. Guys are getting in and out right away and then back to what they were doing. And so it seems like we need longer jail time and able to incarcerate longer. Trying to shift the focus from up and down markets to this country's rise in violent crime. Federal conservatives are promising tough new bail reforms and a crackdown on repeat offenders. But even if some voters approve of the policies,

Canadian courts might not. US President Donald Trump is backing down on his latest tariffs, a sudden 180 that means a long list of countries will be hit with much lower rates. Canada and Mexico avoided any new charges but that isn't the case for China. Our coverage begins with the CBC's Katie Simpson in the US Capitol. You have to be able to show a little flexibility. US President Donald Trump defending the dramatic reversal in his trade war confirming a 90-day pause on the country specific tariffs with the exception of China which will now face a higher 125 percent tariff because it continues to retaliate. Trump

acknowledging the climate of fear was a factor in his decision. I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line they were getting yippy you know they were getting a little bit yippy a little bit afraid. The country-specific tariffs will be replaced for now with a 10% baseline tariff. It does not apply to Canada. Initially, Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary, said it would apply to Canada. The White House later clarified that is not the case. Canada is already navigating a 25% border security tariff, though Kuzma compliant goods are exempt.

There are also 25% tariffs on the auto sector, steel and aluminum and none of that changes in this moment. No other president would have done what I did and it had to be done. Members of Trump's team were quick to defend the significant policy change. Besant saying Trump was also swayed after officials from 75 countries reached out to get a deal. Again President Trump created maximum negotiating leverage for himself. Besant stood next to White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt as they both rejected questions about the erratic nature of Trump's

agenda. Many of you in the media clearly missed the art of the deal. You clearly failed to see what President Trump is doing here. This was driven by the president's strategy. He and I had a long talk on Sunday and this was his strategy all along. But lawmakers seemed caught off guard by this move. The news broke as members of Congress were in the middle of a five-hour committee

hearing about the tariffs. So did you know that this was under discussion and why did you not include that as part of your opening remarks? Democratic Congressman Steve Horsford grilling Trump's top trade negotiator, Jameson Greer, who said he knew the change was coming but hadn't yet spoken to the president. I just didn't end the hearing with you. But yet he announced it on a tweet. WTF?

Who's in charge? The president of the hearing with you, sir. But yet he announced it on a tweet. WTF? Who's in charge? The President of the United States is in charge. And what do you know about those details? Well, as I mentioned, we... It looks like your boss just pulled the rug out from under you and paused the tariffs, the taxes on the American people. There's no strategy. President Donald Trump prides himself on being a disruptor, on being unpredictable.

And on this day of his trade war, he lived up to his reputation. Katie Simpson, CBC News, Washington. Trump's turnaround followed days of deep losses on global financial markets and a sell off of US bonds. But within minutes of the president's announcement today, a massive rebound started to take shape. Let's bring in the CBC's Peter Armstrong. Peter, what should we make of the reaction on financial markets? Yeah, look, this was as sharp a relief rally as I've ever seen. You could quite literally hear the heaving sigh of relief sweeping through markets. And remember, we thought this happened on Monday.

There was this report of a 90 day pause and market surged, the white house dismissed that as fake news, but this is precisely what market thought was going to happen. So when it finally did, we see this rocket fuel of the surge and you can look through the numbers at all of these indexes, just about everything is up.

There is still a 10% baseline tariff on most goods going into the U S and this 125% tariff on China. What's the economic impact of that? This is still a giant increase in what they call the effective tariff rate in the United States. And the weird thing is, Dave, if you

calculated it, it's almost exactly what it was before today's announcement is just distributed slightly different. It's now more, much more focused on China. So let's talk about China. Much of the stock market rally was driven by tech stocks.

Aren't those companies still exposed when it comes to China? They are. I mean, look at iPhones, 90% of iPhones are assembled in China and yet Apple stock today was up 15%. So there is definitely some enthusiasm at the notion of a deal that doesn't necessarily jive with the substance of what we learned today. So what does all of this tell us about where the markets might go from here?

I mean, futures trading, they're all up. We'll see how Asian markets react to this, but it's worth thinking about the stock market swings that we've seen in kind of three different stages. There was the ramp up after Trump won the election based on the belief that he was going to bring in growth through tax cuts and deregulation.

Then you get to February when markets realized this tariff threat is real. That sort of started the sell off. Then the steep correction at the end of last week and early this week. And that was really just the pricing in of the impact of a trade war. And now you have today the bounce back based on this belief that we've entered the deal phase. And I've sort of added a bunch of things in here, but the thing to remember is investors have been wrong a lot in trying to read

where this administration specifically is going. And that uncertainty has been a cause of concern that this could all cause some sort of global recession. How does today affect that? Look, global growth will still suffer as a result. And this whole episode has exposed some

weaknesses, job growth in the U S was slowing, growth has been weakening, and even a 10% tariff will slow both even further. The stock market is not the economy, but the risks to both are real and a trade war will do real damage to both of them. Peter, thank you.

You bet. The CBC is Peter Armstrong in Toronto. Coming up later on the podcast, crime and punishment on the federal campaign trail, the Conservative party platform on bail programs, fixing Canada's housing shortage. Where will all the skilled workers come from to build those new homes?

And with an immigration crackdown in the United States, more asylum seekers are crossing the border into Canada. That's all coming up on your world tonight. To the federal election now, a key plank of the Conservative party has been its plan to crack down on crime. Pierre Poliev today took a new swing at the

issue, promising a three strikes in your out policy for repeat offenders. Karen Pauls has more on the pledge and the reaction to it. There was four individuals that came in here. Manitoba farmer Dean Tave says he woke up Sunday morning to surveillance video of people breaking into his machine shed. At least one was seen carrying a rifle. They left with an ATV and a new set of tools, $10,000 worth. We've been robbed before where they've taken a lot more. So this one we're actually considering ourselves fortunate that it could have been worse.

Statistics Canada shows violent crime has increased 50% starting the year before the Liberals took power in 2015. Gun crime is up 116%, gang homicides 78%. Like many, Taves blames Liberal policies that eliminated mandatory jail time for some violent offenders and requires judges to release some people on bail at the earliest reasonable opportunity. Like it's guys are getting in and out right away and then back to what they were doing and so it seems like we need longer jail time and able to incarcerate longer.

Not only will we repeal Liberal Catch and Release laws, we will carry out the biggest crackdown on crime in Canadian history. Conservative leader Pierre Pauliev focused on bail reform and mandatory minimum sentencing as he unveiled his crime platform in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Three strikes you're out means that anyone convicted of three serious offenses will be ineligible thereafter for bail, probation, parole or house arrest and they will serve a minimum of 10 years behind bars, a maximum of life imprisonment. They'll also be designated as dangerous offenders. Meaning they cannot be released until they have proven that they are no longer a danger to society.

Mr. Poliev is proposing to bring this failed policy from the United States, hoping that we won't look south of the border and see how devastating it's been there and repealed. Benjamin Perrin is a law professor at the University of British Columbia. An architect of the tough-on-crime policies of the Harper era, he changed his mind about mandatory minimum sentences after research in the United States suggested they were a factor in increased homicides there. That's because if someone is about to commit their third offence, they don't want witnesses around to tell the tale or police to stop them.

Meanwhile, he says parts of Poliev's plan have already been ruled unconstitutional in Canada. To say that anyone who commits a serious offence, which he hasn't even defined yet, is going to get indeterminate incarceration, minimum 10 years, but indeterminate. This would infringe multiple illegal rights that all Canadians have. Everyone deserves to be safe. On the campaign trail today, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh dismissed Poliev's plan. I believe we need to stop crime before it happens. Liberal leader Mark Carney said, for serious crimes and repeat offenders the full force of the law should be applied and appropriately severe punishment put in place.

Carney adding he'll have more to say on crime very soon. Karen Pauls, CBC News, Winnipeg. While responding to questions about the Conservative bail reform plan, the other major party leaders also had announcements of their own today, making pledges on energy and expansion of pharma care. We have reporters tracking both campaigns starting with Carina Roman who is with the Liberal leader. Today I'm announcing a comprehensive new approach to make Canada the world's leading energy superpower. Perhaps not surprising that Mark Carney's pitch to Alberta voters is all about energy. Carney, who in his pre-politician life was about net-zero emissions,

today as Liberal leader says this. There is two things happening at the same time. One is there is an energy transition towards lower carbon energy that is underway around the world. But at the same time we want to dominate the market for conventional energy. Carney says a re-elected Liberal government would prioritize Canadian energy over imported energy, diversify the country's energy export markets, and develop both clean and conventional energy projects. That includes investing in critical minerals.

The new Liberal government will create the first and last mile fund that will connect critical mineral extraction projects to our supply chains to get them to market. Carney says Ottawa would work with the provinces and territories on an east-west electricity grid and again promised to fast-track projects of national interest with help from a new major federal project office that would decide on projects within two years while upholding

environmental standards and indigenous rights. Although the Liberals have not provided details on how. Karina Roman, CBC News, Calgary. I'm Ashley Burke covering the NDP campaign in Burnaby. It's Jagmeet Singh's second visit to British Columbia in two weeks, the province where his party has the most seats in jeopardy. One of his incumbent candidates in Vancouver, Don Davies, told us what the biggest challenge right now is midway through this campaign. Well, it's a competitive race. I think the Donald Trump factor has really upended this campaign,

you know, in a way that all parties are struggling to kind of adapt to. Singh is struggling to break through. Today he took aim at Trump's threat to hit pharmaceuticals with major tariffs. Singh says it could drive up costs and is pitching expanding public pharma care in four years, starting with about 100 essential medicines, including antibiotics, antipsychotics and pain medications. The price tag $3.5 billion a year. This has seen pitches a minority government calling on Canadians to vote

in more NDP MPs. I've heard from people again and again, people are telling me that they believe that Ottawa works best when one party doesn't have all the power. There haven't been crowds at Singh's events so far this week like we've seen at liberal and conservative events. His campaign says it's not that they can't throw a rally or fill a room with supporters. They call it a purposeful choice to focus on policy announcements to propose solutions. Ashley Burke, CBC News, Burnaby, BC. A change of policy in the US is causing a sudden rise

in the number of asylum seekers here in Canada. The surge began after the Trump administration ended protections for some refugees, including many from Haiti, Sharon Yonan-Reynold reports. I was completely panicked. I was completely scared. Completely panicked and done for. That's what one Haitian immigrant currently in Florida says he and others like him are feeling.

CBC has agreed not to identify him as he fears for his immigration status. He says he's lived in Miami for three years under temporary protected status. It's granted to foreign citizens coming to the US whose safety is compromised in their home country. Now hundreds of thousands stand to lose that status. I'm up against the wall and don't know what to do, he says. The US government is slashing two temporary immigration programs affecting thousands of people from Haiti, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba. At this church in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood, father Reginald Jean-Marie says many see Canada as the only safe option left.

There has been a culture of welcoming on the part of Canada towards the Haitian community at large. According to the Canada Border Services Agency, more than 1,300 asylum claims were received at Quebec's Le Col border in March. It's an 80% increase compared to February, when the U.S. government announced the end of the protected status program for Haitians, though a court challenge is underway. The past few weeks is crazy. In Montreal, France-André is coordinator

with the Action Committee for People Without Status. He says he's been fielding calls from people asking for help. I'm sorry, distress, we need to commit suicide because they don't want to go back home. But he says most of those people won't be welcomed to Canada with open arms. Under an agreement with the U.S., migrants who first land in the States can't then claim asylum in Canada unless they fulfill certain exceptions.

Andre worries that could drive many to attempt perilous illegal crossings. The Quebec government suspended two permanent immigration programs last fall, arguing that it's reached its capacity to accept more people. It also wants Ottawa to slash the number of non-permanent residents in the province by half. We can't shoulder the burden of the whole world's misery, says Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge. The CBSA says it's prepared to deal with an even greater influx at the border.

It says it has a contingency plan to increase resources at legal crossings and added space to process additional asylum claimants, though according to immigration advocates, most people will likely be sent back. Sharon Yonan-Reynolds, CBC News, Montreal. An Israeli strike on a multi-storey residential building in Gaza city has killed at least 29 people. With Palestinian health authorities saying many more victims are trapped in the rubble.

Israel has blocked food, medicine, and other supplies from getting into Gaza for weeks. And the warnings about the dire conditions inside the territory are getting louder. Chris Brown reports. Israel's attack on the Shujaya area of Gaza city left a building flattened with rescuers using their bare hands to dig through the

concrete and rebar in a desperate search for survivors. Some of the victims who were pulled out had been completely crushed, and among them were children. There were about 20 or 30 children here. We're still looking for them, said rescuer Fadi Abu Al Qas. We're removing stones with our hands.

We have no tools, and there's nothing to help us," said Ahmed Abu Amshah. Israel's military says it was targeting a senior Hamas official, but didn't provide a name or say what he had done. Defense Minister Israel Katz said if Hamas continues its refusal and does not release hostages soon, the IDF will engage in intense fighting throughout Gaza until all the hostages are released and Hamas is defeated. While the IDF says it does everything possible to limit civilian casualties,

international human rights groups have repeatedly assailed the IDF for indiscriminate bombings and for violating accepted rules of war. indiscriminate bombings and for violating accepted rules of war. Aid groups say Israel's food, fuel and medicine blockade of Gaza is now also at risk of taking lives. And this week there were panic scenes at the few food kitchens still serving. It's been nearly six weeks since its military last let any supplies in, arguing much of what's delivered ends up with Hamas, a claim the UN denies. Dr. Julie Faucon of Medecins Sans Frontières says cases of malnutrition are mounting.

They come with signs of malnutrition, moderate or severe acute malnutrition. Some of the cases come with associated disease. As France's president visited the Egyptian side of the border Tuesday, there were pallets stacked high in warehouses with hundreds of truckloads of supplies waiting to be sent across into Gaza whenever Israel agrees to. Natalia Winder Rossi is with UNICEF. Basic water. Colleagues are living with less than one liter a day of water and it's going to become even

worse. The Israeli agency responsible for coordinating aid has proposed what it called a structured monitoring and aid entry mechanism, but the UN rejected it, saying it was too restrictive, even callous. Chris Brown, CBC News, London. You're listening to Your World Tonight from CBC News. I'm Dave Seglands. You can hear your world tonight on the CBC News app or wherever you get your podcasts. Canada's housing shortage has been a central topic on the federal election campaign. All of the major parties have plans to build more homes.

But in order to do so, another shortage needs to be addressed. The lack of skilled tradespeople needed to do the work. Deanna Sumanak-Johnson reports. We're walking up to the panel here. We're going to wire up this stove receptacle. Being an electrician has brought Ali Mossafi job satisfaction and a lucrative career. Now as a manager of operations for a major electrical company he is sharing his skills with high school students through a special program at Toronto Central Technical School. The

program introduces them to all the basic trade knowledges and materials so when they do arrive on site they have that little bit of extra knowledge. Getting more people into skilled trades and quickly is becoming an important promise on the campaign trail. Conservative leader Pierre Polyaev has skilled trades training at the heart of his boots not suits strategy. We're going to team up with unions and employers

to provide the funds for 350,000 young people to go through training to be an apprentice or a tradesman. Poliev also promised to reinstate two federal apprenticeship grant programs put in place by the former prime minister, Stephen Harper, which just ended at the end of March. A week later, Mark Carney unveiled the Liberal Plan. We will create an apprenticeship grant of up to $8,000 for registered apprentices. He also pledged $20 million to colleges to facilitate skilled trades training and doubling

the federal funding of the Union Training and Innovation Program. Kevin Lee, the CEO of Canadian Home Builders Association, welcomes these pitches, but flags the industry needs support that goes beyond funneling money through unions and apprenticeship systems. I would add, however, that residential construction uses a lot of workers that aren't in the apprenticeship system.

We're heavily unionized in Quebec and residential construction, we're heavily unionized in the greater Toronto area. For the rest of the country, it's largely not unionized. Experts, including Lee, also suggest allowing students into the trades younger. In provinces including Ontario and BC, students in grades 10 and 11 can get on-the-job training while working towards their high school diploma. But Matt Bradley, program coordinator for Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program at Toronto District School Board, says companies need some coaxing. We need more employers that are willing to engage

with young students to provide opportunities that grow into skilled trade jobs. And they all add this, that Canada needs a fundamental shift in attitude towards skilled trades so that everyone from parents to guidance counsellors present this career option to young people as a desirable well-paying calling that can help build Canada's future. Deanna Sumanac-Johnson, CBC News, Toronto. Finally tonight, basketball star LeBron James has plenty of accomplishments. NBA championships, MVP awards, Olympic gold medals, and off the court he's started movies, TV shows. Oh, he's a billionaire. But this is a first. Oh, he's dope., but this is a first.

Oh he dope. This is so dang cool. That's James receiving his very own doll. Mattel, the makers of Barbie, have announced the release of the LeBron James Ken doll. The toy company says it's recognizing James for his positive impact on culture, style, and community. The WNBA star Sue Bird and tennis legend Venus Williams already have their own Barbie dolls but James is the first male athlete to get the nod. He took part in

the design process. It's dressed in some of James's favorite off-court styles and accessories. I mean he might need to do a little lift and legs look a little skinny, a little frail little fella. Gotta make sure he got his I promise wristband on now. Can't go nowhere without that. Okay now we official. Now we official. The authenticity goes even further. James is 6'9 in real life. His doll stands an inch taller than the standard can. Thanks for being with us. This has been your World Tonight for Wednesday,

April 9th. I'm Dave Seglands. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.