April 25th, 2025: China Rebukes Trump, Demands US Cancel All Tariffs & India And Pakistan Inch Closer To War
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It's Friday, the 25th of April. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. And look at that, I'm back off the road and at the compound studio, at least for the weekend, and then I'll be back out on the road next week. It's where's Waldo on a constant basis. All right, let's get brief, shall we? We'll start things off today with an update on the U.S.-China trade war, as officials in Beijing demand overhaul.

all U.S. tariffs be canceled and contradict President Trump's claims that his team has been engaging in direct trade talks with the communist regime. Seems like someone's getting a bit testy. Later in the show, India and Pakistan inch closer to war as New Delhi suspends a landmark water-sharing treaty in the wake of the deadly terror attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Plus...

President Trump's purge of the White House National Security Council expands, leaving key posts in America's intelligence apparatus understaffed. And in today's Bank of the Brief, the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog just issued a major warning regarding North Korea's ever-expanding nuclear program, calling on President Trump to engage in direct diplomacy with "little rocket man" Kim Jong Un. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.

Despite emerging signs that the Trump administration may be willing to de-escalate the trade war with China in order to strike a deal, leaders in Beijing appear unwilling to yield. On Thursday, Chinese officials demanded that the Trump administration immediately cancel all unilateral U.S. tariffs if they truly want to settle current trade issues. They also directly contradicted remarks made by President Trump on Wednesday

that the world's two largest economies were holding direct talks in recent days to negotiate a resolution. That's according to our report from Reuters. On Thursday, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry bluntly called Trump's claims about discussions, quote, false news, saying, quote, China and the U.S. have not conducted consultations or negotiations on tariffs, let alone reached an agreement, end quote. Now, the comments, quote,

come just two days after President Trump relented from his hardline stance against the communist regime, saying he is considering substantially slashing his crippling tariffs on China to cool diplomatic temperatures. On Wednesday, the president even expressed confidence that the U.S. and China would soon reach a "fair deal." But Chinese officials don't appear to share his opinion or optimism and are holding fast to their own demands.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement Thursday reiterating their intent to "fight to the end" and said, "If the U.S. really wants to resolve the problem, it should cancel all the unilateral measures on China." That, of course, is not an option as far as the White House is concerned, and given that Trump is probably not one to kindly respond to ultimatums, the remarks threaten to sour the president's recent conciliatory overtures.

As PDB listeners are well aware, the CCP, the Chinese Communist Party, and Washington are locked in a bitter trade dispute, triggered by Trump's imposition of a 145% tariff on most of China's exports, with some Chinese products now subject to rates as high as 245%. China retaliated by placing a 125% tax on all U.S. goods.

The impact on China has been swift and severe. Chinese warehouses are now reportedly filled with unsent goods, mostly intended for U.S. buyers. Factory floors in China's top exporting provinces have ground to a standstill, and operations at two of China's most critical ports for foreign trade have slowed to a crawl.

But, despite the financial fallout, China's economic retaliation has continued. Last week, they suspended all exports of essential rare earth minerals, of which they hold a relative monopoly, and halted all jet orders from American aerospace titan Boeing. China dug in their heels further on Monday, warning other countries against striking new trade deals with the U.S. that could undermine Beijing's interests, promising economic retaliation against any nation

that does not heed their warning. The intensifying trade war has triggered widespread sell-offs in global stock markets, rattling investors and sparking predictions about a looming global recession. Earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund slashed growth forecasts for the U.S., China, and most other countries.

but hope that the economic standoff could soon come to an end, well, was briefly floated on Wednesday after the Trump administration said they were discussing reducing the tariff rates, with Treasury Secretary Scott Besant calling the trade war, quote, unsustainable. Trump himself said the U.S. is, quote, going to be very nice with China and that final tariffs, quote, will not be anywhere near as high as the current 145% rate.

White House officials told the Wall Street Journal that several options are on the table, including drastically dropping the levies to somewhere between 50 and 65%. But the White House later cautioned that Trump was not softening his approach and that they would need to see some movement from China first to lower tariffs on U.S. goods before de-escalating.

Now, the mixed messaging from the White House dampened investors' hopes for a resolution, and China's latest comments have further, of course, inflamed the situation. Trump responded Thursday by lashing out at the CCP over their suspension of business with Boeing. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, quote, "...Boeing should default China for not taking the beautifully finished planes that China committed to purchase. This is just a small example of what China has done to the U.S. for years." End quote.

For now, it appears China is attempting to wait out Trump. Taking his remarks earlier this week is a sign that he'll eventually cave once the economic fallout of the tariff war hits American consumers. Basically, it's a question of who blinks first.

All right. Coming up next, India and Pakistan inch closer to war in the wake of the deadly terror attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir. And President Trump's purge of the White House National Security Council expands. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Well, let's talk Maha. Have you heard about that? I mean, make America healthy again. Look, at the end of the day, the most important things are good health, family, and, of course, time.

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Nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan are veering dangerously close to a war footing after a terror attack earlier this week in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir triggered an escalating series of retaliatory moves across the subcontinent. As we've been discussing this week here on the PDB, the terror attack, which left 26 tourists dead and another 17 wounded in the scenic town of Pahalgam, was

was claimed by the Resistance Front, or TRF, that's an offshoot of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba. Now, the TRF claimed the terrorists were attempting to, quote, "illegally settle in the Muslim-majority region." India wasted no time responding. Within hours, the Cabinet Committee on Security suspended visa services for Pakistani nationals with immediate effect, and the foreign ministry revoked all existing visas.

And, in a dramatic escalation, India shut its mainland border with Pakistan entirely. But the most provocative move, well, that came next. At the center of fraying ties, New Delhi suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. Now, that's a World Bank-brokered agreement seen as a rare pillar of stability between the two nations. The treaty had previously survived two wars and withstood many diplomatic twists before Wednesday's move.

With the treaty on hold, India is preparing to reduce the flow of water crucial to Pakistan's agriculture sector. India's foreign minister declared the move would remain in place until Islamabad, quote, "...credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism," end quote.

For Pakistan, where agriculture makes up roughly 25% of the economy and where irrigation systems rely heavily on rivers governed by the treaty, the implications are very serious, and the language out of Islamabad reflected just that. Pakistan's foreign ministry issued a formal announcement labeling the treaty suspension a "act of war" and warning that Pakistan would retaliate with "full force across the complete spectrum of national power." In the hours that followed,

Pakistan shuttered its airspace to Indian aircraft, halted bilateral trade, and canceled all existing visas granted to Indian nationals under a long-standing exemption scheme. It also ordered the reduction of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to just 30 personnel. Indian military advisors have been ordered to leave by the end of the month.

Islamabad also ripped up the 1972 Simla Agreement, which has served as the foundational document meant to govern bilateral relations, including respect for a ceasefire line in Kashmir since their third war. India, meanwhile, doubled down. The Defense Ministry released sketches of three TRF operatives suspected of carrying out the attack, including two Pakistani nationals, and offered a $23,000 reward for information leading to each arrest.

The ministry also maintains that military action is on standby. New Delhi is adamant that Islamabad's fingerprints are all over the operation, with accusations of backing the TRF. But so far, no public evidence has been produced directly linking Pakistan to the killings.

And in familiar fashion, Pakistani officials are denying involvement altogether, accusing India of "Fomenting terrorism inside its borders and pursuing a response that's 'unilateral, politically motivated, and devoid of legal merit.'" But as diplomatic channels collapse and hardline rhetoric boils over on both sides, analysts warn that the two nuclear-armed countries may be closer to another armed conflict than at any point in years.

All right, turning to the U.S. President Trump's shakeup of the National Security Council has extended and expanded far beyond earlier reports, with at least 20 staffers now dismissed amid a sweeping loyalty-first restructuring that's left multiple directorates understaffed. According to two anonymous sources with direct knowledge of the matter, roughly 15 dismissals were carried out in the first week of April alone. That timing is noteworthy.

As regular listeners of the PDB will recall, that was the same week that hardline conservative activist Laura Loomer met with Trump at the White House and reportedly handed him a list of NSC officials she alleged were obstructing his Make America Great Again agenda. Since then, well, the firings have continued. Entire policy teams overseeing Latin America, South Asia, international organizations, biosecurity, and legislative affairs

have either been hollowed out or left severely undermanned. One source noted that the Directorate for International Organizations, which helps coordinate American engagement with the UN and NATO, was completely cleared out earlier this month. Other critical teams, such as the Directorate for African Affairs, still lack a senior director, while South Asia and Western Hemisphere Affairs have also been hollowed out.

This wave of firings, the sources say, marks a deeper strategic effort by Trump's inner circle to remake the NSC in his second term into a more ideologically aligned instrument of presidential will. While every administration tweaks its NSC roster, that's nothing new. Trump officials have made no secret of their plans to go further, with loyalty becoming the dominant metric.

Crucially, not all of those let go were Biden-era holdovers. Several staffers had served during Trump's first term, amplifying confusion and unease inside the NSC over opaque criteria for termination, aside from mere loyalty to the administration. NSC spokesman Brian Hughes declined to address the dismissals, but told Reuters that, quote, "...all employees of the National Security Council work at the pleasure of the President."

adding that the team remains committed to advancing the president's America First agenda.

Some of the cuts appear to signal more than just a personnel shuffle. They reflect deeper policy shifts. The administration's longstanding skepticism of international institutions appears to be driving the dismantling of the international organizations team, while the vacancies across regional desks suggest a deprioritization of traditional diplomatic engagement in favor of transactional leader-to-leader dealings.

Compounding the crisis is the difficulty in backfilling critical positions. Victor Servino, a Hill aide who had reportedly been tapped to oversee the Latin America portfolio, ultimately turned down the offer, though sources remain unsure why. Multiple other critical appointments remain unfilled. Still, the firings linked to Loomer's White House meeting reportedly shook morale across the NSC. While one official said the mood is slightly stabilized in recent days,

A CBS report last week claimed that many high-level posts remain vacant, with entire teams struggling to keep pace with day-to-day responsibilities. As of now, the National Security Council, the nerve center of U.S. foreign and security policy, faces mounting pressure to advance Trump's realigned priorities with a skeleton staff and apparent internal uncertainty.

All right, coming up next in the back of the brief, the UN's nuclear watchdog issues a major warning regarding North Korea's expanding nuclear program. We'll have those details next.

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In today's Back of the Brief, the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog just issued a stark warning over North Korea's, quote, exponentially expanding nuclear program, calling for presidential-level diplomacy to resume with the Hermit Kingdom. During a Council on Foreign Relations event this week in Washington, Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the IAEA,

said North Korea's nuclear arsenal has gone "completely off the charts" as the regime of Kim Jong-un continues to engage in an extensive military buildup. That's according to a report from the Japan Times. Critically, he said Pyongyang's nuclear program is no longer contained to their main nuclear complex in the country's northwest. It reportedly now includes the Kangsan Uranium Enrichment Plant, and intelligence suggests two more enrichment facilities are currently being built.

Grossi said diplomatic engagement was urgently needed. The alternative, he warned, would be to let North Korea continue to build up its nuclear stockpile unchecked.

Grossi stated, "You cannot have a country like this, which is completely off the charts with its nuclear arsenal, with all these facilities, without us having any clue of any safety or security measures which are being applied to it." He added the, "Presidential diplomacy is important. We need engagement from the top." He called on the international community, including President Trump, to make inroads with the Kim regime, which has historically proved no easy feat.

As you may recall, Trump made engagement with North Korea a top priority during his first term. He became the first sitting president to hold a summit with North Korea in 2018 and later became the first to set foot on North Korean soil. Nuclear talks began in earnest at the 2019 Hanoi summit in Vietnam, but quickly broke down due to North Korea's demand that the U.S. lift all sanctions on the isolated country.

Since then, relations between Washington and Pyongyang have significantly worsened, with North Korea ramping up missile tests and the U.S., South Korea, and Japan intensifying joint military exercises that Pyongyang denounces as invasion rehearsals. In September, Kim vowed to expand the country's nuclear weapons program to produce, quote, exponentially more warheads and delivery platforms, including ones that could target the U.S. mainland.

Regarding North Korea's arsenal, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute has previously estimated that North Korea, get this, likely has around 50, that's five zero, nuclear weapons of various size and enough enriched uranium to build another 90. Despite Grossi's hopes for a resumption in diplomacy, North Korea's increasingly cozy relationship with Russia and their close ties with China would significantly complicate any attempts at outreach.

Given ongoing efforts to end the war in Ukraine and Trump's current push for a new nuclear deal with Iran, issues regarding North Korea may well continue to take a back seat.

And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Friday, the 25th of April. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. To listen to the show ad-free, well, it's very simple. Just become a Premium Member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com.

And, of course, waking up this morning, I'm sure you realized and probably your first thought was, oh, it's Friday. And I suspect your next thought was, oh, that's excellent. Fridays mean new episodes of the PDB Situation Report. Well, you'd be right. Our crack production team is busy getting ready to launch the latest episode this evening at 10 p.m. on the first TV. And as always, you can catch it and past episodes online.

on our juggernaut of a YouTube channel. Go check that out. You can find it at President's Daily Brief. Also, the show's available on all the podcast platforms where you get your podcast stuff. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.