PDB Afternoon Bulletin | April 23rd, 2025: Trump Signals De-Escalation In Tariff War With China & Zelensky Rejects White House Plan To Cede Crimea To Russia
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Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Alright, let's get briefed. First up, President Trump is reportedly considering cutting tariffs on China substantially in the first real sign that the crippling trade war with the communist regime could soon de-escalate.

Later in the show, Ukrainian President Zelensky has poured cold water on a peace proposal from the Trump administration that would recognize Russia's hold over Crimea, calling it unconstitutional and a non-starter. The comments come in the wake of an ultimatum from Vice President J.D. Vance that the U.S. may walk away from negotiations if Kyiv does not capitulate. But first…

the afternoon spotlight. We'll begin with a potential breakthrough in the trade war with China as leaders in Washington and Beijing signal a willingness to de-escalate and possibly strike a deal. Speaking at a White House news event on Tuesday, President Trump said he'll consider substantially slashing his crippling tariffs on China to cool diplomatic temperatures, pending new trade talks with the communist regime.

The abrupt U-turn from Trump, who has previously maintained a hardline stance regarding his tariffs on China, came just hours after Treasury Secretary Scott Besson told attendees of a closed-door investor conference hosted by JPMorgan that the trade war with China is unsustainable, according to an exclusive report from The Wall Street Journal.

As a reminder, earlier this month, the White House hit China with a 145% tariff on most of their exports, though certain Chinese products are now subject to tariffs as high as 245%. China, of course, retaliated by placing a 125% tax on U.S. goods and has vowed to stand their ground.

The tariffs have caused trade between the US and China to grind to a virtual standstill and triggered widespread sell-offs in global stock markets. Trump's comments on Tuesday, however, immediately stirred optimism among Wall Street investors, with US stocks climbing substantially higher Wednesday on the hopes that the economic standoff could possibly come to an end in the near future. But White House officials stressed Wednesday that while there are several options on the table, discussions remain fluid.

and the president has not yet made a final determination on how he wants to proceed. They added that Trump would need to see some movement from China to lower tariffs on U.S. goods before Trump's tariffs are reduced. When asked Wednesday about his remarks from the previous day, Trump didn't tip his hand but signaled that he would not continue to play hardball with the Chinese Communist Party, saying, quote, "...we are going to have a fair deal with China."

Senior administration officials told the Wall Street Journal that they are discussing plans to cut the tariffs on China by more than half, with levies potentially dropping to somewhere between 50 and 65%. They are also reportedly considering a tiered approach to trade with China, where 35% tariffs would be imposed on items the U.S. does not deem threats to national security, while a levy as high as 100% would be placed on items deemed as strategic to America's interests.

But a White House spokesperson later cautioned, quote, President Trump has been clear. China needs to make a deal with the U.S. When decisions on tariffs are made, they will come directly from the president. Anything else is just pure speculation, end quote.

Still, leaders in Beijing reacted somewhat positively to the reports, cautiously saying that they're open to trade talks with the U.S. as long as the White House refrains from making any more economic threats. A spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry said, China's attitude toward the tariff war launched by the U.S. is quite clear. We don't want to fight, but we are not afraid of it. If we fight, we will fight to the end. If we talk, the door is wide open."

While the developments are encouraging, analysts say that even if the US and China meet at the negotiating table, as you might imagine, a quick resolution with America's third-largest trading partner is somewhat unlikely. Coming up next, Ukrainian President Zelensky has poured cold water on a peace proposal from the Trump administration that would recognize Russia's hold over Crimea, calling that unconstitutional. I'll be right back.

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Mike Baker here. Well, you've heard about the trade wars, right? All the tariffs bouncing back and forth. Well, it's thrown the global economy into some chaos. Potential widespread inflation tied to massive supply chain disruptions. It's weighing heavily on all of us. But I'm here to tell you, there's a silver and a gold lining that I think some people have missed.

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Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. Ukrainian President Zelensky is pushing back against a U.S. peace proposal that leans heavily in Russia's favor, including that would recognize Russia's hold on Crimea, just as Vice President J.D. Vance issued a blunt ultimatum to either accept the deal or risk the U.S. walking away from talks.

At a press conference, Zelenskyy declared "Ukraine will not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea," calling the plan unconstitutional and stating flatly "there's nothing to talk about here."

As we've been tracking here on the PDB, the plan, floated last week by American officials during closed-door meetings in Paris, aimed to freeze the front lines, meaning essentially handing Putin the 20% of Ukraine that his military currently occupies, block Ukraine's NATO ambitions, place the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant under U.S. oversight, and acknowledge Russia's hold on Crimea as the price for peace.

If adopted, the plan would represent a stunning shift in American foreign policy. Since 2014, Washington has refused to recognize Russia's annexation of Crimea.

And, though the proposal stops short of recognizing Russia's claims to four other occupied regions, Zelensky's rebuke, delivered prior to the high-level summit in London today between U.S., Ukrainian, and European officials, underscores Kyiv's alarm over what it sees as creeping Western acceptance of Moscow's redrawn map. It's worth noting that the proposal says nothing about Russian troop withdrawals from those occupied regions.

Adding to the diplomatic fissures, today's London summit was downgraded to a relatively low-level meeting after Secretary of State Marco Rubio abruptly withdrew, citing logistical complications. In his absence, Trump envoy Keith Kellogg will lead the American delegation.

The optics are, well, unmistakable. What was once billed as a potential turning point in the pursuit of peace now risks becoming a sideshow. Meanwhile, Vice President J.D. Vance, speaking from India, well, he laid it out plainly. He stated, quote, We've issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and Ukrainians, and it's time for them to either say yes or for the U.S. to walk away from this process, end quote.

It was the sharpest signal yet that patience in Washington is wearing thin. Just last week, Rubio warned that without meaningful progress, the U.S. would pull the plug on negotiations altogether.

Now, back in Kyiv, Zelensky is walking a tightrope, holding on to U.S. support while pressing Washington to avoid overtures from the Kremlin he sees as caving to Russian President Putin's demands. Zelensky dismissed the Kremlin's 30-hour Easter ceasefire over the weekend as, quote, hollow, saying Russian forces never stopped firing.

and he waved off the idea of American oversight at Zaporizhzhia, saying bluntly, quote, "...the plant will not work without Ukraine and Ukraine's technical knowledge," citing the uncertain fate of its workers and a depleted water supply as major obstacles.

The stakes for Ukraine are, of course, immense. Its 2019 constitutional amendment committing to NATO membership and its ban on territorial concessions place legal and political constraints on Zelensky's ability to entertain such terms. Any move perceived as capitulation could, of course, spark domestic blowback.

Which, of course, is what Putin is hoping for. Moscow has been maneuvering throughout the past three years for the removal of Zelensky to be replaced by a Kremlin-friendly alternative. What's clear is that the initial momentum behind the US-led push is now waning. Zelensky's firm rejection, coupled with a scaled-back summit and growing diplomatic fatigue in Washington, has left core questions unresolved.

Alright, and here comes my statement of the obvious. Look, Putin is currently expressing a willingness to consider peace talks because the US peace proposal as it currently stands essentially satisfies Putin's key demands. At the same time, he sees the US backing away from Ukraine, and as a Kremlin advisor noted a few weeks ago, given Russia's slow but incremental progress on the battlefield,

and an apparent growing rift between Trump and Zelensky, why would Putin agree to end his war now? J.D. Vance and the White House are essentially demanding that Zelensky give in to Putin, painting Ukraine's leader as the villain in this situation. The administration is essentially saying, we've drawn up a plan that basically gives Putin what he wants, why isn't Zelensky agreeing to it?

And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Wednesday, the 23rd of April. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And to listen to the show ad-free, which you certainly can do, just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.

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