PDB Afternoon Bulletin | May 8th, 2025: Trump Announces First Trade Deal Ahead Of Critical China Summit & Violent Antisemitic Protests Return To Columbia University
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Visit prma.org slash middleman to learn more. Paid for by Pharma. It's Thursday, the 8th of May. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First, President Trump inks a new trade deal with Britain, the first major agreement reached since announcing his plans to impose sweeping reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trading partners.

The announcement comes just ahead of pivotal talks between the U.S. and China set to take place in Geneva this week. Later in the show, violent anti-Semitic protests have returned to Columbia University, where police arrested dozens of students Wednesday night after they seized the school's main library in one of the largest and most chaotic demonstrations since last year's pro-Palestinian campus uprisings.

You have to ask, are these protests that spring up on campuses, are they just grassroots spontaneous events or are there national and international organizations behind them that provide funding and communications and logistical support?

Really? You have to ask? I mean, is the Pope Catholic? Ooh, speaking of which, we have a new Pope. We'll cover that in detail in tomorrow morning's PDB. All right, let's jump into today's afternoon spotlight. We'll begin with a major economic update, as President Trump inks what he called a, quote, breakthrough trade agreement with the United Kingdom, the first major deal reached since the president triggered a global trade war through his sweeping tariff agenda.

The agreement, announced Thursday morning, establishes a new framework for trade between the US and the UK, though the deal is not yet finalized, with officials saying the finer details will be worked out in the coming weeks. The trade deal will leave in place a 10% US baseline tariff on British imports, while the UK will lower its baseline tariffs on US goods from 5.1% to 1.8%, according to a report from Reuters.

The U.S. will also drop import taxes on British steel and aluminum, or aluminium, from 25% to zero and reduce a 27.5% tariff on British automobiles to 10% for a quota of 100,000 vehicles. That's almost the exact number of cars exported by Britain to the U.S. last year.

Britain, in turn, has agreed to drop tariffs on some $700 million in U.S. ethanol imports from 19% to zero, in a major win for the agricultural sector. They also agreed to increase market access for some $250 million worth of U.S. beef, poultry, and other farm products, as well as soft drinks, cereal, and other goods.

Additionally, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the UK had agreed to purchase $10 billion worth of US-assembled Boeing aircraft and that the US would allow duty-free imports for Rolls-Royce jet engines. Details were scant regarding other critical sectors such as UK pharmaceutical imports, but a White House fact sheet said measures would be taken to create a secure supply chain for pharma products.

All told, the White House said the new trade deal will create $5 billion in new annual export opportunities for American producers, while the 10% baseline tariff will generate, according to the report, some $6 billion in new annual revenue for the U.S. President Trump held it as a historic breakthrough, saying, "...it opens up a tremendous market for us. This is now turning out to be, really, a great deal for both countries."

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, meanwhile, called it a, quote, really fantastic historic day, adding, quote, this is going to boost trade between and across our countries. It's going to not only protect jobs, but create jobs, opening market access, end quote.

As I noted, however, other specifics of the new trade arrangement still need to be hammered out. At a press conference Thursday morning in the Oval Office, President Trump said, quote, the final details are being written up in the coming weeks. We'll have it all very conclusive.

While the agreement is certainly an encouraging sign, we should note that the US and UK were already discussing a new economic relationship before Trump's rollout of sweeping reciprocal tariffs in early April, which he later paused for 90 days. It's also worth mentioning that the UK is one of the few countries with which the US doesn't run a deficit

In 2024, the US had a trade surplus of roughly $12 billion with Britain, and it remains a key market for US exports of crude oil and gas. Investors reacted positively to the news, signaling their hopes that the deal with the UK will open the door for the White House to negotiate fresh trade agreements with other countries. All major US stock indexes rallied after the announcement, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumping more than 600 points.

The breakthrough agreement with the UK comes just ahead of critical trade talks between the US and China this weekend, the first direct trade talks since the tariff war began last month.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and senior U.S. Trade Representative Jameson Greer will meet in Geneva, Switzerland, with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng to break the ice on the subject of mutual de-escalation. The talks will reportedly run from May 9th until May 12th and will cover possible reductions to Trump's 145% tariffs and Beijing's 125% retaliatory tariffs.

as well as potential exemptions for specific product categories critical to both the U.S. and Chinese economies. During his Oval Office press conference on Thursday, Trump said the U.S. was headed for a, quote, very good weekend with China, adding, quote, China has a tremendous trade surplus with us. We just can't have that. We're going to have a very good relationship, but on our terms, end quote.

Despite Trump's optimism, experts say that they don't expect a major breakthrough as direct trade talks resume. Financial analysts say the talks will likely only serve as a starting point for more detailed negotiations, which many expect could drag on for quite some time. Coming up next, violent anti-Israel protests return to Columbia University. That's not a surprise. Where police arrested dozens of students Wednesday night,

after they seized the school's main library. On a positive note, it might have been the first time that any of these gormless half-wits saw the inside of the library. I'll be right back.

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Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. More than 100 anti-Israel protesters stormed Columbia University's library Wednesday night, sending hundreds of students scrambling for safety in one of the most disruptive campus demonstrations since last year's Gaza War protests, resulting in dozens of arrests. The

The late-night violence unfolded as Columbia and other elite universities faced mounting federal scrutiny, along with escalating pressure from the Trump administration to crack down on campus anti-Semitism and to restore order. By the time police cleared the building, 78 protesters had been arrested and two others issued summonses, that's according to the NYPD. You know what the NYPD should also do? Well, they should release that list of 78 protesters

that have been arrested and make it clear how many of them are actual students and how many of them are outside activists. Videos from the scene showed helmeted officers escorting students in zip ties to waiting buses as chants of "free Palestine" echoed across the Ivy League campus. University officials said the occupation forced roughly 900 students

to flee Butler Library, many abandoning laptops, backpacks, and notes as the confrontation intensified just days before final exams.

Acting University President Claire Shipman, who assumed the role in March after her predecessor's resignation over botched protest handling, well, she minced no words. She said the reading room had been defaced and damaged in disturbing ways and with disturbing slogans. One spray-painted threatening message read, quote, We will always come back for Palestine.

Shipman described witnessing a public safety officer wheeled out on a gurney and another being treated for injuries. She called the protest a threat to student safety and condemned it outright, stating, quote, violence and vandalism, hijacking a library, none of that has any place on our campus, end quote. Organizers from the group Columbia University Apartheid Divest, let's see, that acronym would be C-U-A-D,

Hmm, I wonder if they thought maybe that spelt a word. Claimed responsibility, calling for the library to be renamed the Basel al-Haraj Popular University after a Palestinian activist killed by Israeli forces in 2017. Now, honestly, kids, I don't think that's going to happen. In a statement, the group said the demonstration aimed to, quote, "...disrupt Colombia's profits and legitimacy," end quote.

Before police arrived, campus security had locked the library's doors, briefly triggering a pushing match outside as demonstrators pressed to get in. As tensions rose, the demonstrations spilled into the streets beyond campus gates.

Wednesday's disruption came just hours after a contentious House Education and Workforce Committee hearing on anti-Semitism in higher education, where three university presidents were grilled over their handling of hate speech and the protection of Jewish students, echoing last year's testimony by then-Columbian President Namat Shafiq.

It also marks another chapter in Columbia's escalating standoff with the Trump administration. In March, the White House canceled $400 million in federal funding to the university, citing its failure to discipline student agitators or prevent anti-Semitic incidents on campus.

The administration followed up with a list of demands. Ban masks at protests? What? Well, that would be disappointing for a lot of these protesters. I mean, dressing up in masks and keffiyahs and helmets is kind of their cosplay moment. The list also called for the university to enforce existing conduct rules, hold student groups accountable, and re-evaluate Columbia's Middle East Studies curriculum. Columbia vowed to comply, but federal pressure has only intensified.

ICE told Fox News it's now fingerprinting those arrested to determine if any are international students or, frankly, if they're students at all. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that the administration is reviewing visa eligibility. Hundreds of student visas have already been revoked under the administration's broader crackdown on campus unrest.

Meanwhile, New York Mayor Eric Adams praised the NYPD's response, saying the city, quote, stands with Jewish students. Governor Kathy Hochul echoed that support, thanking law enforcement and university security for ensuring student safety. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Thursday, the 8th of May. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And to listen to the show ad-free, well, it's easy.

Just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. See, I told you it was easy. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.

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