Kate Linebaugh

Additional reporting in this episode by Clarence Lung and Roshan Fernandez. Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow.

Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Kate Linebaugh. It's Wednesday, March 5th. Coming up on the show, Trump's tariffs are pushing companies out of China.

I called up Steve Greenspawn while he was at that Chicago homeware convention. He tried to find a quiet room, but it was hard. Steve is the founder and CEO of a company called Honey Can Do. Honey Can Do, that's the name of your company?

What's your sort of crown jewel of your home organization?

For protein shakes?

Steve's company sells products like shelving units, drying racks, and laundry hampers. His customers are major retailers like Walmart, Amazon, and Home Depot. In 2024, he had about $75 million in revenue. How long have you been running this business?

To build the business, Steve looked to China, where he developed a network of trusted manufacturers and subcontractors.

The expo is full of businesses showing off their merchandise, everything from cookware and linens to luggage and vacuums. But this year, the convention has been dominated by one thing.

At one point, Steve relied on Chinese manufacturing for about half of his products. And things were going well, until 2018, when President Trump, in his first term, imposed tariffs on China.

Steve decided to move some production to Vietnam.

Steve's challenges went beyond just building out his operation from scratch. Vietnam hasn't had as much investment as China, and that makes doing business there more difficult.

So there's an infrastructure difference.

But it's still cheaper than paying the tariffs?

Since 2018, Steve has significantly reduced his reliance on China. Today, only about a fifth of his production is there. This year, Trump restarted a trade war with China. In February, he imposed new 10% tariffs on Chinese imports. Yesterday, another 10% tariff went into effect. Trump has said these actions are to help stop the flow of chemicals that are used to make fentanyl.

China said it would hit back with retaliatory tariffs. A government spokesman said, quote, if war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war, or any other type of war, we're ready to fight till the end. Steve now wants to move even more production out of China.

You're not moving production to the U.S. ?

Coming up... what all this disruption looks like for the world's second largest economy, China. The new trade war between China and the U.S. is rippling through China's massive manufacturing sector. Our colleague Hannah Miao has been talking to Chinese companies about their experience with the tariffs.

What do they say they're going to do? Are they going to like move or build new production facilities somewhere else?

These vendors' concerns largely focused on the new tariffs Trump imposed on China yesterday. Many of these companies make products there. And to avoid the tariffs, they're thinking about moving their operations out of China altogether. Like Steve Greenspan, CEO of a company that sells home organization products.

So they're relocating production to Southeast Asia.

Hannah spoke with a lawyer in southeastern China who works with local manufacturers. And he said his phone has been buzzing with messages and calls from his clients.

If more and more manufacturing leaves China, what will that do to the Chinese economy?

Can China's economy absorb this shock?

Hundreds of vendors crowded into a Chicago convention center this week for the country's biggest homeware trade show.

Are Chinese manufacturers worried that if they move their production out of China to Vietnam or Malaysia or Indonesia, say, that... the U.S. will then hit those countries with tariffs?

And if one of the goals of these tariffs is to bring manufacturing back to the U.S., but companies are moving to Southeast Asia, are these tariffs having the intended effect?

What are you looking for next?

And you're moving to avoid the tariffs from Chinese imports.

Before we go, we wanted to tell you that we're planning a live event for the show and we want to know what you think. Take our survey by following the link in our show notes and leave your email address to be the first to know when it's happening. That's all for today, Wednesday, March 5th. The Journal is a co-production of Spotify and The Wall Street Journal.

So we've moved from the era of North American cooperation to a full scale trade war.

Before we go, we're interested in hearing from you. Do you have any questions about what's happening with the Trump administration, about Trump's speech to Congress or the war in Ukraine or tariffs? Email us and let us know. Please send us a voice note to thejournalatwsj.com. That's thejournalatwsj.com. That's all for today, Tuesday, March 4th.

The Journal is a co-production of Spotify and The Wall Street Journal. Additional reporting in this episode by Christopher Otz. Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow.

If you could use one word to describe the conversations that are going on in the auto industry right now, what would it be?

Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Kate Linebaugh. It's Tuesday, March 4th. Coming up on the show, the trade war is here, and it's causing chaos for carmakers.

Thomas's company makes parts for vehicles, things like the shelves inside Amazon vans and those spare tire holders at the back of Jeeps and Ford Broncos. How long have you worked in the automotive industry?

And what's the one word you would use to describe how the auto industry is feeling today?

Chaotic.

That's our colleague Mike Kalias. He covers the auto industry and is reporting on how Trump's tariffs are going to affect carmakers.

How will these tariffs impact the U.S. auto industry?

When we talk about an American-made car, what does that mean in reality?

The auto industry's supply chain was shaped by the North American Free Trade Agreement. NAFTA took effect in 1994 and created a free trade zone between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Here's President Bill Clinton at the time.

President Trump in his first term began renegotiating NAFTA. And that deal, known as USMCA, was finalized in 2020.

Under both deals, there were no tariffs imposed on car parts and materials. And so car manufacturing continued to move regularly across the borders with Mexico and Canada. So now the auto supply chain includes thousands of companies sending parts back and forth across borders multiple times.

When Trump started floating the idea of 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, how did the automakers react?

How much of your production is in the U.S. and how much is outside of the U.S. ?

Now that the tariffs are in place, What's the auto industry going to do? That's next. When Thomas Koval, CEO of Leggera Technologies, first heard tariffs might be coming, he tried to come up with a lot of solutions.

So you anticipate passing along these tariffs to your customers, Ford or Jeep or whoever, and then they will pass it along to the consumer, right?

Are you considering moving your supply chain into the U.S.?

As of today, those materials will be subject to a new 25% tariff.

Yeah. What does that mean? Build a bank of material?

How much would it cost to do that?

Do you understand the rationale behind the tariffs?

And given the world that we're in, what is the thing you would ask for? Would you ask for just pledge to keep these tariffs in place so there's certainty and you can work around it? Or for them to go away?

So how are you feeling right now?

President Trump has said these tariffs are necessary to fight fentanyl trafficking and illegal migration, as well as to build up U.S. manufacturing.

Trump's tariffs have ignited a trade war. Overnight, China announced new tariffs after Trump added another 10% levy on Chinese goods. Mexico's president said she planned to retaliate, and Canada said it would impose 25% tariffs on nearly $100 billion worth of U.S. imports. Trump then warned Canada that he could raise his tariffs even further.

Economists have told our colleague Mike Colias that American consumers will bear the brunt of this trade war.

And are there some guardrails that the White House has put in place?

So looking at this potential deal with Binance, is it any different from the other deals that have happened in the Trump orbit?

That's all for today, Thursday, March 13th. The Journal is a co-production of Spotify and The Wall Street Journal. Additional reporting in this episode by Angus Berwick, Josh Dawsey, Patricia Kaussman, Annie Linsky, Dana Mattioli, and Caitlin Ostroff. Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow.

Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Kate Linebaugh. It's Thursday, March 13th. Coming up on the show, the Trump family, a possible crypto deal, and maybe even a presidential pardon. What is Binance and who founded it?

As it grew, Binance came under scrutiny from federal regulators. In response, CZ set up a separate U.S. exchange for American clients to try to allay the regulatory concerns. But then, in 2023, Binance reached a deal with the Justice Department over a sweeping criminal investigation.

And today, the Wall Street Journal came out with a big scoop on a potential deal between the Trump family and a crypto giant.

Binance agreed to settle the investigation and to pay a $4.3 billion fine. And its founder CZ?

In 2023, the crypto industry was in hard times. Popular exchange FTX had collapsed, and its owner, Sam Bankman-Fried, was convicted of fraud. Federal investigators were cracking down on crypto companies. But now, in 2025, crypto is on an upswing. A few months ago, Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $100,000. Many investors point to Trump's reelection as a good sign for the industry.

But Binance is currently missing out. When did Binance start thinking it could potentially reenter the U.S. market?

Was there a playbook they were following? Like, how did they come up with an idea of what to do?

So what do finance executives do?

Witkoff is a real estate investor, a lawyer, and is also Trump's top negotiator in the Middle East and for the war in Ukraine. An administration official denied Witkoff's involvement and said he's in the process of divesting from his business interests. World Liberty Financial declined to comment.

President Trump has made crypto a big part of his agenda. He's even called himself the crypto president.

Why would this kind of deal be appealing to the Trump family?

That's investigative reporter Rebecca Ballhouse. And according to Rebecca's reporting, not only is the Trump family in talks about a stake in Binance, but the founder of Binance, a convicted felon, is also asking for a presidential pardon.

The Trump Organization and Binance didn't respond to requests for comment. Binance U.S. declined to comment. In a tweet today, CZ said he had not had discussions about this potential deal, adding, quote, no felon would mind a pardon. How common is this kind of business deal for a president, but also in the Trump universe?

Coming up, it's not just Binance. How Trump's family has turned his presidency into a cash bonanza.

Since Trump was elected, what has the Trump family's financial picture looked like?

Those settlements have been with companies including ABC News, X, and Meta. Trump's other big financial windfall? Meme coins. Earlier this year, he launched one named for himself. And the first lady launched her own, too.

What has Trump said about these meme coins?

Trump didn't always pay attention to crypto. Just a few years ago, he said it was a disaster waiting to happen.

Trump's administration has rolled back some regulatory threats to the crypto industry. He's signed executive orders regarding crypto, hosted crypto leaders at the White House. And last week, Trump established a strategic Bitcoin reserve.

And this cash bonanza that we're talking about, the deals from the Melania documentary to the settlements to the meme coins, have these raised any concerns or criticism?

During Trump's first administration, conflicts of interest were a big concern. How differently are he and his family operating now in this second term?

Yeah, and that view was on full display last week in the Oval Office when J.D. Vance and Trump clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

But then it's like Trump's approach, maybe it also kind of works. Because after that whole situation in the Oval Office and Zelensky leaving the White House, we see him going to Europe, meeting with leaders there about getting more military support. And then Zelensky tweets out that he's going to sign the mineral rights deal and like come back to the table, which is what Trump wants.

From the Journal, this is Trump 2.0. I'm Kate Leinbaugh. And I'm Molly Ball. It's Friday, March 7th. Coming up, Trump's first speech to Congress, where he lays out how he wants to reshape the economy and foreign policy.

All right. So looking ahead, what's coming up? What's on the docket for next week?

So we're going from theatrical big speeches in Congress to the brass tacks of getting a budget passed.

Hey, this was like tons of fun. Andrew, thanks for joining us.

Thank you, Andrew. And Molly, thanks for letting me moonlight on your show. Thank you so much, Kate. It was really fun. Before we go, do you have any questions about what the Trump administration is doing? Please send us a voice recording to thejournalatwsj.com. That's thejournalatwsj.com. Trump 2.0 is part of The Journal, which is a co-production of Spotify and The Wall Street Journal.

This episode was produced by Enrique Perez de la Rosa and edited by Catherine Whalen with help from Tatiana Zamis. Molly Ball is The Wall Street Journal's senior political correspondent. And I'm Kate Leinbach. The episode was engineered by Nathan Singapak. Our theme music is by So Wiley and remixed by Peter Leonard. Additional music in this episode by Peter Leonard and Blue Dot Sessions.

Fact-checking by Kate Gallagher. Artwork by James Walton. Trump 2.0 will be back with a new episode next Friday. See you then.

I'm Kate Linebaugh, co-host of The Journal. And I understand this podcast, Trump 2.0, is about Trump's first 100 days. You are correct. How many days into Trump's presidency are we? Let me see. 46 days. So we're not even halfway to that 100-day benchmark. But this week, we did hit an important milestone. Trump laid out his vision for the country in his first speech to Congress.

So, Molly, on Tuesday night, you were there in the House chamber for Trump's presidential address to a joint session of Congress. And going into this speech, there was a ton going on. There had been this major fissure between the U.S. and Ukraine. There had been the launch of 25 percent tariffs against Mexico and Canada. And the stock market was tanking.

So with that as background, what do you think was Trump's goal with this speech?

Is that always the goal with this kind of speech?

We wanted to bring in someone with some White House expertise to help unpack Trump's speech. So today we're joined by our White House editor, Andrew Restuccia.

And in the background here, while this is all going on, the Democrats are holding up little black signs and sitting down and looking grouchy.

So those were like, as you said, the theatrical moments, right? But what about the kind of more meaty stuff? What did we learn about Trump's approach to the economy?

Drill, baby, drill.

But at the same time, Trump... is out there enacting tariffs, which will cause prices for Americans to jump. So how is all of this going to go down?

Hey, Molly. Hey, you're not Ryan. I am not Ryan. No, Ryan's off this week, so you've got me.

What did you come away with from the speech?

Well, can they achieve it when they're constantly temporary or being put off 30 days and then rolled back and exemptions being given?

But using tariffs as a way to encourage businesses to move manufacturing back to the United States feels like it can work. We talk to people who are doing it. Honda is going to make the Civic in the U.S. now. But if the policy keeps going on and off, will it achieve those aims?

I think that Americans who voted for Trump love seeing him stick up for the country and advocate for bringing manufacturing back and American jobs.

How did the Democrats react to this speech?

What did it tell you about where Trump is taking the country?

All right. It's time for a quick break. And when we come back, Molly's going to take one of your questions. Stay with us. OK, Molly, we got a question from a listener named Nolan Bauer in St. Paul, Minnesota. Here he is.