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Morning Wire

US India Trade Deal & Rubio Revamps State Dept | 4.23.25

Wed, 23 Apr 2025

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The US and India move forward on a trade deal, Marco Rubio overhauls State Department, and egg prices come down. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.Jeremy’s Razors: Try Jeremy’s Razors for 20% off risk-free: https://www.jeremysrazors.com/MORNINGWIRE

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Chapter 1: What progress is being made on the US-India trade deal?

3.083 - 9.749 John Bickley

The White House is making early progress on trade deals with India, hoping to ease economic tensions caused by Trump's tariffs.

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10.37 - 15.155 President Biden

Both of our governments are hard at work on a trade agreement built on shared priorities.

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15.996 - 19.219 Georgia Howe

How are Fortune 500 CEOs and investors reacting?

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19.819 - 34.811 John Bickley

I'm Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, April 23rd, and this is Morning Wire. Marco Rubio announces a major overhaul of the State Department cutting staff and offices.

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35.569 - 50.878 Unnamed Analyst

Over the past 15 years, the department's footprint has had unprecedented growth and costs have soared. But far from seeing a return to investment, taxpayers have seen less effective and less efficient diplomacy.

51.719 - 56.661 Georgia Howe

And tech stocks rebound and egg prices drop. What's the latest on the U.S. economy?

57.262 - 60.404 John Bickley

Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.

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Chapter 2: Who is Tim Pearce and what does he say about Trump's trade negotiations?

107.486 - 119.409 John Bickley

Daily Wire reporter Tim Pearce is here to talk about the Trump administration's latest moves on trade. Hey, Tim. So potentially significant meeting in India. Let's start there. When can we expect a trade deal with India?

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119.929 - 130.712 Tim Pierce

Well, that's still up in the air, hopefully for not too much longer since President Trump only paused tariffs for 90 days. Vice President Vance represented the administration in India. Here's some of what he said on Tuesday.

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131.413 - 146.147 President Biden

In our meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Modi and I made very good progress on all of those points. And we are especially excited to formally announce that America and India have officially finalized the terms of reference for the trade negotiation.

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146.187 - 160.397 President Biden

I think this is a vital step toward realizing President Trump's and Prime Minister Modi's vision because it sets a roadmap toward a final deal between our nations. I believe there is much that America and India can accomplish together.

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161.184 - 180.492 Tim Pierce

Vance was in India for four days and met with top government officials, including Prime Minister Modi. India is a big trading partner with the United States. Last year, trade between the two countries was nearly $130 billion. Since trade deficits are what Trump cares about, that's also big. US imports from India were bigger than exports by about $45 billion last year.

Chapter 3: What are the implications of tariffs between the US and India?

182.353 - 195.04 Tim Pierce

Under Trump's new tariff regime, India is under a flat 10% tariff right now with carve-outs for tech products such as iPhones. But if Trump and Modi don't strike a trade deal within the next couple of months, that tariff rate could jump up to 26%.

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195.24 - 205.746 John Bickley

All right, so a major spike looming there, but some positive signs with India. Now, there are dozens of other countries interested in striking new trade deals with the White House. What about these other countries?

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206.434 - 222.94 Tim Pierce

Yeah, India is obviously a big player here. So yesterday's announcement was important for the White House, but there has been progress with others as well. White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt said during the White House press conference yesterday that the Trump administration is moving forward trade negotiations with nearly 20 countries.

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224.119 - 239.164 Trade Team Member

Well, I spoke to our entire trade team this morning. There is a lot of progress being made. We now have 18 proposals on paper that have been brought to the trade team. Again, these are proposals on paper that countries have proposed to the Trump administration and to our government.

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239.685 - 256.13 Trade Team Member

You have Secretary Besant, Secretary Luttnick, Ambassador Greer, NEC Director Hassett and Peter Navarro, the entire trade team meeting with 34 countries this week alone. We are moving at Trump speed to ensure these deals are made on behalf of the American worker and the American people.

256.87 - 268.494 Tim Pierce

This is a relatively positive day for trade news for the White House. It looks like the administration lately is putting more of an emphasis on negotiating new trade deals to tamp down concerns that these tariffs might be long lasting.

269.054 - 275.956 John Bickley

Yeah, about that. What signals are we seeing that the Trump administration is actively working to tamp down, as you're saying, concerns over these trade issues?

276.676 - 297.129 Tim Pierce

Well, there were a couple stories this week about top business leaders and the White House. On Monday, the CEOs of Walmart, Target, and Home Depot met with the president about trade. Those are obviously big names, and each has really complex supply chains that are being hit hard, even now, by the tariffs. The president met with the CEOs personally to hear their concerns about trade and tariffs.

297.57 - 317.741 Tim Pierce

And then CNBC reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Besant met with top investors on Tuesday about trade with China. Besant reportedly said he expects, quote, there will be a de-escalation in the very near future. He added that no one thinks the current status quo is sustainable. Those headlines, along with the news of new potential trade deals, boosted markets.

Chapter 4: How is the Trump administration addressing concerns from Fortune 500 CEOs about trade?

327.284 - 333.286 John Bickley

A lot of welcome movement on the market. We'll be interested in seeing how long that boost lasts. Tim, thanks so much for joining us. Thanks for having me.

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336.445 - 338.487 Advertiser

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360.572 - 376.353 John Bickley

Secretary of State Marco Rubio just announced a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. State Department, aiming to streamline operations and align diplomacy with the Trump administration's America First agenda. The plan includes significant staff cuts and the closure of numerous offices.

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377.082 - 384.665 Georgia Howe

Here with the details is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham. So Megan, what do we know so far about Rubio's changes and what's motivating them?

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385.446 - 409.696 Megan Basham

Well, I'll tell you, Georgia, Rubio is not being shy in billing this as an aggressive reform plan. In a department-wide email, he called the State Department bloated and beholden to a radical political ideology. And he said that because of this, he aims to reduce the agency's U.S.-based staff by 15%. and cut the number of offices from 734 to 602. That's a 17% reduction.

Chapter 5: What impact do new trade negotiations have on the US stock market?

410.216 - 414.578 Megan Basham

State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce addressed the cuts in a press conference on Tuesday.

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415.218 - 427.203 Unnamed Analyst

Secretary Rubio is announcing a comprehensive reorganization plan that will bring the department into the 21st century. This approach will empower the department from the ground up, from the bureaus to the embassies.

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427.743 - 450.94 Unnamed Analyst

region-specific functions will be consolidated to increase functionality, redundant offices will be removed, and non-statutory programs that are misaligned with America's core national interests will cease to exist. Under President Trump's leadership, we have a Commander-in-Chief committed to putting America and Americans first. As his Secretary of State, Secretary Rubio,

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451.74 - 460.143 Unnamed Analyst

announces that he is in fact confident a reformed State Department will meet the moment and help make our country great once again.

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460.763 - 481.916 Megan Basham

Now, there's also one addition in this plan. Rubio proposes a new Bureau of Emerging Threats, and that's going to focus on cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. As far as implementation goes, Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau said an internal working group is going to develop thoughtful plans by July 1st. But we do want to note that there are some hurdles here.

482.317 - 496.89 Megan Basham

Some of these changes may require congressional approval. And a preliminary budget proposal from the White House Office of Management and Budget that bolsters Rubio's plan by cutting the State Department's funding by 15%, well, that isn't likely to pass Congress. Hmm.

497.27 - 503.734 Georgia Howe

So some significant changes potentially. Do we have any idea what specific offices would be targeted for closure?

504.434 - 525.988 Megan Basham

Yeah, we do. Primarily it's offices like the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, which Rubio has criticized for promoting left wing agendas in countries like Poland and Hungary. Specifically, he's argued that they advanced LGBTQ and gender-related initiatives, often undermining the democratic will of more conservative people in those countries.

526.488 - 547.46 Megan Basham

And he's also targeting the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. There, he's arguing that it funneled taxpayer dollars to NGOs that facilitated mass migration, including at the U.S. southern border. Rubio said in a new State Department substack that these bureaus have been misused to push policies misaligned with national priorities.

Chapter 6: What changes is Marco Rubio proposing for the State Department?

559.784 - 571.473 Megan Basham

And all of this, you have to say, is very much in line with President Trump's America First foreign policy vision in that it follows the administration's efforts to downsize these federal agencies and keep resources in the U.S.

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572.073 - 584.022 Megan Basham

During the press conference Monday, Bruce said that abolishing and absorbing USAID into the State Department was the first step in this kind of streamlining, and now they're simply moving forward in the same spirit. Hmm.

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584.662 - 588.145 Georgia Howe

So how are the diplomats and staff inside this agency reacting?

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588.805 - 608.776 Megan Basham

I would say that's developing. There hasn't been a lot of chatter so far. Some analysts are saying this is going to alienate career diplomats. Some Democrats are saying that these moves will diminish the US's influence abroad. But we're also hearing that some are breathing sighs of relief because they were expecting even deeper cuts after a draft executive order circulated last weekend.

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609.296 - 628.04 Megan Basham

That document proposed slashing entire bureaus like African Affairs and closing embassies across sub-Saharan Africa. But Rubio said that was all fake news. So the current plan is less drastic than that was. And Bruce stressed that no one is being fired immediately and they're going to be carefully looking at the best ways to cut.

Chapter 7: How does Megan Basham describe Rubio's overhaul plan for the State Department?

628.641 - 634.01 Georgia Howe

Well, we will continue to follow the story and see how these cuts develop. Megan, thanks for reporting. My pleasure.

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637.296 - 640.1 John Bickley

Consumers could soon see relief on egg prices.

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640.865 - 649.75 Georgia Howe

Daily Wire investigative reporter Mairead Elordi has the latest on the domestic economy. So, Mairead, this has been a dynamic week for the markets. What are we seeing economically?

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649.77 - 659.916 Mairead Elordi

Hi, Georgia. Well, the market has been all over the place amid uncertainty over these tariffs. The Dow plummeted on Monday, but then, as Tim mentioned, spiked again on Tuesday.

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660.376 - 671.947 Mairead Elordi

Investors are more hopeful after the Trump administration said it made significant progress on trade with India this week, and Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said he expects a de-escalation of the trade war between the U.S. and China.

672.527 - 676.571 Georgia Howe

Now, meanwhile, back at home, we have some good news on egg prices, correct?

677.051 - 690.394 Mairead Elordi

That's right. Daily Wire White House correspondent Mary Margaret Olihan spoke to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. They've been working hard on a plan to get egg prices down from their high point under Biden. And Rollins told us their work is paying off. Here's Rollins.

690.955 - 711.146 Mary Margaret Olihan

A couple of months ago, we rolled out our big five point egg plan. And at the time, the eggs were, I think, the highest they've been, perhaps since President Trump left office. I I know under Joe Biden, they increased 237%. So while the cost of groceries has skyrocketed, nothing has skyrocketed more than eggs. So the president asked us to be bold and think big.

711.206 - 731.182 Mary Margaret Olihan

And right here at the White House, almost seven weeks ago, we laid that plan out. But what is amazing is since we rolled that plan out, which included money for biosecurity, locking the barns down, Repopulation, the hens that we lost due to the virus, getting the new hens back laying quickly. Deregulation, so getting government off the back of our egg layers.

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