The President's Daily Brief
April 29th, 2025: Factories Shutting Down In China As Tariff War Bites & North Korea’s Dirty Secret Confirmed
29 Apr 2025
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: U.S. tariffs are hitting China hard, forcing factories to shut down production lines and scramble for new customers as orders dry up. The world's worst kept secret is now official—North Korean soldiers are fighting alongside Russian forces, and President Putin is giving them a public nod of appreciation. The Trump administration is quietly game-planning for a potential restart of talks with North Korea, including a possible new face-to-face meeting with Kim Jong Un. And in today's Back of the Brief, the Pentagon reveals new details about its air campaign in Yemen, with more than 800 targets struck in just six weeks. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold TriTails Premium Beef: Visit https://TryBeef.com/PDB for 2 free Flat Iron steaks with your first box over $250. Plus, for a limited time enjoy 5% off on almost everything site-wide excluding subscriptions and B-stock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Full Episode
It's Tuesday, the 29th of April. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. We'll start things off with the ongoing tariffs brouhaha or kerfuffle, although I'm not sure if the Chinese language has a word for kerfuffle or brouhaha. But I do know that the US tariffs are taking a real toll on the Chinese economy.
Chinese factories are reportedly shutting down production lines and hunting for new customers as orders dry up. We'll have those details. Later in the show, the world's worst-kept secret is now official. North Korean soldiers are on the battlefield alongside Russian troops. I know, shocking. With President Putin offering his appreciation for their efforts.
Plus, inside the Trump administration's discreet efforts to restart talks with North Korea, including the possibility of another face-to-face meeting with Kim Jong-un. And in today's Back of the Brief, the Pentagon is releasing new details about the extent of the US military's air campaign in Yemen, hammering more than 800 targets in just six weeks. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
We'll begin with the ongoing fallout from the US-China trade war, which appears to be rapidly destabilizing the communist regime's export-dependent economy. As you likely know by now, the Chinese Communist Party, the CCP, and Washington are locked in a bitter trade dispute triggered by President Trump's imposition of a 145% tariff on most of China's exports.
China retaliated by placing a 125% tax on US goods. The impact on China has been swift and significant. Chinese warehouses are reportedly filled with unsent goods, and operations at two of China's most critical ports for trade have slowed to a crawl. Now, Chinese manufacturers are beginning to pause production entirely and shut down factories as they scramble to find new buyers for their goods.
That's according to a report from CNBC. Currently, the most severely impacted factories are those that are making toys, sporting goods, and low-cost dollar store type goods, though every sector is beginning to feel the crunch.
An analyst with the Shanghai-based consulting firm Tidal Wave Solutions told CNBC, quote, I know several factories that have told half of their employees to go home for a few weeks and stopped most of their production. While not large-scale yet, it is happening in the key export hubs of Yiwu and Dongguan, and there is concern that it will grow.
He added, "...there is hope that tariffs will be lowered so orders can resume, but in the meantime companies are furloughing employees and idling some production." Financial analysts warn that for small businesses in China with only several million dollars in resources, the massive tariffs are already unbearable and will likely force them to shutter permanently.
To mitigate their losses, some manufacturers are turning to new markets to try and fill their orders, though they said it will take time to build those up. Major Chinese tech companies on orders from the CCP are also exploring ways to help exporters redirect their goods to the domestic market.
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