The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | May 9th, 2025: Trump Floats Major Chinese Tariff Cut & Ukraine Busts Hungarian Spy Network
Fri, 09 May 2025
In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: First, President Donald Trump suggests he is willing to drastically cut U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, just as his economic team heads to Switzerland for their first direct trade talks with officials from the communist regime. Later in the show—Ukraine is accusing Hungary of espionage after allegedly dismantling a Hungarian military spy network gathering sensitive intelligence regarding Kyiv’s defenses near their shared border. 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. Jacked Up Fitness: Go to https://GetJackedUp.com and use code BAKER at checkout to save 10% off your entire purchase Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What are the latest developments in the U.S.-China trade war?
It's Friday, the 9th 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 up, President Trump suggests that he's willing to drastically cut U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods just as his economic team heads to Switzerland for their first direct trade talks with officials from the communist regime.
Later in the show, Ukraine is accusing Hungary of espionage after allegedly dismantling a Hungarian military spy network gathering sensitive intelligence regarding Kyiv's defenses near their shared border. We'll have those details. But first, today's afternoon spotlight.
Chapter 2: How is President Trump planning to adjust tariffs on Chinese goods?
We'll begin with a major update on the U.S.-China trade war as President Trump signals that he's willing to make a big tariff concession to the Chinese Communist Party. Taking to Truth Social on Friday morning, the president said he'll consider slashing his current 145% tariff on Chinese imports by nearly half. And for those of you working on your math, that would be somewhere near 80%.
Well, okay, not exactly 80%, but in that region. It was the first time that Trump suggested a specific alternative to his massive tariff and comes just ahead of direct trade talks with Chinese officials this weekend, according to a report from the Associated Press.
As we've been tracking here on the PDB, Beijing and Washington agreed earlier this week to take the first step towards finding a resolution to the crippling tariff war. which began of course last month when Trump hit the Chinese Communist Party with a 145% duty on their exports, prompting Beijing to retaliate with a 125% tax on U.S. goods. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and Senior U.S.
Trade Representative Jameson Greer will meet in Geneva, Switzerland, with China's economic czar on Saturday to break the ice on the subject of mutual de-escalation. In what appears to be an attempt to soften up the Chinese delegation ahead of the negotiations, Trump said, quote, China should open up its market to USA, would be so good for them, and then he used three exclamation marks.
so it would be really good for them. Closed markets don't work anymore, end quote. He then added, 80% tariff on China seems right, up to Scott B., of course referring to his treasury secretary. Now, whether the CCP takes Trump's remarks and the exclamation marks as an olive branch or maintains their stance that all unilateral U.S.
tariffs must be dropped before substantive talks can move forward, well, that's anyone's guess. While an 80% rate would still be an extremely high import duty, it would bring some measure of welcome relief to Chinese manufacturers, which, of course, have so far borne the brunt of the economic standoff.
The trade talks in Geneva are scheduled to run through May 12, though neither the US nor China has specified what the agenda will look like.
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Chapter 3: What are the potential outcomes of the U.S.-China trade talks in Geneva?
Beleaguered global investors are hoping to see signs of a diplomatic breakthrough, such as potential tariff exemptions for specific product categories critical to both the US and Chinese economies, even if the two sides are not yet able to hammer out broader trade terms. But some observers are more optimistic than others.
Many financial analysts have said the Chinese delegation will likely maintain a hardline posture in the early talks, which they predict could drag on for several months or longer. They point to a statement from Chinese officials earlier this week that said their participation in the talks is not a sign of them caving to U.S.
pressure, but based on a consideration of global expectations, China's interests and appeals from American businesses and consumers. At a daily press conference on Wednesday, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry stated that Beijing's, quote, position of firmly opposing U.S. abuse of tariffs has not changed.
They added, quote, if the United States wants to resolve the issue through negotiations, it must face up to the serious negative impact of unilateral tariff measures on itself and the world, end quote.
But despite their face-saving rhetoric, the significant impact the tariffs have already had on China's export-dependent economy may make the CCP more willing to find a diplomatic off-ramp to the trade war. The CCP has already begun quietly exempting a host of U.S.-made products from their 125% retaliatory tariff.
While China is not publicly acknowledging the exemptions, they are substantial, applying to roughly $40 billion in goods, or nearly a quarter of all Chinese imports from the US this year. The exemptions cover a range of products, from pharmaceuticals and industrial chemicals to aviation components and critical inputs for electronics manufacturing.
Since early April, Beijing has also been privately surveying businesses about other potential sectors where tariff waivers might be appropriate. Analysts say that this quiet approach by the CCP shows that China is eager to de-escalate, even as they publicly maintain their hardline messaging demand that the US back down.
Still, so far, the exemptions have not been enough to stop the financial bleeding. As we discussed earlier this week on the PDB, the mounting strain of the tariffs on China's economy has been difficult for the CCP to contain.
Factory activity in China has now slipped into its sharpest contraction since late 2023, and numerous Chinese manufacturers have paused production entirely and shut down operations as they scramble to find new buyers.
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Chapter 4: Why is Ukraine accusing Hungary of espionage?
Ukraine's intelligence service, also known as the SBU, announced the arrest of the two suspects on Friday, identifying both as former members of the Ukrainian military and claiming that their supervisor is a Hungarian military intelligence officer. The activity of the alleged spies was said to be focused on the Zakarpattia region that runs along Ukraine's border with Hungary.
and is home to a substantial Hungarian ethnic minority. Budapest and Kyiv have often clashed over the rights of ethnic Hungarians in the region, which until the end of World War I belonged to Hungary.
Officials with Ukraine's SBU said the operatives were conducting activities, quote, to the detriment of our state, allegedly gathering intelligence on military defenses and identifying vulnerabilities in its ground and air defense systems.
Even more troubling, they were also reportedly assessing the political views of local residents, specifically how residents would react if Hungarian troops crossed the border into the region. Detailing the allegations, SBU officials said one of the suspects was allegedly recruited by Hungarian intelligence more than four years ago and placed on standby in 2021.
According to a report from the Kyiv Independent, he was, quote, activated in September of 2024 and subsequently carried out reconnaissance regarding the location of S-300 air defense systems and the deployment of Ukrainian troops.
He then crossed the border in Hungary to deliver reports to his handler, who provided him with cash to fund the operation and ordered him to establish a network of informants. Ukrainian officials surveilled him as he reportedly tried to recruit at least two other individuals.
The suspect had a second meeting with his handler in March of 2025, where he received a phone encoded with a special software for covert communications. He returned to Ukraine with orders to track Ukrainian military vehicles and report on developments from the front lines of the war. The second suspect is a former member of Ukraine's security forces who left her position earlier this year.
She was allegedly tasked with tracking military aircraft operating in the Zakarpattia region and spilling secrets regarding air defense systems operated by her former military unit. Hungary's foreign minister was quick to hit back at the allegations of espionage, calling Kyiv's claims, quote, anti-Hungarian propaganda.
We should note, however, that he did not expressly deny that Hungarian espionage cells are operating inside Ukraine. The foreign minister said, quote, I urge everyone to exercise caution against any news that appears in Ukrainian propaganda. If we get any details or official information, then we can deal with it, end quote.
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Chapter 5: How might the BRICS nations' summit impact the U.S. dollar?
The suspects, meanwhile, face charges of treason, which is punishable in Ukraine by life imprisonment. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Friday, the 9th of May. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And, according to all available intelligence, today is Friday.
And as with every Friday, that means we'll be launching a brand new episode of the PDB Situation Report this evening at 10 p.m. on The First TV. Our excellent guests this week include Jeff Smith from the Heritage Foundation and the always insightful China analyst and author Gordon Chang.
We'll be examining the growing conflict between India and Pakistan, got to keep your eye on that one, and digging into the current trade war between the U.S. and China. As always, you can catch the Situation Report on our YouTube channel. Check that out. You can find it at President's Daily Brief and, of course, all podcast platforms everywhere.
I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back over the weekend with the PDB Situation Report. Until then, well, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. Hey, Mike Baker here. I want to take just a few seconds of your time to talk about fitness, right? That's a very important subject. You know that. Look, more and more Americans are making their health and fitness a priority again, and that's terrific news.
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