Up First from NPR
Trump Changes Tone On Tariffs, Russia And Ukraine, Education Executive Orders
Thu, 24 Apr 2025
President Trump is now saying tariffs on China will come down substantially, striking a very different tone from the tough talk of a few weeks ago. The President lashed out at Ukrainian President Zelenskyy after he rejected U.S. terms to end the war with Russia, and in a series of executive actions President Trump targeted foreign funding and DEI initiatives at universities and K-12 schools.Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today's episode of Up First was edited by Roberta Rampton, Ryland Barton, Steve Drummond, Janaya Williams and Arezou Rezvani. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Zac Coleman. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What changes did Trump make regarding tariffs on China?
President Trump softens his stance when it comes to tariffs on China.
145% is very high, and it won't be that high. It's not going to be that high.
Will his change in tone amount to a change in policy? I'm Amy Martinez, that's Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News. The Trump administration is pressuring Ukraine to accept a U.S.-backed peace deal, but a proposal to accept Russia's control of Crimea was a non-starter for the Ukrainian president. So President Trump attacked him on social media.
Will the White House stay committed to the peace process?
And President Trump signed a sweeping list of executive actions targeting higher education and K-12 schools. They're meant to root out DEI and end foreign funding for college programs. Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.
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On The Indicator from Planet Money podcast, we're here to help you make sense of the economic news from Trump's tariffs. It's called in game theory a trigger strategy, or sometimes called grim trigger, which sort of has a cowboy-esque ring to it. To what exactly a sovereign wealth fund is. For insight every weekday, listen to NPR's The Indicator from Planet Money.
President Trump is singing a slightly different tune when it comes to tariffs on China.
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Chapter 2: Is Trump's change in tone a shift in policy?
The president's high tariffs have sparked a trade war between the world's two largest economies. And while it's not clear Trump is actually changing policy yet, he is changing his tone.
To help us sort this out, we're joined now by NPR White House correspondent Asma Khalid. Asma, good morning. Good morning. So what at this point is the White House saying about tariffs on China?
Well, this week, we've heard the president and some of his top economic advisors acknowledge that the high tariff rates are not a sustainable long-term dynamic. And, you know, just to remind folks where we are at this point, Beijing has a 125% tariff on American goods. This was, of course, in response to a 145% tariff rate that the Trump administration put on Chinese goods.
On Tuesday, the president told reporters that that rate is going to come down substantially.
145% is very high, and it won't be that high. It's not going to be that high. It got up to there. We were talking about fentanyl where, you know, various elements built it up to 145. No, it won't be anywhere near that high.
No, he did not give an actual number. And frankly, even if the tariff rate comes down by double digits, you're still looking at rates that are unprecedented in our lifetime.
Does this really seem like a shift after all this kind of tit for tat, back and forth escalation around this?
Yeah, I mean, it is. And there's really two main reasons for the shift. This tariff rate, you know, if they remain in place, they would virtually bring trade between China and the U.S. to a halt. But this is also fundamentally, Michelle, about the stock market and the economic uncertainty that Trump's tariffs have created.
You know, Trump initially acknowledged that there could be some sort of short-term economic pain, but that it would be worth it. And now you hear his team boasting that they're striking deals, that they're in conversation with some 90 countries. The Treasury Secretary was also out there this week trying to quiet market jitters.
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Chapter 3: What are the implications of Trump's executive actions on education?
You know, one of the criticisms of Trump's approach to negotiations is that it does appear so one-sided. Trump seems to be asking a lot of Ukraine and so little of Russia. Why is that?
Well, Trump seems to say he wants peace now, and he clearly sees leverage over Kyiv as the quickest way to get there. I recently met with Sergei Plurtaev. He's the founder of a political and security platform, VATFOR, in Russia. And he argues Trump isn't offering Moscow concessions, rather acknowledging the facts on the ground. Let's listen.
This is what Russia has provided Russia.
So here, Polovtaev says this is what Russia secured to battle, what it gained by force, not anything Trump, quote, gave us. And Polovtaev, I think, reflects a common view here in Russia that there's not a whole lot Trump can do to change the current battlefield dynamics unless Trump is willing to get more involved in Ukraine.
And based on everything he's done and said, that looks very, very unlikely.
And the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said the U.S. would walk away from peace talks if they don't see progress. Would Russia want that?
Not entirely, because in Moscow's eyes, Trump can deliver some things quicker through diplomacy than Moscow can achieve militarily, which is why I think you see Putin offering proposals like this recent Easter Day ceasefire or possible direct talks with Ukraine to stop attacks on civilians. You know, is that real progress? Probably most would say no.
But Russia's continuance attacks and also it's shown almost no flexibility in the actual negotiations towards ending the war.
Plus, it does seem that Trump has ceded to most of Russia's demands, including a ban on NATO membership for Ukraine. So why isn't Moscow jumping at that offer?
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