Seesawing Tariffs, Trump's Middle East Agenda, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial

0:01A temporary softening of tariffs on Chinese products has investors relieved. And some business owners are racing to import merchandise, but... We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. It's very unpredictable. I'm Leila Faldil with Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News. President Trump is in Riyadh for his first overseas state visit, and leaders in the region are prepared to make deals with the famously transactional president. You'll see Mr. Trump's visit. There'll be a whole slew of economic agreements that will be signed joint ventures investment agreements. What do Gulf states want in return?

0:39And jurors heard graphic allegations on day one of Sean Diddy Combs' sex trafficking trial. His defense team argues that Combs is a complicated man, but not a criminal. Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.

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2:26Grammarly is the essential AI communication assistant that boosts your productivity at work so you can get more of what you need done faster. Just a few clicks can tailor your tone and writing so you come across exactly as you intend. Get time back to focus on your high-impact work. Download Grammarly for free at grammarly.com slash podcast. That's grammarly.com slash podcast. A temporary trade deal between the U.S. and China has set off a scramble to bring merchandise across the Pacific Ocean while lower tariffs are in place. No one's sure what's going to happen when the deal expires in 90 days, but a lot of importers aren't taking any chances.

3:07NPR's Scott Horsey is with us now to tell us more about this. Good morning, Scott. Good morning, Michelle. You know, so the president's tariffs had made investors and business owners very uneasy these last several weeks. How are they reacting to, I guess we'll call it a temporary reprieve? Well, investors were thrilled. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared more than 1 ,100 points yesterday. For the importers I talked to, the reaction was more determination and a feeling that, all right, it's time to get back to work. A lot of importers had been in a holding pattern since those 145 % tariffs took effect last month.

3:41Now the tariffs have been cut to 30%, at least temporarily. And for Jonathan Silva, who runs a Massachusetts company making high-end board games in China, that was enough to green light nine truckloads of games that had been parked in China to start their journey to the U.S. We need to get product back on shelves. I think that we're really getting close to the tipping point of starting to see some shortages. But at 30%, it's not ideal. You know, there'll be slight price increases. Silva is hoping to bring a lot more merchandise in before the Christmas season, but he's just not sure how much he'll be able to manufacture and ship before this 90-day window closes.

4:19And why is that? Well, think about it. A huge number of U.S. businesses rely on factories in China. And when those triple-digit tears took effect last month, it was like pinching off a garden hose. Now the hose is partially unkinked, and there's a lot of pent-up pressure. Bonnie Ross is a clothing importer who works with a lot of discount chains. She says they're all going to be rushing to bring in merchandise, but the capacity of the hose, you know, the factories, the cargo ships, the ports, is still limited. Now, everybody who has goods that are sitting in China that they have not put on a vessel that were ready, now it's going to be a rush because everybody wants it out in the next 90 days.

4:58What is going to happen to the freight rates? Shipping costs could certainly go up, and that's on top of the remaining tariffs, which are still 30%, Ross thinks those costs will be shared by factories, retailers, and in the end, yes, consumers. Forecasters at the Yale Budget Lab say the economic damage from these lower tariffs will be less, but they're still projecting the U.S. will have higher inflation and slower growth than it would have without this trade war. Were the people you talked to and the analysts you follow surprised by how much these tariffs came down, at least temporarily? Yeah, I think the market reaction suggests this was a bigger drop in tariffs than investors had been expecting.

5:36And that's just another sign of how unpredictable the tariff landscape is under the Trump administration. Import taxes can go up or down or sideways, and businesses and consumers just have to try to make the best of it. that uncertainty about future tariffs also makes it hard to decide, is it worth moving a factory out of China or running the expense of building a plant in the U.S.? Board game maker Jonathan Silva says no matter what happens to tariffs, he is going to explore those options. He doesn't want the risk anymore of having all his production in China. The past 40 days has been the hardest 40 days in all of our business's life.

6:15And I'm glad that we're going to be able to come out of it, but we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. It's very unpredictable. Silva is still bracing for difficult months ahead, but at least now he thinks his business can survive this year, which was very much in doubt when the triple-digit tariffs were in place. Wow, that's a lot. That's NPR's Scott Horsley. Scott, thank you. You're welcome.

6:43President Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia today for the first overseas state visit of his second term. He'll also be making stops in Qatar and the UAE. It's a high-stakes trip with huge business deals at play, and it comes as Gulf Arab states are hyper-focused on transforming their economies. Trump will be leaning on his personal ties with Arab leaders to make deals happen. Joining us now to talk about what to expect from the visit is NPR international correspondent Ayah Bertrawi. She's in Riyadh. Ayah, good morning. Thanks for joining us. Good morning, Michelle. So tell us what's happening in Saudi Arabia, where you are today.

7:18So it began with Trump's arrival. You know, he was greeted on the tarmac by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. And that's in contrast with Biden's visit here when they only fist bumped and the Crown Prince didn't even go out of his way to meet, you know, the president back then at the tarmac. Now, Trump is different. You know, he's transactional. And what that means for the Gulf and Gulf leaders here is that they know that if they deliver on big weapons purchases and other investments in the U.S., Trump will give them something in return for their security. Ali Shehebi, a Saudi analyst, says there are huge economic interests on both sides.

7:49You'll see Mr. Trump's visit. There'll be a whole slew of economic agreements that will be signed, joint ventures, investment agreements. That economic side also is very important, but it also upholds the political and military involvement of America. So what Ali's saying here is that these big business deals, the bulk of them in weaponry and defense sales, are not just about economics. This maintains America's position as the Arab Gulf's main security guarantor at a time when Russia and China also have major inroads in this region. I just want to go back to that moment where Trump was greeted and received warmly by the crown prince upon his arrival.

8:23Trump's personal relationship with Gulf rulers is something that he seems to be proud of. He says it helps him get deals done that benefit the U.S. So can you just tell us more about those ties? Yeah, those personal ties are linked to his family's business interests in the Gulf. just less than two weeks ago. His son, Eric Trump, who runs the family business of the Trump Organization, was in the region launching new projects, a Trump hotel tower in Dubai, a Trump golf course in Qatar. There's also money from the Gulf flowing into the Trump family's cryptocurrency venture. And Qatar has just offered Trump a new Boeing airplane to replace one of the aging Air Force One jets.

8:57But also Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has$2 billion invested in his private equity fund from a Saudi fund overseen by the crown prince. So what we're seeing on this trip is a confluence of all these interests coming together. So Trump's visit is coming at a sensitive time for the Mideast more broadly. There's the war in Gaza, the U.S. nuclear talks with Iran happening. Do we expect Trump to tackle some of these issues on this trip as well? He has to. I mean, this region is interconnected. And what happens in Gaza is not only deeply emotional for the Arab public here, you know, seeing tens of thousands of Palestinians killed and the population they're starving under Israel's blockade, but it's also drawn in the Houthis from Yemen attacking ships in the Red Sea.

9:35And there's also issues concerning Syria, whether the U.S. will lift sanctions now under a new government there, or how much Trump will give Iran nuclear talks time to plan out. I know all this will be raised by Gulf leaders in their conversations. And for Trump, you know, he really wants to cap his presidency with another Abraham Accords deal, the prize being Saudi Arabia and Israel establishing ties. But Saudis have been clear it's not going to happen without an end to the war, a path towards Palestinian state. But, you know, the U.S. has direct talks with Hamas now, and that led to yesterday's release of the last living American held in Gaza.

10:05So Trump is clearly doing things differently. And I think the perception here in the Gulf is that is exactly what's needed right now. That is NPR's Aya Bertrawi. And Riyad, Aya, thank you. Thanks, Michelle.

10:24The trial of Sean Combs is underway in New York City. The rapper, producer, and businessman known as Diddy faces charges that include sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. Combs has been in custody since September. He was in court yesterday as both the prosecution and the defense laid out their opening statements to jurors. NPR's Isabella Gomez-Sarmiento was there, too, and she's with us now. And here is where I want to let you know that we are about to discuss allegations of sexual assault, and that might be uncomfortable for some. That being said, Isabella, good morning. Good morning.

10:57So tell us what happened on the first official day of this trial. It was a very busy day. The courtroom was completely packed. Combs was seated at a table with his defense team. In the time since he's been in jail, his hair has gone gray. He smiled and blew kisses at his children who sat and watched the proceedings. And once opening arguments started, there was a lot to take in. The prosecution alleged that Combs operated his businesses as a criminal enterprise to carry out and cover up a number of crimes, including arson, bribery, and sex trafficking by coercion. They said Combs used his status and power to violently force two ex-girlfriends into a number of sexual acts they didn't want to partake in, and that he victimized his own employees through threats, kidnapping, and even sexual assault.

11:42The defense admitted that Combs has a temper and can be physical, but they argued that those ex-girlfriends were engaged in consensual yet toxic relationships that are unrelated to the 55-year-old's media, music, and fashion companies. They called the allegations a money grab. You also heard from the prosecution's first witnesses. What did they say? Yeah, two government witnesses took the stand. They were both asked to describe instances in which Combs allegedly behaved violently towards his ex-partner, the singer Cassie Ventura. So one revolved around a 2016 incident in a Los Angeles hotel. Many people have seen a surveillance video obtained and released by CNN last year that shows Combs kicking and dragging Ventura.

12:21The first witness was a former hotel security guard who responded to that altercation. He said Ventura had a, quote, purple eye when he arrived on the scene. Several angles of the video footage were shown in court. The second witness was a man who says he received money from Ventura in exchange for having sex with her while Combs watched. But he said he became scared and worried for his own safety and that of Ventura when he witnessed Combs attack her more than once. So we were hearing that name quite a lot, Cassie Ventura. Is she the most important figure in the prosecution's case against Combs?

12:53Yeah, it seems that she's very central to this case. You might remember that she filed the first prominent civil lawsuit against Combs in the fall of 2023. He denied those allegations and they settled out of court. But the behavior that she described in her lawsuit, allegations that Combs supplied her with drugs, beat her, forced her to have sex with male escorts, all of this was at the center of opening arguments. She's not the only alleged victim who will take the stand, but she's certainly the most well-known one, so we expect there will be a lot of attention on her when she does appear. Do we know when that's going to be?

13:23The prosecution has not released an official schedule, but it appears that she'll be in the courtroom very, very soon. She's expected to describe how she met Combs as a teenager, signed to his record label, and eventually began dating him, and how that relationship allegedly took an abusive turn. Combs' defense attorney, Tenny Garagos, argued that Sean Combs is a complicated person, But this is not a complicated case and that he's not guilty of sex trafficking, transporting to engage in prostitution or racketeering conspiracy. That is NPR's Isabella Gomez-Sarmiento. Isabella, thank you. Thank you.

14:04President Trump suspended refugee resettlements in the U.S. at the beginning of his second term, but the administration made an exception for white South Africans. Yesterday, a chartered flight carrying 59 Afrikaners landed in Virginia, where members of the administration welcomed them as refugees. We underscored for them that the American people are a welcoming and generous people. That's State Department Deputy Secretary Christopher Lando greeting the Afrikaners. He said the administration made an exception for these white descendants of Dutch settlers, in part because they could be, quote, assimilated easily into the U.S.

14:39South African officials say Trump has fallen for false claims that Afrikaners have faced racial discrimination and violence since the end of white minority rule in South Africa. In a statement, Democratic U.S. Senator Jean Shaheen criticized the administration for admitting Afrikaners into the U.S., while thousands of previously approved refugees from places like Afghanistan remain in limbo. Yasmeen Aguilar works at a refugee resettlement agency in Idaho. She says she has family from Afghanistan awaiting resettlement. My brother and sister are still not here, like some other refugees who are in the pipeline for a long time, and approved waiting to travel and come to safety.

15:19Yesterday, the Episcopal Church announced that it's ending its federally funded refugee resettlement program after the government asked it to help find housing for Afrikaners in the U.S. The church has ties to the Anglican Communion, of which the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the noted cleric and anti-apartheid activist, was a member.

15:42And that's up first for Tuesday, May 13th. I'm Michelle Martin. And I'm Leila Falden. If you like Up First, you'll love it on the NPR app. That's where you'll get the latest news and the best podcasts from NPR's network. Find it in your app store. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Keri Khan, Jacob Gantz, Rafael Nam, Ali Schweitzer, and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Ana Perez, Nia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent, and our technical director is Carly Strange. We hope you'll join us again tomorrow.

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