WORLD Radio – Tuesday morning news: May 13, 2025
News of the day, including stock market rallies on news of U.S.-China trade truce, President Trump signs order aimed at lowering prescription drug costs, Trump arrives in Middle East, and Israeli-American hostage set free by Hamas
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, speaks during a press conference on trade between the United States and China, in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday. Associated Press / Jean-Christophe Bott / Keystone
China trade » Stocks surged on Monday on news of an agreement between the U.S. and China to de-escalate the trade war.
Economic analyst Mark Hamerick called the market gains a good example of a so-called “relief rally.”
HAMERICK: And essentially we have the equivalent of a truce and, uh, this is, uh, the first step toward what everyone hopes for, which is a total cessation of hostilities.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters in Geneva:
BESSENT: We have, uh, reached an agreement on a 90 day pause and substantially moved down the tariff levels.
Beijing will lower its 125% tariffs on U.S. goods to 10%.
The White House agreed to drop its 145% rate on Chinese goods to 30%.
The way that works out is that the U.S. is actually dropping the rate to 10% … but then adding on another 20% over concerns about Chinese fentanyl flowing into the U.S.
The deal gives the two countries time to reach a larger agreement.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says any new agreements going forward must be fair to the United States.
GREER: The United States Trade deficit has ballooned, uh, over the past several years, uh, ending up at $1.2 trillion deficit in goods as of the end of last year.
That, he said, was a 42% increase over where that trade deficit stood at the end of President Trump’s first term.
Pharma cost cut » President Trump signed an executive order today giving drugmakers 30 days to bring down the cost of prescription drugs. He told reporters:
TRUMP: Today, Americans spend 70 percent more for prescription drugs than we spent in the year 2000.
The order directs the Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate drug prices paid by Medicare to match the lowest prices paid by other countries with advanced economies.
He said governments in many other countries have capped the prices of prescription drugs while Americans paid a lot more for the same medications.
TRUMP: Our country has the highest drug prices anywhere in the world by sometimes a factor of five, six, seven, eight times.
It remains to be seen which drugs will fall under the new order.
Trump Qatar plane » Also on Monday, President Trump said the United States is ready to accept a Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet as a gift from the ruling family of Qatar, which could be converted to serve as Air Force One jetliner for the president.
But whether it would be a gift, a loan, or another form of transfer, has yet to be determined.
Some have raised legal and ethical concerns about such a transfer. But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says:
LEAVITT: Of course, any donation to this government is always done in full compliance with the law, and we commit ourselves to the utmost transparency.
Trump said the United States helps to protect Qatar militarily, and he appreciates the token of goodwill.
Trump Middle East / Ukraine talks » And speaking of Air Force One it touched down this morning in Riyadh Saudi Arabia as President Trump begins a weeklong trip to the Middle East. He’ll also visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
The president will meet with leaders about regional security concerns but he’s also hoping to secure more large economic investments in the United States.
And Trump said he could make an unplanned detour to Turkey if the leaders of Ukraine and Russia move ahead with proposed peace talks Thursday in Istanbul.
TRUMP: I was thinking about actually flying over there. There’s a possibility of it, I guess, if I think things can happen, but we gotta get it done. We gotta save 5,000 lives a week and.
Right now, it’s unclear if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will move ahead with the meeting without a ceasefire in place beforehand. He stated that a 30-day pause in fighting must come before direct talks. Russia’s Vladimir Putin rejected that precondition.
Hamas hostage release » And in Tel Aviv:
SOUND: [Cheers as family reunites]
Cheers, hugs, and tears, as American-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander reunites with his family.
Hamas released Alexander on Monday, more than a year and a half after the terror group kidnapped him during the October 7th attacks.
The head of the medical division of Israel’s health ministry said Alexander will receive both medical and psychological treatment.
She also called on Hamas to release all of the remaining hostages.
MIZRAHI: As a physician and as a human being, I am deeply concerned about the condition of all those who remain in the captivity of Palestinian terrorist organizations and pray for the speedy return home.
Israel officials say Hamas could still be holding more than 50 hostages but they fear that many of those captives are now dead.
India-Pakistan latest Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi says India has only “paused its military action” against Pakistan and is prepared to strike again if provoked. WORLD’s Benjamin Eicher has more.
BENJAMIN EICHER: Modi says India will—in his words—“retaliate on its own terms” if there is any future terror attack against the country.
And he added his government—quote—“will be monitoring every step of Pakistan.”
Those were his first public comments on the cross-border tensions since the neighboring countries agreed to a U.S.-brokered ceasefire over the weekend.
The hostilities between the nuclear-armed rivals flared up after a deadly attack on tourists in Kashmir for which India blamed the Pakistani government. Indian forces responded with missile strikes last week targeting alleged terrorist camps in Pakistan.
For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher.
I’m Kent Covington.
Straight ahead: the Catholic Church has a new pope, what are his top priorities? Plus, rethinking sanctions for Syria.
This is The World and Everything in It.
WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.
Please wait while we load the latest comments…
Please register, subscribe, or log in to comment on this article.
P.O. Box 20002
Asheville, NC 28802
(828) 435-2981
© 1986-2025 WORLD NEWS GROUP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.