Tariffs Turn Optimism to Fatigue & Uncertainty: Daniel Tannebaum

Daniel Tannebaum, Partner at Oliver Wyman, joins from the IMF Spring Meetings in DC to discuss what he's hearing about tariffs and developments in a Ukraine-Russia deal. It comes as President Trump is pressuring Ukrainian President Zelenskiy to accept a peace deal, accusing him of prolonging the war, and says he hopes to meet with Russian President Putin soon. The US has proposed a deal that would effectively freeze the conflict, acknowledge Russia's occupation of Crimea, and ease sanctions on Moscow, but Ukraine and Europe want assurances of a ceasefire and security guarantees before any agreement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reinforced his rejection of concessions to Russia as the war-battered nation was hit by the biggest air strike this year and US President Donald Trump piled pressure on Kyiv to accept a peace deal.

During a visit to South Africa that he cut short after the overnight missile and drone attack, the Ukrainian leader said his openness to potential talks with a government waging war against his country already represents a compromise. He repeated his demand for a full truce.

“We can’t talk about red lines without an unconditional ceasefire,” Zelenskiy told reporters in Pretoria on Thursday alongside South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. He said earlier he would cut his visit short after an overnight Russian strike killed at least nine people in Kyiv.

For his part, Trump condemned the Kremlin attack. “Not necessary, and very bad timing,” he posted on his social media platform as he urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to “STOP!”

Zelenskiy’s wartime diplomacy thousands of miles from the battlefield occurred at a difficult moment, with the US president returning to a barrage of accusations against his Ukrainian counterpart, again blaming him for blocking a deal that Kyiv’s supporters say favors Putin.

Zelenskiy was careful not to criticize Trump, who lashed out at him on social media a day earlier. The US president responded to Zelenskiy’s vow never to recognize Russian sovereignty over Crimea, which the Kremlin annexed illegally in 2014. The US is prepared to recognize Moscow’s control of the Black Sea territory as part of an agreement, Bloomberg has reported. Trump said a proposed deal wouldn’t ask Ukraine to do so.

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China demanded that the US revoke all unilateral tariffs and denied there were talks on reaching a trade deal, maintaining a defiant stance despite President Donald Trump’s recent easing of criticism of the country.

“The US should respond to rational voices in the international community and within its own borders and thoroughly remove all unilateral tariffs imposed on China, if it really wants to solve the problem,” Commerce Ministry spokesman He Yadong said at a regular briefing on Thursday in Beijing.

He also dismissed speculation that progress has been made in bilateral communications, saying “any reports on development in talks are groundless,” and urging the US to “show sincerity” if it wants to make a deal.

The remarks suggest that President Donald Trump’s comments this week signaling that he could lower tariffs on China — which currently stand at 145% for most goods — will not be enough to de-escalate tensions. The US leader said Wednesday that “everything’s active” when asked if he was engaging with China and that Beijing was “going to do fine” once talks had settled.

Trump has tried to get President Xi Jinping on the phone a number of times since he returned to office, but the Chinese leader has, so far, resisted. Beijing wants to see a number of steps from Washington before it will agree to trade negotiations, including showing more respect and naming a point person for the dialogue, Bloomberg News previously reported.

Other conditions include a more consistent US position and a willingness to address China’s concerns around American sanctions and Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing has vowed to claim someday, by force if necessary.

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