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Expected U.S. Tariffs On China May Start Trade War; How North Korea Is Portraying Trump-Kim Talks; New York Attorney General Sues Trump And Children; U.S. Justice Department Slams Comey Over Clinton Email Probe; Trump Imposes Tough Tariffs Against China; Second Day Of Tournament Begins In Russia; U.N. Ambassadors Take To The Field; Rohingya Refugees Face Deadly Monsoon Rains; Mother Goddess Worship Surges in Vietnam; Beyond Plastic; Laid To Rest. Aired at 8-9a ET

Aired June 15, 2018 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[08:00:00] KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kristie Lu Stout and welcome to NEWS STREAM. Tariff standoff -- the U.S is expected to announce new

duties on Chinese exports and Beijing says it is ready to respond. Charity lawsuit, why the New York Attorney General is going after Donald

Trump's charitable foundation. And Iberian showdown, Spain and Portugal get ready to go head to head at the World Cup.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And we begin with what will no doubt be a major escalation and tension between the world's two largest economies. Now a source tells CNN

that U.S. President Donald Trump has approved tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese exports.

An official announcement is expected soon. China, for its part, says it will respond immediately. Mr. Trump has threatened tariffs against China

for months as punishment for stealing trade secrets. We have Matt Rivers live in Beijing with more, but first let's go to CNN Money Chief Business

Correspondent Christine Romans in New York. And, Christine, let's talk about the list. What sectors on the list to be targeted by these Trump

tariffs?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN MONEY CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, we're expecting any moment -- literally, any moment to get that final list this

morning, new tariffs likely, new tension between the world's largest economies.

We're told the president gave the green light to this list after meeting with his trade team. That means U.S. companies will pay the tariff to the

U.S. government when they import goods from China. Companies can either absorb that higher cost, or pass it along to consumers.

The U.S. targeting 1,300 items, we're told, and these are the categories we're expecting, aerospace equipment, tech, manufacturing, medical

supplies. We don't expect on the list to be some popular retail items that could spark a consumer backlash here in the United States.

The White House first unveiled its initial list in March. It's moving ahead, despite multiple rounds of trade talks with Beijing, the recent

summit with North Korea, and the fact the U.S. is facing tariffs now from the E.U., Canada, and Mexico.

As you said, Kristie, this is punishment for China, the Americans say, stealing trade secrets, and it also helps fulfill Trump's goal -- President

Trump's goal of cutting the trade deficit with China. But Trump's previous economic adviser, Gary Cohn, he fundamentally contradicts his former boss

on trade deficits.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY COHN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISER: He said a trade deficit doesn't matter, and in many respects, it's helpful to our economy, because

if we could manufacture something in the United States cheaper or better than we could import it, we would do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: It is that voice inside the White House that many thought had kept the President from doing this in his first year of office. Now, Gary Cohn

added that he believes very strongly in global free trade, but he's not inside the White House anymore, so this more protectionist agenda --

America First agenda taking hold. Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right. From Christine in New York, let's go to Matt in Beijing. And, Matt, how does China intend to strike back?

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they plan to fight back immediately, Kristie. We have heard right from the get-go, as soon as the Trump

administration announced the potential tariffs, the Chinese immediately came out and said, look, we don't want to fight a trade war, but we will.

And shortly thereafter, they announced their retaliatory list of targets in the United States, targets, exports from the United States here to China.

They will respond in kind, $50 billion worth of tariffs set to have levied against American imports here to China, and the list is quite extensive.

Soybeans, for example, American beef, certain cars, fruits, small airplanes, the list goes on there. And China is expected to release their

final list about tariffs on American products shortly after the Americans release their own list.

But the big question here, Kristie, is where does it go from there? We kind of know how this is going to play out. The Americans go forward with

their tariffs, the Chinese go forward with those, but what happens next? That's the big question that we don't really have an answer to as of yet.

LU STOUT: Now, Matt, in Beijing, let's ping it back to you, Christine Romans in New York. And, Christine, it's been interesting just to see the

ebb and flow of the tension the last few months of these on and off tariff threats coming from Trump, you know, saying that he's going to strike hard

on China, but then calling Xi Jinping a close personal friend.

You know, is this sort of plastic art of the deal stuff from the U.S. President? Is this his style of pressuring China to address unfair trade

practices?

ROMANS: It's interesting because some would say that he gave away sort of a lifeline on ZTE without getting anything in return at this smart phone

maker. So they're trying to see what the strategy was on ZTE, and after that North Korea summit, many had thought there was also a giveaway there

to the Chinese on North Korea.

The dropping of the -- of the war games, as the president calls them, using Chinese language, actually, to talk about the readiness drills the United

States does with South Korea, so what is the President getting in return?

Then, he now says there will be these $50 billion in tariffs. We're expecting that list to hit at any moment, and Reuters reporting this

morning that they're preparing another $100 billion in tariffs against the Chinese.

[08:05:05] I will say this, Kristie, he has wanted this from the very beginning. This is a campaign promise. He believes the Chinese have

treated the Americans unfairly from years. And this is just a small move to leveling the playing field, with Gary Cohn and the globalist sort of

sidelined in his administration, he feels very strongly that tariffs are the solution here, and that's what -- that's what he's going to do.

LU STOUT: Christine, so glad that you brought up North Korea, because we really want to get Matt Rivers' thoughts on that. So let's take it back to

Matt in Beijing. And, Matt, that big summit earlier this week, you were covering it, and also Pompeo, his visit to Beijing.

He shook hands with Xi Jinping, he thanked China for its commitment to denuclearizing, or help to denuclearized the Korean Peninsula. Do you

think Chinese officials are going to be a little bit less willing to help out on North Korea now that Trump is acting on his trade threats?

RIVERS: Yes, you know, it's an interesting question, Kristie. Publicly, the Chinese would say no, that they don't like to conflate issues that

aren't the same thing. They don't like taking issues about national security issues, about economics, and trade, and make them about one

another.

But, you know, nothing really happens in a vacuum, and so while they might say that publicly, privately, you know, this is going to affect the

relationship. The Chinese might not be surprised by it. The Trump administration has telegraphed these moves for a long time, but that said,

it very well might have an impact.

But one more point I would like to make here, Kristie, is that we shouldn't paint the Chinese as just straight victims in all of this. Yes, there are

plenty of people who will disagree with the President on putting these tariffs on, they might not think it's a good idea.

But there is near universal agreement amongst those who watch this economy here that the Chinese economy remains extremely protectionist, that they do

steal intellectual property, that something needs to be done. There's just disagreement on whether or not tariffs are the right way to do that.

LU STOUT: Got you. Matt Rivers reporting live from Beijing, Christine Romans live from New York, a big thank you to you both. Take care.

Now, while the U.S. President is getting ready for this potential confrontation with China, he's getting much more favorable reception from

North Korea. State media released a video highlighting one moment in particular during the Trump-Kim summit earlier this week. And as Nic

Robertson now reports, it's proven to be quite a propaganda win for Pyongyang.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: This is how North Koreans are being shown President Trump, saluting one of their generals.

The state T.V. video, part of a 45-minute montage of Kim's greatest Singapore moments, all shot by his own state T.V. camera crew, always

close, always the best angles.

Remember this moment? Trump shows Kim the presidential limo, the beast. Now check out the shot from Kim's camera crew. And this is what the North

Korean commentator says, U.S. President personally showed his limousine, which is called the beast, and expressed an exceptional respect, and

affection towards Kim Jong-un.

Exceptional respect and affection, pure propaganda, this is what Kim wanted and got, himself on a par with the world's most powerful politician. Trump

appearing only too ready to help.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Getting a good picture everybody? So we look nice, and handsome, and thin, and perfect.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Beautiful.

ROBERTSON: Even delivering what all the slick North Korean propaganda in the world could not, praise from the U.S. President overlooking Kim's

butchery and barbarity.

TRUMP: He is very talented. Anybody that takes over a situation like he did at 26 years of age, and is able to run it, and run it tough.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Foreign Language)

ROBERTSON: There wasn't a moment in Singapore, it seems, where Kim's camera crew was not at his side, raising him up for the world, and his

people to see, with Trump at his side in some bizarre, weirder than real life reality show cameo. Nic Robertson, CNN, Seoul, South Korea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Mr. Trump faces a new legal battle at home in the U.S. He and his children are being sued by the New York State Attorney General in a

case over the Trump Foundation. The Attorney General accused the family of using the charity as their own checkbook. Jean Casarez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New York's new attorney general is drawing a line in the sand, suing the Donald J. Trump Foundation, the

President's charity, along with its board of directors, President Trump, and his three oldest children, Don Jr., Eric, and Ivanka.

[08:10:04] In the lawsuit Attorney General Barbara Underwood accuses the Trumps of using the foundation as their own personal piggy bank, alleging a

pattern of persistent illegal conduct occurring over more than a decade.

Among the complaints filed, Underwood claims that the Trump Foundation used tax deductible donations to benefit Trump or his businesses, including a

$100,000 payment to a charitable organization.

This document from the complaint allegedly initialed by Donald Trump, authorizes a payment from the charity to settle legal claims against his

Mar-a-Lago resort, and a $10,000 payment to purchase a painting of himself that was up for auction at a charity event later displayed at Trump's golf

club in Miami.

Just before the Iowa caucuses in January of 2016, then candidate Donald Trump skipped the last Republican primary debate, instead he made a big

show of putting together a fund raiser to benefit veterans' organizations.

TRUMP: Say hello.

CASAREZ: While the New York Attorney General claims that event was set up and run by the Trump campaign, and provides e-mail chains to build her

chase.

BARBARA UNDERWOOD, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: I'm unaware of a case in which the foundation involved was run by a sitting president. But there is

no reason why a foundation owned and operated by a sitting president should be exempt from the laws that we routinely apply to other foundations.

CASAREZ: President Trump's sons, Don Jr. and Eric have been members of the foundation's board since 2006. Ivanka joined in 2006 as well, but she

stepped down in 2017 after joining the President's administration. But the investigation found the foundation's board has not met since 1999. Donald

Trump Jr. appeared to downplay the allegation today to CNN, calling it nonsense.

DONALD TRUMP, JR., EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: The timing couldn't be more coincidental, right?

CASAREZ: The foundation fired back saying this is politics at its very worst. And President Trump tweeting, the sleazy New York Democrats, and

their now disgraced, and run out of town A.G. Eric Schneiderman are doing everything they can to sue me on a foundation that took in $18,800,000, and

gave out to charity more money than it took in, $19,200,000. I won't settle this case. Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: The U.S. President is attacking James Comey after the Justice Department released a scathing report about the former FBI director. Mr.

Trump tweeted that the Inspector General's report was a, quote, total disaster for Comey, and he took credit for performing a great service to

the people in firing him.

The 500-page report accused Comey of poor judgment, and improper procedure when he was handling the Clinton e-mail probe during the 2016 presidential

campaign, and it says he broke protocol when he publicly announced that Hillary Clinton would not be prosecuted.

It also says he was insubordinate for keeping his boss out, then U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch out of the loop before making that

announcement. The report revealed Comey sometimes used a private e-mail account for official FBI business.

And it rebuked FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page for their anti- trump texts. But the Inspector General did say this, he found no evidence that Comey was biased, or politically motivated, refuting the President's

narrative that the FBI was trying to keep him out of the White House. But Mr. Trump's allies, they are seizing on the report to undermine the Mueller

investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S PERSONAL ATTORNEY: Tomorrow, Mueller should be suspended, and honest people should be brought in, impartial

people to investigate these people like Strzok. Strzok should be in jail by the end of next week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton, the woman at the center of this storm, tweeted this, in a reference to Republican attacks on her, but my e-

mails, unquote. Now this just in, towards here at CNN, Donald Trump has imposed, as expected, new tariffs on $50 billion worth of goods against

China.

Let's bring in Matt Rivers live from Beijing. Matt, the White House statement is out. Do we have any more clarification about which industries

are being targeted in China, and also how is China to going to retaliate in turn?

RIVERS: Yes, no real surprises here. We're just going through this statement from the White House, and basically, it's laying out the fact

that these tariffs are going to go through. No real surprises here, $50 billion at a rate of 25 percent tax on a number of different industries.

And they will go into effect at some point.

We don't know the final list yet. We're still waiting to get that detail in terms of the exact products, Chinese imports, that will be taxed.

[08:15:02] We also don't know exactly when they will be implemented although the White House has said recently that it will be very soon after

this list is released.

So no surprise there, but let's talk just for a second about what exactly is going to be targeted. They are targeting industries that take -- that

make up the China -- Chinese government's plan called Made in China 2025, and what that is, is it's a Chinese government initiative that provides

billions of dollars in loans, and subsidies, what many people would call unfair market loans, unfair market practices.

It gives these Chinese companies a leg up against market-based competition, but what these industries are, are the kind of tech industries that China

wants to dominate in the future, or at least make sure that it doesn't rely on foreign technology as much as in the past.

So there's a number of different industries, you've got I.T., Kristie, aerospace, new energy vehicles, artificial intelligence, robotics, those

are the industries.

And again, we don't have this final list, but those are the industries that the White House says they are targeting with these tariffs. They don't

think that this government plan is a good idea. They think it harms American business, and so these tariffs are what the Trump administration

has done to combat that.

LU STOUT: And this is -- it's about protecting American business interests, American businesses' intellectual property, and also just

addressing finally unfair trade practices.

You know, just across the board, it doesn't matter if you talk to Republicans or Democrats, people have said that they're very upset with how

American businesses have been treated in China. In your discussions over the years with U.S. business leaders there in China, what have they told

you?

RIVERS: Yes, I mean, they're saying the exact same thing. They think that this is a problem, and it's been a problem. And it's not just intellectual

property theft. It's forced technology transfers. It's these unfair kind of subsidies that they give to Chinese companies in the tech sector,

especially, big companies like Tencent and BYJU.

Some would argue that they would never have gotten to as big as they are without these kind of subsidies, and also a restriction of market access.

Remember, Google, Facebook, YouTube, none of those companies -- although YouTube is a part of Google, but none of those companies have been allowed

to operate here in China.

So when people talk about China as a protectionist country, a protectionist economy, when people talk about the fact That xi Jinping being held up as

some sort of model for global free trade is all, you know, really just kind of laughable, that's what they're talking about there.

What those same business leaders here that we would speak to in China would tell you though, Kristie, is that they're nervous about these tariff, maybe

this could be a good thing, maybe this prompts the Chinese government to change their actions, but there's no proof that that's going to happen, and

where does this end?

The Chinese are expected to retaliate very quickly. I am not going to be surprised if my inbox pops up here in a second with a list from China's

Commerce Ministry of the American goods that are going to be targeted here, so where does this end?

Fifty billion from the Americans, $50 billion from the Chinese, the Donald Trump administration has said they might do $100 billion more in tariffs if

the Chinese actually retaliate here. So where does this end? And that's what we don't know, and that's why people are afraid of this trade war

that's been on again, and off again for so long.

LU STOUT: Yes, it's hard to imagine right now any sort of talks to dial this back. This could very well be a long battle ahead. Matt Rivers

reporting live for us in this breaking news story from Beijing. Thank you so much, Matt. Take care.

Just two days after Spain replaced their manager on the eve of the World Cup, no less, the 2010 champions face Portugal in Sochi. We're going to be

live in Moscow with the latest next.

[08:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Now, after weeks of hand-wringing, the Egyptian King didn't quite make it. Mohamed Salah, Egypt's star player was not fit enough to

start against Uruguay on his birthday after injuring his shoulder in the Champions League Final three weeks ago.

Later on, Portugal will face Spain in the biggest game of the tournament so far. Ronaldo, Ramos, and Iniesta will face off in Sochi, just two days

after Spain replaced their manager on the eve of the tournament.

Let's get the latest on today's World Cup action. We've got World Sports Alex Thomas in Red Square in Moscow live for us. Hey, Alex, it's good to

see you again. Mohamed Salah, not in Egypt's starting line-up. This must be a massive disappointment for the country.

ALEX THOMAS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, finally, we've got the truth about how fit Mo Salah is after crashing to the turf during that Champions League Final

for his club, Liverpool, last month against Real Madrid, and then limping off from that game. We thought his World Cup might be over.

At least he's at the tournament, but I think most experts agree if Salah was fit enough to play, he would start this match, the hardest Egypt will

face in group A. These are the two nations expected to qualify, although now they're both under pressure after in that same group Russia thrashed

Saudi Arabia 5-0, so lots of cutaways from the T.V. coverage of Salah watching nervously from the bench.

Will Egypt's coach risk him later? If it's (Inaudible) or Uruguay only won that ahead. We'll have to wait and see. Also interesting to see some

empty seats in that stadium in Sochi, that's the most southern of all the venues.

It's only a 35,000 capacity, Kristie, and when you consider you've got the likes of Salah potentially for Egypt on display, and certainly the likes

Luis Soares, a Barcelona megastar playing for Uruguay, strange to see that a little bit empty.

LU STOUT: Yes, also ahead, we're going to see a hard profile clash. No empty seats in this one. But team Portugal and Spain, all eye on Cristiano

Ronaldo and Spain's very new coach. What should we expect?

THOMAS: Yes. High-profile, the understatement of the century, isn't it? This is an absolute blockbuster with Ronaldo having finally got that major

title to his name two years ago, Euro 2016, Portugal's first major football title up against Spain who are no strangers now to major titles because

before Portugal became European champions, Spain had the one the previous two champions in 2012 and 2008.

They are the 2010 world champions as well. So this is an absolute meeting of football -- international football giants. We know all about what's

going on the Spanish Cup, and the Spanish champ leading up to this with their coach being sacked. It's anyone's guess how this is going to go.

We're just going to sit back and enjoy it.

LU STOUT: Clash of the titans later today. Alex Thomas across all the action, thank you. Enjoy the show. Now the World Cup is going to be

watched, of course, all over the globe, but what happens at the building where the world meets every day? Well, CNN's Richard Roth reports,

ambassadors got a jump on the cup to prepare for World Cup fever.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When the Russian ambassador to the U.N. practices a header, you know it's World Cup time.

VASSILY NEBENZIA, U.N. RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR: I feel like we're already in the stadium.

ROTH: You have heard of the fog of war. Well, next to U.N. headquarters, cutting tough the fog of diplomacy on the north lawn, delegates from the 32

countries competing in the World Cup, and even some who didn't make it to Russia staged some friendlies.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The World Cup brings the world together, and that is the business of the U.N. too.

ROTH: It was like a dress rehearsal for the World Cup.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's an intense match indeed. But that sport, it means that when we are playing sport, we forget about all our differences.

ROTH: No Messi or Ronaldo, but there was the Algerian ambassador.

SABRI BOUKADOUM, ALGERIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: It's better that we fight on the soccer field than here at the U.N.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Much more peaceful than they usually deal with each other.

[08:25:00] ROTH: One ringer on the field, Real World Cup winner Lothar Matthaus of Germany, which hosted the cage matches. Can they play?

LOTHAR MATTHAUS, GERMANY WORLD CUP WINNER: I think they have passion. This is the most important. I tell the same to the children. You have to

play soccer with passion, and with love.

ROTH: I noticed some of the diplomats apparently faking injuries there, imitating some sports stars. Did you observe that? That wasn't very U.N.-

like.

MATTHAUS: That was a bit surprising, but I think they were all very friendly at the end.

ROTH: This was a pitch where no player or country could veto any action. Can I ask you why the host of the World Cup is not playing on the field?

NEBENZIA: I'm a scout. I'm choosing players for my team next time.

ROTH: In the same group as Russia at the World Cup, Egypt. The Russian Ambassador Nebenzia threaten you at all here?

BOUKADOUM: Not at all. Not yet.

ROTH: Richard Roth, CNN, United Nations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Nice to see some action outside the U.N. assembly hall. You are watching News Stream. And up next, the world's two biggest economies are

edging toward a full-blown trade war. I'm going to be speaking to an expert about how Donald Trump's new tariffs against China are shaking up

the global trading order.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. Our top story this hour, President Donald Trump has now officially imposed

tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese exports. Those will apply to more than 800 products.

China is vowing an immediate response. Mr. Trump says all of this is punishment for the Chinese theft of U.S. intellectual property. Now, these

tariffs against China, they come as Mr. Trump is picking fights also with Canada, with Mexico, and the E.U.

Now, let's bring in Robert Koepp, he is the Director of the Economist Corporate Network, and he joins us now for more on this breaking news story

this hour. And Robert, thank you for joining us.

ROBERT KOEPP, DIRECTOR, ECONOMIST CORPORATE NETWORK: Thank you for having me.

LU STOUT: He's gone ahead, and he's done this, Donald Trump has slapped tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods. Is this the beginning of a

trade war?

KOEPP: We'll have to see. They have a real trade war, you have to have back and forth, and China has promised retaliation, and then to really

escalate to what we would call more than just a skirmish, it takes what Trump has threatened, another $100 billion worth of tariffs following that.

Once we get to that stage, and we really see escalation, we can call it a war. It's still early stage. But it certainly a hostile act from the

perspective of China.

LU STOUT: As you said, China said it will respond. So, just how far can China go to retaliate? How can China really hurt the United States in

return?

[08:30:00]

KOEPP: It can make it a lot more difficult. I mean, Chinese market is by no means easy for foreign companies to operate in and so their real

leverage is to make it even tougher.

One thing that's kind of interesting is Qualcomm, U.S. chief manufacturer, that has had a lot of the issues the Trump administration is alleging for

it's technology transfer and so forth. It's trying to make an acquisition of European company, but China over issues of anti-monopoly laws can veto

that. And it's been said that they've approved it internally but they're waiting to see what the U.S. does.

So that deal, for example, might just go to the wayside now. China might reject it even though it previously internally approved it on the merits of

the economic, you know, validation of the acquisition, that it wouldn't actually threaten Chinese competition. So, that's one example of what we

might see as the first kind of fallout of the escalating trade tensions.

LU STOUT: Yeah, a variety of American industries are bracing for the fallout, including tech sector, you mentioned Qualcomm.

KOEPP: Yup.

LU STOUT: Why did Trump launch this? What is his goal here? You know, he's doing this to pressure China into action on trade. Could it work? Could it

actually make China fall in line and end unfair trade practices?

KOEPP: Well, believe it or not, this is somewhat unorthodox and certainly I must say, you know, my own media organization, The Economist, is very

much against tariffs, I personally am too. I think for a light of economic reasons, they don't make sense.

But to your point, Kristie, the toughness, China respects strength. That's part of its political economy, it's part of its political mindset. And so

strangely enough, although there's not a lot of economic justification for the action, one does wonder if, in fact, it might compel China to come to

the negotiating table and start to open up its markets. That's certainly the strategy implied in all the announcements that have come from the Trump

administration.

LU STOUT: And the economic impact, as this potential trade war begins, you know, we do have legitimate tension. It's going to have an impact on U.S.

businesses in China. It's going to have an impact on China's own rapid growth. And it's going to have a global economic impact as well.

KOEPP: Yeah. Yes, absolutely. In fact, one of the interesting stories that sometimes comes up but I don't think is discussed enough is this trade

imbalance with China isn't just with China. China, you know, is a final assembler of a lot of products, including things like the iPhone, so

American products that are being imported, and you have certain components.

In fact, the U.S. is one of the top three suppliers of components to Chinese manufacturing, so it's countries like Japan, the U.S. itself, South

Korea, Taiwan, not to be politically incorrect, the area of Taiwan, we'll just say. Anyway, but those are, you know, external trading partners to

mainland China, and they're all in that value chain. So, they're also exposed.

In fact, based on the size of their economies, they're more exposed than China with the exception of the U.S., but the U.S. will also suffer in this

in any day and it is something that goes way beyond China, absolutely.

LU STOUT: Yeah, with the global economy being exposed here, there is a lot at stake, so what is the solution? Can there be talks to dial this back or

could this just be a long, tit for tat battle ahead?

KOEPP: I'm afraid pessimistic outlook and one that kind of seems to apply as we see the current state of negotiations is the latter. That it's more

tit for tat retaliation until both sides and really kind of all sides involved in the World Trade Organization and the various multilateral

agreements start to realize some of the problems.

I would say the deeper issue with all of this is actually populism. It's the thing that created Trump's rise to power. It's also what we see with

Brexit and what we see going on in Italy and so forth. So that's the deeper issue.

It's making fair trade seem like it's fair for everybody, not just the global corporations, and I will include myself, global elites, who profit

from the global economy. We need to make average workers more participatory in this system.

LU STOUT: Yeah, we appreciate your analysis on this breaking news story. Robert Koepp of The Economist Corporate Network.

KOEPP: Thank you.

LU STOUT: You know, and also walking through just what is at stake here globally. Thank you so much and take care.

KOEPP: Thank you.

LU STOUT: Now, another story that we're monitoring is the situation about the Rohingya crisis and refugees in Bangladesh already struggling for

survival there. They are now facing the season's first monsoon rains and international aid groups are warning that the weather is threatening the

health and safety of some 200,000 people, half of whom are children.

For now, only for now, the rain has let up. That's according to aid workers on the ground. But already there are reports that a toddler has been killed

by a collapsing wall. UNICEF says nearly 10,000 people have been directly affected by the downpours. Hundreds of shelters, latrines, support

facilities have been either damaged or destroyed.

[08:35:02] Alastair Lawson Tancred of UNICEF Bangladesh spoke with CNN from Cox's Bazar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALASTAIR LAWSON TANCRED, SPOKESPERSON, UNICEF BANGLADESH: It is possible to build alternative accommodations elsewhere from the really dangerous areas, but it's a huge logistical task. So while there is a lot

of bamboo to build those shelters and while the refugees and aid agencies are adept at building those temporary shelters quickly, it's still a huge

and difficult task because you're talking about so many people.

So, what is happening alone, officials on the ground are going around to more dangerous structures, the more dangerous shelters, and advising those

families to move. Some cases, those families don't want to move for understandable reasons because they've faced upheaval so many times before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Alastair Lawson Tancred of UNICEF Bangladesh speaking to CNN earlier. More than 2.5 meters of rain are expected to fall in Cox's Bazar

over the next couple of months.

You're watching "News Stream." We'll be right back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: That is Hong Kong on a Friday night. Welcome back. You're watching "News Stream." A folk religion known as Mother Goddess Worship is

enjoying a resurgence in Vietnam. What began as a recognition of women as agricultural deities has evolved into a popular religion and includes song,

dance, fashion, and the channeling of spirits. Curry (ph) has more now in CNN's "Destination Hanoi."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): It's the first day of the lunar month in Hanoi and the faithful are flocking to the temple to make their offerings.

Many here identify as Buddhist, while others came to worship the mother goddesses, a folk religion from the 16th century indigenous to Northern

Vietnam.

NGUYEN NGOC MAI, VIETNAM INSTITUTE OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES (through translator): The worship of mother goddesses is a popular religion in

Vietnam. It's been around for a long time. Vietnam is an agricultural country, so the worship of agricultural goddesses is especially common.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Nguyen Ngoc Mai has been studying Mother Goddess Worship for 18 years. Her research focuses primarily on the ritual

of spirit possession or Hau dong, the most important practice in the faith.

On the edges of Hanoi, a Hau dong ritual is under way. In front of the altar dedicated to the goddesses, the medium drapes a scarf over his head

in order to channel the various deities.

NGUYEN DUC HIEN, MEDIUM: They're acting into my body. When you see, listen to the nice music and the music on summit, you feel with the god. Many

things go into my body, so it's quite different from normal acting in life.

[08:39:56] UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Once the scarf comes off, the spirit is said to have descended, inducing the medium into a trance.

The first form the medium takes, a fortune-telling princess named Win Ho (ph) who blesses her devotees with money in a heady, flamboyant mix of

music and dance, fashion and fire.

NGOC MAI (through translator): Mediums are people chosen by the deities. Hau dong or spirit possession is a way to show their desire to be protected

by mother goddesses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): In 2016, UNESCO recognized Mother Goddess Worship as part of Vietnam's intangible cultural heritage. In a country

with a proud lineage of strong women, the folk religion is enjoying the resurgence in interest and acceptance.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: That was cool. Now, it is the final straw for the world's largest fast food chain. McDonald's has announced it is replacing plastic

straws with paper straws at its restaurants in the U.K and and Ireland by next year.

Now the company said it made the decision due to growing opposition to single-use plastic in the U.K. In April, the British government announced a

plan to ban plastic straws and cups as part of its plan to cut waste. Bravo.

Now, Stephen Hawking was a brilliant leader in showing the world the mysteries of space and now scientists are immortalizing a part of him in

the stars. Right now, Hawking's voice is being sent to one of the most famous black holes in the universe.

The great composer, Vangelis, set Hawking's iconic voice to an original piece of music and scientists, they used an antenna in space to send it

3,500 light years away. His ashes were interred in the past hour between the graves of Charles Darwin and Sir Isaac Newton the at London's

Westminster Abbey. A final farewell.

And that is "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout. But don't go anywhere. "World Sport" with Christina Macfarlane is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)

END