CTV National News: New England states welcome eastern Canadian premiers
Massachusetts' governor hosted several Canadian premiers and New England state governors in an effort to show unity. Sarah Plowman has the details.
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National Post
7 minutes ago
- National Post
Carney government tight-lipped on fulfilling campaign promise to raise pay for RCMP cadets
OTTAWA — While the federal Liberal government has signalled plans to make good on its campaign promise to give raises to military members, it is keeping tight-lipped about whether it intends to do the same for RCMP recruits. Article content During this spring's federal election campaign, Prime Minister Mark Carney pledged to bolster the national police force by hiring another 1,000 members, creating a new academy within the RCMP's Depot training division, and, according to the Liberal platform, 'increase pay for cadet recruits.' Article content Article content Hiking the pay that RCMP cadets receive during their 26-week training program from its current $525 per week is one of the requests that the National Police Federation, the union representing RCMP members, has made of the government in recent budget cycles. The force itself supports the move, as it seeks ways to boost sluggish recruitment numbers. Article content Article content 'The RCMP plays a vital role in keeping Canadians safe, and we remain firmly committed to supporting their important work,' wrote spokesman Simon Lafortune in an email. Article content 'Given the federal government's ongoing pre-budget consultation process, we will refrain from commenting at this time.' Article content John Fragos, a spokesman for Finance Minister Francois Philippe-Champagne, who is planning to present the Carney government's first budget in October, said in a separate statement that it would have more to say then. Article content Article content 'The minister is engaging in pre-budget consultations with stakeholders and agencies alike. This process spans 45 cities in every province and territory,' Fragos said. Article content Article content Unlike other departments and federal agencies that Champagne has asked to find up to 15 per cent in 'annual savings,' the RCMP, along with the Canada Border Services Agency and Department of National Defence, have only been asked to find two per cent in savings over the next three years. Article content Brian Sauve, president of the National Police Federation, said hiking the pay for RCMP recruits would be the 'easiest' change the government could make as it looks for ways to help modernize the force's recruitment process, citing how those who join other police services start receiving a salary from 'day one.'
CTV News
7 minutes ago
- CTV News
Trump says U.S. will set 15% tariff on South Korean imports under new deal
WASHINGTON/SEOUL — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the U.S. will charge a 15 per cent tariff on imports from South Korea, down from a threatened 25 per cent, as part of a deal that eases tensions with a top-10 trading partner and key Asian ally. South Korea also agreed to invest US$350 billion in the United States in projects selected by Trump and to purchase energy products worth $100 billion. The arrangement, announced after Trump met with Korean officials at the White House, came during a blizzard of trade policy announcements. Many countries are rushing to cut deals ahead of Aug. 1, when Trump has promised higher tariffs will kick in. 'I am pleased to announce that the United States of America has agreed to a Full and Complete Trade Deal with the Republic of Korea,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. The negotiations were an early test for South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who took office in June after a snap election. He said the deal eliminated uncertainty and set U.S. tariffs lower than or at the same level as major competitors. 'We have crossed a big hurdle,' Lee said in a Facebook post. Trump said Lee would visit the White House 'within the next two weeks' for his first meeting with the U.S. president. South Korea will accept American products, including autos and agricultural goods into its markets and impose no import duties on them, Trump added. South Korea's top officials said the country's rice and beef markets would not be opened further, and discussions over U.S. demands on food regulations continue. Seoul appeared to have defended its non-tariff barriers while keeping its tariff rate on par with Japan and the European Union, said Citi economist Kim Jin-wook. 'While the headline figure looks like a huge win for the U.S., details appear to be favorable for South Korea,' he said. Devil in the details South Korea seems to have avoided the worst, agreed Cheong In-kyo, a former South Korean trade minister. But he also said opinions about the deal could change if the $350 billion was not well spent. It was not clear what the investment would involve, where the financing would come from, over what time frame deals would be implemented and to what extent their terms would be binding. Trump said additional South Korean investments would be announced later. Of the total, $150 billion is aimed at a shipbuilding partnership, while $200 billion would include chips, nuclear power, batteries, and biotechnology, Kim Yong-beom, the South Korean presidential office's policy chief, told a briefing. He said 'ambiguity is good,' while adding that negotiators had ensured there would be safeguards over how the funds were used. Existing investment plans by South Korean companies would be part of the fund, according to another presidential official. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a post on X that 90 per cent of the profits from the $350 billion fund were 'going to the American people.' Kim said South Korea understands that to mean that some profits could be reinvested. The energy purchases would include LNG, LPG, crude oil, and a small amount of coal, he added. 'This is within our usual import volume,' he said, noting it might lead to a 'slight shift' in the country's mix of imports from the Middle East to more American sources. Lutnick said the energy purchases would happen 'over the next 3.5 years.' The tariff rate on South Korean autos would also be 15%, Lutnick said, which is down from the current rate of 25%. Lutnick also said semiconductor and pharmaceutical exports would not be treated more harshly than those from other countries. Steel, aluminum, and copper were not covered by the new deal. Scramble in South Korea South Korea is one of three Asia-Pacific countries that had a comprehensive free trade agreement with the United States, but that did not spare it from new tariffs. Negotiations took place in a turbulent political environment in South Korea with former President Yoon Suk Yeol removed in April after he was impeached for trying to impose martial law. Pressure on negotiators increased after Japan clinched its deal earlier this month. South Korea has been a particular target of Trump for its trade surplus and the cost of maintaining some 28,500 U.S. troops in the country to defend against North Korea. Last year South Korea posted a record $55.7 billion trade surplus with the United States, up 25 per cent from a year earlier. South Korean companies welcomed the deal, saying it would reduce uncertainty. Amid the last-minute push to reach a tariff agreement, Samsung Electronics inked a $16.5 billion chip deal with Tesla. LG Energy Solution also signed a $4.3 billion deal to supply Tesla with energy storage system batteries, a person familiar with the matter said. What we know about South Korea's trade deal with the US (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Ju-min Park; Additional reporting by Joyce Lee, Jihoon Lee, Hyunjoo Jin, Josh Smith, Ed Davies, and Jack Kim in Seoul; Writing by Trevor Hunnicutt and Josh Smith; Editing by Stephen Coates and Edwina Gibbs)
CTV News
7 minutes ago
- CTV News
Trump tariffs face key test at U.S. appeals court
A U.S. appeals court on Thursday will review U.S. President Donald Trump's power to impose tariffs, after a lower court said he exceeded his authority with sweeping levies on imported goods. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., will consider the legality of 'reciprocal' tariffs that Trump imposed on a broad range of U.S. trading partners in April, as well as tariffs imposed in February against China, Canada and Mexico. A panel of all of the court's active judges, eight appointed by Democratic presidents and three appointed by former Republican presidents, will hear arguments scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET in two cases brought by five small U.S. businesses and 12 Democratic-led U.S. states. The arguments - one day before Trump plans to increase tariff rates on imported goods from nearly all U.S. trading partners - mark the first test before a U.S. appeals court of the scope of his tariff authority. The president has made tariffs a central instrument of his foreign policy, wielding them aggressively in his second term as leverage in trade negotiations and to push back against what he has called unfair practices. The states and businesses challenging the tariffs argued that they are not permissible under emergency presidential powers that Trump cited to justify them. They say the U.S. Constitution grants Congress, and not the president, authority over tariffs and other taxes. Trump claimed broad authority to set tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a 1977 law historically used for sanctioning enemies or freezing their assets. Trump is the first president to use it to impose tariffs. Trump has said the April tariffs were a response to persistent U.S. trade imbalances and declining U.S. manufacturing power. He said the tariffs against China, Canada and Mexico were appropriate because those countries were not doing enough to stop illegal fentanyl from crossing U.S. borders. The countries have denied that claim. On May 28, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade sided with the Democratic states and small businesses that challenged Trump. It said that the IEEPA, a law intended to address 'unusual and extraordinary' threats during national emergencies, did not authorize tariffs related to longstanding trade deficits. The Federal Circuit has allowed the tariffs to remain in place while it considers the administration's appeal. The timing of the court's decision is uncertain, and the losing side will likely appeal quickly to the U.S. Supreme Court. The case will have no impact on tariffs levied under more traditional legal authority, such as duties on steel and aluminum imports. Trump's on-again, off-again tariff threats have roiled financial markets and disrupted U.S. companies' ability to manage supply chains, production, staffing and prices. The president recently announced trade deals that set tariff rates on goods from the European Union and Japan, following smaller trade agreements with Britain, Indonesia and Vietnam. Trump's Department of Justice has argued that limiting the president's tariff authority could undermine ongoing trade negotiations, while other Trump officials have said that negotiations have continued with little change after the initial setback in court. Trump has set an Aug. 1 date for higher tariffs on countries that don't negotiate new trade deals. There are at least seven other lawsuits challenging Trump's invocation of IEEPA, including cases brought by other small businesses and California. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled against Trump in one of those cases, and no judge has yet backed Trump's claim of unlimited emergency tariff authority. (Reporting by Dietrich Knauth; Editing by David Bario, Noeleen Walder and Leslie Adler)
