As US grapples with China relations, Taiwan's president scraps stop on American soil
Amid speculation that the Trump administration had opposed a proposed stopover by Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te in New York, Taipei said Lai had no overseas travel plans due to domestic issues, including natural disasters and tariff negotiations with the United States. The other proposed stop on Lai's itinerary was Dallas, Texas.
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Champagne, Anand travelling to Mexico to strengthen Canada's trade ties: sources
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne says he and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand will be travelling to Mexico City to look at strengthening Canada's economic partnership with Mexico. The meetings will be constructive in that respect — looking at markets, looking at diversification, looking at strengthening our partnership with our Mexican colleagues, Champagne told Radio-Canada in Trois-Rivières, Que., on Monday afternoon. The news was first reported Sunday evening by the Globe and Mail. Two senior Canadian government sources told CBC News the meetings are happening tomorrow and Wednesday. The ministers are expected to return to Canada on Thursday. The sources say the goal of the visit is to advance Canada's bilateral relationship with Mexico and strengthen trade ties. Champagne and Anand are expected to meet with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday morning. Enlarge image (new window) Sheinbaum at the inauguration of a community hospital in Vicam, Sonora state, Mexico in mid-July. On Thursday, Trump posted on social media that he and Sheinbaum had agreed extend an existing trade deal for 90 days. Photo: Reuters / Mexico Presidency Champagne said the visit is all complementary to what we've been saying — that we need to engage with strategic partners around the world. And if you look at the [U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement] as a trading bloc, that's the second-largest trading bloc in the world. So it is important for us to engage with our Mexican friends, the finance minister added. One source told CBC that the trip is all about relationship building and the two ministers' expected meeting with Sheinbaum will lay the groundwork for a future bilateral meeting between the Mexican president and Prime Minister Mark Carney. Carney and Sheinbaum have spoken at least four times since the prime minister came into office. In June, the two met at the G7 Leaders' Summit in Alberta. A press release posted on Carney's website (new window) said he and Sheinbaum agreed to deepen bilateral collaboration at the ministerial level and they looked forward to meeting again in Mexico in the coming months. Trump extends tariff deal with Mexico The Canadians' visit comes days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he had agreed with Sheinbaum to extend an existing trade deal with Mexico for 90 days and continue talks over the period with a goal of signing a new deal. Mexico will continue to pay a 25% Fentanyl Tariff, 25% Tariff on Cars, and 50% Tariff on Steel, Aluminum and Copper, Trump said in a Truth Social post. Additionally, Mexico has agreed to immediately terminate its Non Tariff Trade Barriers, of which there were many. Enlarge image (new window) Carney, Trump and Sheinbaum will renegotiate the trilateral free trade pact known as the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement in 2026. Photo: Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press, Marco Ugarte/The Associated Press, Manuel Balce Ceneta/The Associated Press Canada did not get an extension. Trump signed an executive order raising tariffs on Canadian goods that are not compliant with USMCA to 35 per cent. The carve-out for USMCA-compliant goods means very few Canadian products will actually be subjected to the elevated tariff. The U.S. president criticized Canada's lack of co-operation in curbing the flow of fentanyl southward and for retaliating against his existing tariffs. On Sunday, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said he expects (new window) Carney and Trump will have a conversation with each other over the next couple of days. LeBlanc left Washington earlier this week without a trade deal, but he told host Margaret Brennan, host of CBS's Face The Nation, that he came out of discussions "with a better understanding of the American concerns in the trading relationship. So we're prepared to stick around and do the work needed, LeBlanc added. With files from Philip Ling
Winnipeg Free Press
3 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Milei vetoes pension and disability spending increases, citing fiscal deficit pledge
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Libertarian President Javier Milei on Monday vetoed an attempt to increase spending on pensions in Argentina and a law expanding protections for people with disabilities, saying the legislation would have undermined his flagship pledge to eliminate the country's chronic fiscal deficit before October's midterm elections. In publishing the veto decisions, Milei's administration said that Congress last month passed the spending bills — meant to more fully compensate retirees for inflation and offer more financial benefits for people with disabilities — 'without determining the source of the funds.' It said the bills 'contradicted (Milei's) popular mandate' to bring down inflation. Since coming to power in late 2023, Milei has vetoed all efforts to boost public spending, often wielding the slogan 'there is no money' against people's demands that he restore subsidies. The government projects that the additional expenditures, including a 7.2% pension increase, will amount to about 0.9% of gross domestic product this year and 1.68% next year. 'This president prefers to tell an uncomfortable truth rather than repeat comfortable lies: There is no money,' the government said. Spinning off the slogan of his ally, U.S. President Donald Trump, it added: 'The only way to make Argentina great again is with effort and honesty, not the same old recipes.' Last year Milei racked up Argentina's first annual fiscal surplus in 14 years by making painful cuts to social spending and public works. The austerity measures helped drive down Argentina's monthly inflation rate to below 2% in June for the first time in five years, compared to more than 25% when Milei entered office in December 2023. But the fiscal shock program has also deepened economic misery for many Argentines: Unemployment has climbed, wages adjusted for inflation have declined and prices are still up 40% year-on-year. Congress can still overturn these vetoes with a two-thirds majority in both chambers, a challenge for Milei's libertarian party, which holds only a small minority of seats. Milei, whose relationship with lawmakers has been tense ever since he took office, last year managed to win enough votes from his party's closest ally, the conservative PRO bloc, to prevent the pension increases. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Milei is looking to Argentina's crucial midterm elections in October to boost his party's representation as he seeks to continue his fiscal balance drive and draw more foreign investment. The elections are widely seen as a referendum on his two years in office. Retirees have been at the forefront of protests against Milei's government. Every Wednesday now for months, dozens of older Argentines struggling to scrape by on pensions of just $400 a month have faced off against security forces armed with tear gas and water cannons. ____ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
Winnipeg Free Press
33 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
In his own words: Trump's comments over the past year on the jobs report
WASHINGTON (AP) — In firing the head of the agency that produces monthly jobs figures, President Donald Trump alleged that the recent weaker-than-expected numbers were phony and that positive numbers reported before the 2024 election were manipulated to make him look bad. It's a familiar cadence Trump has adopted in reacting to jobs reports: He treats the figures as legitimate when they are favorable to him and fraudulent when they are less than stellar or seem to benefit his opponent. A look at some of Trump's observations on jobs reports over the past year: Aug. 5, 2024 'STOCK MARKETS ARE CRASHING, JOBS NUMBERS ARE TERRIBLE, WE ARE HEADING TO WORLD WAR lll, AND WE HAVE TWO OF THE MOST INCOMPETENT 'LEADERS' IN HISTORY. THIS IS NOT GOOD!!!' — Trump post on Truth Social Suggesting President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were responsible, Trump was reacting to the news that U.S. employees had added 114,000 jobs in July — 35% fewer than expected — and that the unemployment rate was at its highest level in nearly three years. Nov. 1, 2024 'Today's jobs report is a great embarrassment for our Nation. Kamala has lied for years about their pathetic job growth, which has never been real. Kamala killed 46,000 manufacturing jobs, while 773,000 Americans have lost employment in just the last year — all while their jobs have been taken by foreign-born workers. America is a Nation in Decline because Sleepy Joe, and Lyin' Kamala, didn't do their job. 'TRUMP' WILL FIX IT! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! GO VOTE!' — Trump post on Truth Social Days ahead of the presidential election, Trump blasted news that U.S. employers had added just 12,000 jobs in October, a total that economists say had been held down by the effects of strikes and hurricanes that left many workers temporarily off payrolls. Nov. 4, 2024 'Nearly 250,000 people dropped out of the labor force. They dropped out because they couldn't get a job. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine? These are the numbers, and they don't want to talk about it, but that's OK. These numbers are disqualifying.' — Trump campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, around 220,000 people left the civilian U.S. workforce from September to October 2024 during Biden's presidency. April 4, 2025 'GREAT JOB NUMBERS, FAR BETTER THAN EXPECTED. IT'S ALREADY WORKING. HANG TOUGH, WE CAN'T LOSE!!!' — Trump post on Truth Social Trump quickly praised news that in March, U.S. employers had added a surprising 228,000 jobs, showing that the American labor market was in solid shape as he embarked on a risky trade war with the rest of the world. The hiring numbers were up from 117,000 in February and were nearly double the 130,000 that economists had expected. June 6, 2025 'GREAT JOB NUMBERS, STOCK MARKET UP BIG! AT THE SAME TIME, BILLIONS POURING IN FROM TARIFFS!!!' — Trump post on Truth Social Trump responded enthusiastically to the initial numbers on the May jobs report, which indicated that the economy added 139,000 jobs. That estimate was later revised down to 125,000 jobs, prior to the most recent revision down to just 19,000. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Aug. 1, 2025 'I was just informed that our Country's 'Jobs Numbers' are being produced by a Biden Appointee, Dr. Erika McEntarfer, the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, who faked the Jobs Numbers before the Election to try and boost Kamala's chances of Victory. … I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY.' — Trump post on Truth Social Trump ousted McEntarfer following a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported, taking issue in subsequent days to the revisions of jobs figures that are a regular occurrence with the monthly reporting. ___ Kinnard can be reached at
