
Amazon ‘applauds' Canada's scrapping of tech tax
The digital services tax, enacted last year, would have seen US technology giants such as Amazon on the hook for a multibillion-dollar payment in Canada by Monday, analysts have said.
US President Donald Trump had slammed the tax and called off trade talks with Ottawa, which reversed course and binned the tax on Sunday.
The tax had been forecast to bring in 5.9 billion Canadian dollars ($4.2 billion) over five years.
'Amazon applauds Canada's decision to rescind the Canada Digital Services Tax Act,' an Amazon spokesman told AFP.
'Digital services taxes are discriminatory, stifle innovation, and harm consumers, and we appreciate the US government's work to address DSTs around the world,' he said.
Austria, Brazil, Britain, France, India, Italy, Spain and Turkey are among a dozen large countries that have imposed or planned to impose special taxes on big tech firms.
The goal is to force them to pay taxes where they carry out business as well as to counter the strategies they often use to reduce their tax bills.
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The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Trump tours 'Alligator Alcatraz' as he pushes for more deportations
OCHOPEE, Florida (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday toured a remote migrant detention center in the Florida Everglades dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" as his Republican allies advanced asweeping spending bill that could ramp up deportations. The facility sits some 37 miles (60 km) from Miami in a vast subtropical wetland teeming with alligators, crocodiles and pythons, fearsome imagery the White House has leveraged to show its determination to purge migrants it says were wrongly allowed to stay in the country under former President Joe Biden's administration. Trump raved about the facility's quick construction as he scanned rows of dozens of empty bunk beds enclosed in cages and warned about the threatening conditions surrounding the facility. "I looked outside and that's not a place I want to go hiking anytime soon," Trump said at a roundtable event after his tour. "We're surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland and the only way out is really deportation." The complex in southern Florida at the Miami-Dade Collier Training and Transition Airport is estimated to cost $450 million annually and could house some 5,000 people, officials estimate. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has said he will send 100 National Guard troops there and that people could start arriving at the facility as soon as Wednesday. In promoting the opening of the facility, U.S. officials posted on social media images of alligators wearing Immigration and Customs Enforcement hats. The Florida Republican Party is selling gator-themed clothing and beer koozies. Two environmental groups filed a legal motion last week seeking to block further construction of the detention site, saying it violated federal, state and local environmental laws. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. district court, said construction will lead to traffic, artificial light and the use of large power generators, all of which would "significantly impact" the environment. The groups, Friends of the Everglades and Center for Biological Diversity, said the site is located at or near the Big Cypress National Preserve, a protected area that is a habitat for endangered Florida panthers and other animals. "Putting aside whether intractable political gridlock over immigration reform constitutes an 'emergency,' it does not give license to the state and federal governments to simply disregard the laws that govern federal projects affecting environmentally sensitive lands, essential waterways, national parks and preserves, and endangered species," the groups wrote. Some local leaders, including from the nearby Miccosukee and Seminole tribes, have objected to the facility's construction and the construction has drawn crowds of demonstrators. Trump dismissed environmental concerns on Tuesday, saying in wide-ranging remarks that the wetlands' wildlife would outlast the human species. He said the detention facility was a template for what he'd like to do nationwide. "We'd like to see them in many states," Trump said. HARDLINE POLICIES The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate voted on Tuesday to pass a bill that adds tens of billions of dollars for immigration enforcement alongside several of the president's other tax-and-spending plans. Trump has lobbied fiercely to have the bill passed before the July 4 Independence Day holiday, and the measure still needs a final sign-off from the House of Representatives. The Republican president, who maintains a home in Florida, has for a decade made hardline border policies central to his political agenda. One in eight 2024 U.S. election voters said immigration was the most important issue. But Trump's campaign pledges to deport as many as 1 million people per year have run up against protests by the affected communities, legal challenges, employer demands for cheap labor and a funding crunch for a government running chronic deficits. Lawyers for some of the detained migrants have challenged the legality of the deportations and criticized the conditions in temporary detention facilities. The numbers in federal immigration detention have risen sharply to 56,000 by June 15, from 39,000 when Trump took office, government data show, and his administration has pushed to find more space. The White House has said the detentions are a necessary public safety measure, and some of the detained migrants have criminal records, though U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention statistics also show an eight-fold increase in arrests of people charged only with immigration violations. Trump has spoken admiringly of vast, isolated prisons built by El Salvador and his administration has held some migrants at the Guantanamo Bay naval base, in Cuba, best known for housing foreign terrorism suspects following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat who represents a district near the Florida facility, said in an emailed statement that 'Trump and Republicans badly need this wasteful, dangerous, mass misery distraction' from a bill that would cause state residents to lose their health care benefits. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington, Evelyn Hockstein and Maria Alejandra Cardona in Ochopee, Florida; Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Ted Hesson; Editing by Mary Milliken, Colleen Jenkins, Nick Zieminski and Alistair Bell)

Malay Mail
an hour ago
- Malay Mail
Ticking clock on tariffs: Where major US trade talks stand as July 9 deadline looms
WASHINGTON, July 2 — Negotiators from more than a dozen major US trading partners are rushing to reach agreements with US President Donald Trump's administration by a July 9 deadline to avoid import tariffs jumping to higher levels, and Trump and his team kept up the pressure on Monday. With only a limited deal with Britain completed so far, Trump has repeatedly threatened just to send a series of letters to trading partners identifying what their new tariff rate will be after the deadline, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the risk of tariffs going up next week is real. 'We have countries that are negotiating in good faith, but they should be aware that if we can't get across the line because they are being recalcitrant, then we could spring back to the April 2 levels,' Bessent said on Bloomberg Television on Monday. 'I hope that won't have to happen.' Just over a week remains before tariffs ranging from 10 per cent to 50 per cent on goods from many other countries could be imposed if those countries fail to agree on bilateral trade deals in time. Trump on April 9 put a 90-day pause on the stiff levies he had announced the previous week that sent global financial markets into a tailspin. Stocks have rallied back to record highs since then on optimism that deals will be completed on time, or the deadline perhaps extended again. Here is where some of the key negotiations stand for several US trading partners: European Union The European Union Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic is flying to Washington on July 1 to meet with his US counterparts, and has welcomed draft proposals from the US Progress has been opaque, but the 27-member EU has said its regulations on social media and other technology companies, much stricter than those in the US, are not up for negotiation. The EU, meanwhile, is open to a US deal that would apply a universal 10 per cent tariff on many of its exports, but the bloc is seeking US commitments to reduce tariffs in key sectors such as pharmaceuticals, alcohol, semiconductors, and commercial aircraft, Bloomberg reported. The EU is also pushing the US to implement quotas and exemptions to effectively ease Washington's 25 per cent tariff on automobiles and auto parts, as well as its 50 per cent tariff on steel and aluminum, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Japan Japan says it is working to reach an agreement with the US while defending its national interest. Trump, meanwhile, continues to accuse Japan of 'unfair' automobile trade with the US, making it unclear how American importers of Japanese cars might avoid tariffs of 25 per cent. Trump has also suggested Japan should import more US oil, among other goods. On Monday, Trump said Japan could be among those he sends a letter to identifying its tariff rate after he complained about import restrictions it imposes on America-grown rice. 'I have great respect for Japan, they won't take our RICE, and yet they have a massive rice shortage,' he said in a Truth Social post. 'We'll just be sending them a letter, and we love having them as a Trading Partner for many years to come.' India Early optimism has faded, with India-US talks stalling on disagreements over US tariffs on auto components, steel and agricultural goods. Indian trade officials in Washington have said they are willing to extend their stay, with the main sticking point being on whether India is willing to ease trade protections on dairy, almonds, pistachios, walnuts, soybeans and its other agricultural products and whether the US will ease tariffs on imports of Indian steel and car parts. US President Donald Trump delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C. April 2, 2025. — Reuters pic Indonesia Accused by some other countries of excessive red tape, Indonesia eased import licensing requirements for some goods and waived import restrictions on plastics, chemical products and other industrial raw materials on June 30, seen as a gesture of goodwill towards Trump's July 9 deadline for trade talks. Indonesia has also invited the US to jointly invest in a state-owned Indonesian minerals project as part of its tariff negotiations. South Korea Despite frequent rounds of talks and some preliminary agreements, South Korea said it would seek an extension on Trump's July 9 deadline. South Korea already imposes virtually zero tariffs on US imported goods under a free-trade agreement, and so the US has focused on other issues, including foreign exchange rates and defence costs, with Trump often complaining about the cost-sharing arrangement for the 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea. Thailand With the threat of Americans having to pay 36 per cent tariffs to import Thai goods, Thailand has projected optimism about its talks with the US, its largest export market. Thailand's proposals have included reducing its own tariffs, purchasing more American goods and increasing investments. Britain Britain has raced ahead of other countries: as of June 30, tariffs on US imports of British cars are down to 10 per cent, down from an earlier 27.5 per cent, and removed entirely for aircraft engines and other aerospace goods. The two countries are still negotiating tariffs on British steel and aluminum, with Britain seeking to avoid the 50 per cent tariffs the US has imposed on importing these goods from many other countries. China US-China talks are on a different track, with a deadline for completing a wider agreement set for August. Talks between the two have faltered on the selling of rare earth minerals and magnets to the US, with China suspending those exports in response to Trump's tariffs announcement in April, upending global supply chains. In late June, the US said it had reached an agreement with China to resume those exports while the two economic superpowers continue to negotiate a broader trade deal. — Reuters


New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Thailand's political crisis: what we know
BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended by the Constitutional Court pending a probe into her ethics during a diplomatic spat with Cambodia. The development comes at the same time as a cabinet reshuffle, setting the scene for a remarkably rapid rotation schedule at the prime minister's office. Here is what we know about the crisis: Thai analysts say transport minister and deputy prime minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit, from Paetongtarn's own Pheu Thai party, will initially take charge as acting prime minister. But just hours before Paetongtarn's suspension, Thailand's king approved a cabinet reshuffle after her biggest coalition partner quit the government over the diplomatic row. The new office holders will be sworn in on Thursday, when outgoing defence minister Phumtham Wechayachai will be sworn in as interior minister. He will also resume his previously held role as deputy prime minister. He is also expected to step into the role of acting premier, two analysts told AFP, the third person to control the office in three days. But Paetongtarn's father and the family patriarch Thaksin Shinawatra is said to remain the true driving force of the Pheu Thai party, even as its fortunes fade. The path forward is unclear. There is no set time limit for the Constitutional Court's investigation, but if it finds Paetongtarn has breached ministerial ethics she could be removed from office permanently. In the cabinet reshuffle Paetongtarn assigned herself the portfolio of culture minister, meaning she may keep a perch in the upper echelons of power. But her position and her coalition are severely weakened, even though they still command a parliamentary majority which reduces the chance of an imminent election. Another Thai analyst, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, said Paetongtarn's suspension plunged her into "a prolonged political limbo." "Thailand will have a rudderless government with policy inertia and murky directions ahead," he told AFP. "With Pheu Thai's weak grip on power, infighting and squabbling will likely characterise the coalition government." The court case was brought against the heiress of the powerful Shinawatra dynasty by conservative lawmakers accusing her of breaching a requirement for "evident integrity" during a diplomatic call with Cambodia. Thailand and Cambodia have long been at loggerheads over a territorial dispute, which intensified into a cross-border clash in May that left one of Phnom Penh's troops dead. When Paetongtarn called Cambodian ex-leader Hun Sen to discuss the row she called him "uncle" and referred to a Thai military commander as her "opponent", sparking widespread backlash over her rhetoric. The Constitutional Court said there was "sufficient cause to suspect" Paetongtarn may have breached ministerial ethics in the conversation, a recording of which was leaked in Cambodia. Paetongtarn said she accepts the court's decision to suspend her. "I will do my best to explain my intention," she told reporters. "It's always been my intention to do the best thing for my country."