
Bank of Canada holds policy rate at 2.75 percent
According to the central bank, the country's GDP rose in the first quarter of 2025 due to a pull-forward in exports to get ahead of tariffs, but it likely declined by about 1.5 percent in the second quarter, mostly due to a sharp reversal in exports following the pull-forward, as well as lower U.S. demand.
GDP growth may pick up to about 1 percent in the second half as exports stabilize and household spending increases gradually, said the central bank.
It added that its Governing Council is proceeding carefully, with particular attention to the risks and uncertainties facing the Canadian economy derived from higher U.S. tariffs and trade disruptions.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Trump's tariff, trade deals come under fire from experts at home, abroad
NEW YORK: United States (US) President Donald Trump's latest round of sweeping tariff measures and his handling of recent trade negotiations have drawn strong criticism from experts both domestically and internationally, reported Xinhua. Trump has not only signed an executive order to further revise tariff rates for 69 trading partners, but also announced a few high-profile trade deals that critics dismissed as "exaggerated, wrong, and false." "Whatever progress that's ultimately achieved as part of these new trade deals and duty rates will come at the steep price of significant US tariff increases and the erosion of trust with America's key partners," said Jake Colvin, head of the National Foreign Trade Council. "Institutionalising the highest US duties since the Great Depression, coupled with ongoing uncertainty, is a recipe for making American businesses less competitive globally and consumers worse off while harming relationships with close geopolitical allies and trading partners," Colvin was quoted in a recent Wall Street Journal report. "As of today, US tariff rates are at levels not seen in a century, which will result in hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes paid mainly by American companies and consumers," said Scott Lincicome, vice president of general economics and trade at the Cato Institute. Trade policy remains uncertain, and the US tariff system has gone from simple and transparent to an impenetrable labyrinth of new requirements that will prove particularly costly for smaller American businesses that can't afford either pricey lawyers and accountants or high tariff bills and fines for noncompliance, The Washington Post reported Friday, quoting Lincicome. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, said that the effective US tariff rate, which started this year at just over 2 per cent, looks to settle somewhere between 15 per cent and 20 per cent. "The economic damage from the tariffs is mounting... The damage will soon be obvious as inflation ramps up and businesses conclude that the higher tariffs are here to stay," said Zandi in The Washington Post piece. "While economists don't completely agree, they generally do acknowledge that broad-based tariffs, such as those being implemented, are a bad idea," said Zandi. "Uncertainty is coming down with more trade deals, but tariffs may settle higher than expected, posing risks to our forecasts," said a Friday research note by Claudio Irigoyen and Antonio Gabriel, global economists with Bank of America Global Research. The higher-than-expected tariffs pose upside risks to inflation forecasts and downside risks to growth forecasts, according to the research note. "It's a very high tariff wall," said Deborah Elms, head of trade policy of the Hinrich Foundation. "The cost is going to be significantly higher for American companies and American consumers who will surely respond by buying less," Elms was quoted as saying in a Friday Bloomberg report. "While we haven't returned entirely to a 'law of the jungle' system, we have taken several huge strides back in that direction," said Stephen Olson, visiting senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute and a former US trade negotiator, in a Friday CNBC report. "We've seen numerous changes in the US tariff regime to date, and there could always be more. Companies will be wary of investing and setting plans while uncertainty remains," said Jonathan Kearns, chief economist with Australian investment management firm Challenger Ltd. Kearns, a former high-ranking official with the Reserve Bank of Australia, expected greater pass-through to the US consumer in the months ahead, according to the Bloomberg report.


The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Laos diversifies into nuclear energy with Russian support
FILE PHOTO: Aerial photo taken on July 31, 2020 shows the construction site of the Nam Theun 1 hydropower project in Borikhamxay Province, Laos. Laos aims to diversify power sources, instead of relying heavily on hydropower- Sinohydro 3/Hangout via Xinhua VIENTIANE: Laos is looking to Russian nuclear energy technology to boost its domestic power sector - a vital source of revenue for the landlocked nation. The two governments agreed to sign a roadmap to develop Laos's nuclear energy during Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith's visit to Moscow recently, along with several other bilateral agreements. "One of them is a roadmap for cooperation in the nuclear sector between the Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Laos,' Russian News Agency TASS reported, but no further details were revealed. The Moscow-headquartered Rosatom is the world leader in nuclear energy production. Vientiane Times on Monday (Aug 4) reported that both parties signed the agreement to pursue the nuclear energy programme. "This comes at a time when Laos seeks to harness the peaceful use of nuclear energy to diversify power sources, instead of relying heavily on hydropower,' said the English daily. At least 80 per cent of electricity is produced by hydropower plants. The Lao economy is largely driven by agriculture, tourism, electricity generation, mining, manufacturing and transport sectors. The energy diversification also comes at a crucial time after the United States imposed a 40 per cent tariff on Laos' exports into the country, which could hurt its economy. Nicknamed the "battery of Asia', Laos is trying to emerge as a major energy player in the Asean region and currently exports electricity to Thailand and Cambodia. Last year, it earned about RM4 billion (US$980 million) in electricity exports. It is also part of the ambitious Asean Power Grid, a regional network earmarked to be fully integrated by 2045. The initiative aims to supply affordable energy to about 670 million people in the South-East Asian region. According to the International Energy Agency, coal makes up 38.9 per cent of the Lao's energy mix, followed by 35 per cent hydropower, biofuel and waste at 16.5 per cent, and oil at 9.5 per cent. The Lao president visited Russia from July 30 to August 1 at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. - Bernama


The Star
19 hours ago
- The Star
World economies reel from Trump's tariffs punch
ASIA/SOUTH-EAST ASIA (AFP): Global markets reeled at the weekend after President Donald Trump's tariffs barrage against nearly all US trading partners as governments looked down the barrel of a seven-day deadline before higher duties take effect. Trump announced late Thursday that dozens of economies, including the European Union, will face new tariff rates of between 10 and 41 per cent. However, implementation will be on August 7 rather than Friday as previously announced, the White House said. This gives governments a window to rush to strike deals with Washington setting more favorable conditions. Neighboring Canada, one of the biggest US trade partners, was hit with 35 percent levies, up from 25 percent, effective Friday -- but with wide-ranging, current exemptions remaining in place. The tariffs are a demonstration of raw economic power that Trump sees putting US exporters in a stronger position, while encouraging domestic manufacturing by keeping out foreign imports. But the muscular approach has raised fears of inflation and other economic fallout in the world's biggest economy. Stock markets in Hong Kong, London and New York slumped as they digested the turmoil, while weak US employment data added to worries. Trump's actions come as debate rages over how best to steer the US economy, with the Federal Reserve this week deciding to keep interest rates unchanged, despite massive political pressure from the White House to cut. Data Friday showed US job growth missing expectations for July, while unemployment ticked up to 4.2 percent from 4.1 percent. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 dropped 1.6 percent, while the Nasdaq tumbled 2.2 percent. - Political goals - Trump raised duties on around 70 economies, from a current 10 percent level imposed in April when he unleashed "reciprocal" tariffs citing unfair trade practices. The new, steeper levels listed in an executive order vary by trading partner. Any goods "transshipped" through other jurisdictions to avoid US duties would be hit with an additional 40 percent tariff, the order said. But Trump's duties also have a distinctly political flavor, with the president using separate tariffs to pressure Brazil to drop the trial of his far-right ally, former president Jair Bolsonaro. He also warned of trade consequences for Canada, which faces a different set of duties, after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced plans to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September. In targeting Canada, the White House cited its failure to "cooperate in curbing the ongoing flood of fentanyl and other illicit drugs" -- although Canada is not a major source of illegal narcotics. By contrast, Trump gave more time to Mexico, delaying for 90 days a threat to increase its tariffs from 25 percent to 30 percent. But exemptions remain for a wide range of Canadian and Mexican goods entering the United States under an existing North American trade pact. Carney said his government was "disappointed" with the latest rates hike but noted that with exclusions the US average tariff on Canadian goods remains one of the lowest among US trading partners. - 'Tears up' rule book - With questions hanging over the effectiveness of bilateral trade deals struck -- including with the EU and Japan -- the outcome of Trump's overall plan remains uncertain. "No doubt about it -- the executive order and related agreements concluded over the past few months tears up the trade rule book that has governed international trade since World War II," said Wendy Cutler, senior vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute. On Friday, Trump said he would consider distributing a tariff "dividend" to Americans. Notably excluded from Friday's drama was China, which is in the midst of negotiations with the United States. Washington and Beijing at one point brought tit-for-tat tariffs to triple-digit levels, but have agreed to temporarily lower these duties and are working to extend their truce. Those who managed to strike deals with Washington to avert steeper threatened levies included Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea and the European Union. Among other tariff levels adjusted in Trump's latest order, Switzerland now faces a higher 39 per cent duty. - AFP