Union Pacific announces bid for Norfolk Southern to create transcontinental railroad
The merger would create the first transcontinental railroad in the United States worth more than $200 billion. The railroads said the tie-up would streamline deliveries of raw materials and goods across the country.
Any deal would be closely scrutinized by antitrust regulators that have set a very high bar for railroad deals after previous consolidation in the industry led to massive backups and snarled traffic.
But if the deal is approved, the two remaining major American railroads — BNSF and CSX — will face tremendous pressure to merge so they can compete. The continent's two other major railroads — Canadian National and CPKC — may also get involved.
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Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena, who has been championing the potential benefits of a rail merger, said this deal could make it possible for lumber from the Pacific Northwest and plastics produced on the Gulf Coast and steel made in Pittsburgh to all reach their destinations more seamlessly.
'Railroads have been an integral part of building America since the Industrial Revolution, and this transaction is the next step in advancing the industry,' Vena said.
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Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
US and China agree to work on extending the deadline for new tariffs in trade talks in Stockholm
STOCKHOLM (AP) — The United States and China have agreed to work on extending a deadline for new tariffs on each other after two days of trade talks in Stockholm concluded on Tuesday, according to Beijing's top trade official. China's international trade representative Li Chenggang said the two sides had 'in-depth, candid and constructive' discussions and agreed to work on extending a pause in tariffs beyond an Aug. 12 deadline for a trade deal. 'Both sides are fully aware the importance of maintaining a stable, healthy China-U.S. economic and trade relations,' Li said, without elaborating how the extension would work. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the talks as a 'very fulsome two days with the Chinese delegation." He said they touched on U.S. concerns over China's purchase of Iranian oil, supplying Russia with dual-use tech that could be used on the battlefield, and manufacturing goods at a rate beyond what is sustained by global demand. 'We just need to de-risk with certain, strategic industries, whether it's the rare earths, semiconductors, medicines, and we talked about what we could do together to get into balance within the relationship,' Bessent said. He stressed that the U.S. seeks to restore domestic manufacturing, secure purchase agreements of U.S. agricultural and energy products, and reduce trade deficits. Meeting in the Swedish capital The latest round of talks opened Monday in Stockholm to try to break a logjam over tariffs that have skewed the pivotal commercial ties between the world's two largest economies. The two sides previously met in Geneva and London to address specific issues — triple-digit tariffs that amounted to a trade embargo and export controls on critical products — China's chokehold on rare earth magnets, and U.S. restrictions on semiconductors. Monday's discussions lasted nearly five hours behind closed doors at the office of Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Before the talks resumed Tuesday, Kristersson met with Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer over breakfast. A possible Trump-Xi meeting The talks in Stockholm unfolded as President Donald Trump is mulling plans to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, a summit that could be a crucial step toward locking in any major agreements between their two countries. 'I would say before the end of the year,' Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday. On his Truth Social media platform, Trump insisted late Monday that he was not 'seeking' a summit with Xi, but may go to China at the Chinese leader's invitation, 'which has been extended. Otherwise, no interest!' Bessent told reporters the summit was not discussed in Stockholm but that they did talk about 'the desire of the two presidents for the trade team and the Treasury team to have trade negotiations with our Chinese counterparts.' Greer said the American team would head back to Washington and 'talk to the president about' the extension of the August deadline and see 'whether that's something that he wants to do.' Striking tariff deals The U.S. has struck deals over tariffs with some of its key trading partners — including Britain, Japan and the European Union — since Trump announced earlier in July elevated tariff rates against dozens of countries. China remains perhaps the biggest challenge. 'The Chinese have been very pragmatic,' Greer said in comments posted on social media by his office late Monday. 'We have tensions now, but the fact that we are regularly meeting with them to address these issues gives us a good footing for these negotiations.' Many analysts had expected that the Stockholm talks would result in an extension of current tariff levels, which are far lower than the triple-digit percentage rates proposed as the U.S.-China tariff tiff reached a crescendo in April, sending world markets into a temporary tailspin. The two sides backed off the brink during bilateral talks in Geneva in May and agreed to a 90-day pause — which ends Aug. 12 — of those sky-high levels. They currently stand at U.S. tariffs of 30% on Chinese goods, and China's 10% tariff on U.S. products. The long view While China has offered few specifics of its goals in the Stockholm talks, Bessent has suggested that the situation has stabilized to the point that Beijing and Washington can start looking toward longer-term balance between their economies. Since China vaulted into the global trading system more than two decades ago, Washington has sought to press Beijing to encourage more consumption at home and offer greater market access to foreign, including American-made goods. Wendy Cutler, a former U.S. trade negotiator and now vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said Trump's team would today face challenges from 'a large and confident partner that is more than willing to retaliate against U.S. interests.' Rollover of tariff rates 'should be the easy part,' she said, warning that Beijing has learned lessons since the first Trump administration and 'will not buy into a one-sided deal this time around.' Goodbye Stockholm Bessent said the 'overall tone of the meetings was very constructive" while Li said the two sides agreed in Stockholm to keep close contact and to 'communicate with each other in a timely manner on trade and economic issues.' On Monday, police cordoned off a security zone along Stockholm's vast waterfront as rubbernecking tourists and locals sought a glimpse of the top-tier officials through a phalanx of TV news cameras lined up behind metal barriers. Flagpoles at the prime minister's office were festooned with the American and Chinese flags. ___
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
‘Canada will win' race to bring LNG to Asian markets, B.C. Premier David Eby says
KITAMAAT VILLAGE – British Columbia Premier David Eby says Canadian values will help the country 'win this race' to deliver liquefied natural gas to Asian markets, even as U.S. President Donald Trump sets his sights on developing the industry in Alaska. Eby told a news conference on Tuesday that Canada is a reliable partner, which can deliver the fuel to Asia in a direct, affordable way, while Trump has been 'insulting and demeaning' towards other countries and insists his only concern is America. The premier's remarks came as his government announced a $200-million agreement with the Haisla Nation to support infrastructure for the Cedar LNG project, a floating liquefied natural gas terminal that will be located near Kitimat on B.C.'s northern coast. He says the funding will help the nation build infrastructure, including a new electricity transmission line and distribution lines to power the facility. Eby hailed Cedar LNG as the world's first Indigenous majority-owned liquefied natural gas facility, saying it represents a 'model' for resource development that will help diversify the Canadian economy and reduce reliance on the United States. The premier says Trump has meanwhile shown he will make 'arbitrary and extrajudicial decisions on a whim,' announcing them through his own social media platform, Truth Social, and cannot be relied on as a trading partner. 'If you are a government in Asia looking for reliable energy sources that you can count on and a partner that you can count on, that isn't suddenly going to cut off your access to energy, that isn't suddenly going to massively increase the tariffs on the energy or taxes on the energy that you're purchasing, then nobody, nobody would be looking at the United States right now,' the premier says. He noted the first large-scale shipment of fuel from the LNG Canada facility, another export terminal in Kitimat, departed for Asia earlier this summer. Eby's comments come a few weeks after Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan and Governor Mike Dunleavy issued a statement applauding Trump's support for the natural gas industry in the state during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. The U.S. lawmakers' statement quotes Trump as saying 'Japan will soon begin importing historic new shipments of clean American liquefied natural gas in record numbers' and discussing a 'joint venture' between the two countries. Sullivan says in the statement that Alaskans are ready to work with Trump and Japan to 'realize a dream (they) have been pursuing for almost half a century.' 'With (Trump's) leadership, we will get the Alaska LNG Project built, which will create thousands of good-paying jobs, reinvigorate our American steel industry, significantly reduce our trade deficit in Asia, and deliver clean-burning Alaska gas for Americans, our military, and our allies in the Asia-Pacific, like Japan,' the statement says. The Haisla Nation has partnered with Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corp. for the Cedar LNG project, which is scheduled to come online in late 2028. A statement from Eby's office and the Energy Ministry says the provincial funding complements $200 million in federal funding announced earlier this year. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. The BC Green Party issued a statement later Tuesday saying the government's decision to provide funding to another liquefied natural gas project is 'irresponsible' and prolongs the province's dependence on fossil fuels. 'Fossil fuel expansion contradicts achieving the province's legislated emissions reduction targets — which we have already failed to meet,' says the statement from interim Green Leader Jeremy Valeriote. 'The government's continued inaction when it comes to the climate, and their disingenuous greenwashing of LNG as 'clean' energy is a distraction from their climate action failures,' it says. Valeriote says the province should instead invest in economic pathways towards long-term sustainability, public health and community well-being. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2025.
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
‘Canada will win' race to bring LNG to Asian markets, B.C. Premier David Eby says
BC Premier David Eby, right, shakes the hand of Hereditary Chief of the Haisla Nation Jake Duncan, left, as Hereditary Chief Basil Grant looks on after a press conference announcing that the Cedar LNG project has been given environmental approval in Vancouver, Tuesday March 14, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Rich Lam British Columbia Premier David Eby says Canadian values will help the country 'win this race' to deliver liquefied natural gas to Asian markets, even as U.S. President Donald Trump sets his sights on developing the industry in Alaska. Eby told a news conference on Tuesday that Canada is a reliable partner, which can deliver the fuel to Asia in a direct, affordable way, while Trump has been 'insulting and demeaning' towards other countries and insists his only concern is America. The premier's remarks came as his government announced a $200-million agreement with the Haisla Nation to support infrastructure for the Cedar LNG project, a floating liquefied natural gas terminal that will be located near Kitimat on B.C.'s northern coast. He says the funding will help the nation build infrastructure, including a new electricity transmission line and distribution lines to power the facility. Eby hailed Cedar LNG as the world's first Indigenous majority-owned liquefied natural gas facility, saying it represents a 'model' for resource development that will help diversify the Canadian economy and reduce reliance on the United States. The premier says Trump has meanwhile shown he will make 'arbitrary and extrajudicial decisions on a whim,' announcing them through his own social media platform, Truth Social, and cannot be relied on as a trading partner. 'If you are a government in Asia looking for reliable energy sources that you can count on and a partner that you can count on, that isn't suddenly going to cut off your access to energy, that isn't suddenly going to massively increase the tariffs on the energy or taxes on the energy that you're purchasing, then nobody, nobody would be looking at the United States right now,' the premier says. He noted the first large-scale shipment of fuel from the LNG Canada facility, another export terminal in Kitimat, departed for Asia earlier this summer. Eby's comments come a few weeks after Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan and Governor Mike Dunleavy issued a statement applauding Trump's support for the natural gas industry in the state during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. The U.S. lawmakers' statement quotes Trump as saying 'Japan will soon begin importing historic new shipments of clean American liquefied natural gas in record numbers' and discussing a 'joint venture' between the two countries. Sullivan says in the statement that Alaskans are ready to work with Trump and Japan to 'realize a dream (they) have been pursuing for almost half a century.' 'With (Trump's) leadership, we will get the Alaska LNG Project built, which will create thousands of good-paying jobs, reinvigorate our American steel industry, significantly reduce our trade deficit in Asia, and deliver clean-burning Alaska gas for Americans, our military, and our allies in the Asia-Pacific, like Japan,' the statement says. The Haisla Nation has partnered with Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corp. for the Cedar LNG project, which is scheduled to come online in late 2028. A statement from Eby's office and the Energy Ministry says the provincial funding complements $200 million in federal funding announced earlier this year. The BC Green Party issued a statement later Tuesday saying the government's decision to provide funding to another liquefied natural gas project is 'irresponsible' and prolongs the province's dependence on fossil fuels. 'Fossil fuel expansion contradicts achieving the province's legislated emissions reduction targets — which we have already failed to meet,' says the statement from interim Green Leader Jeremy Valeriote. 'The government's continued inaction when it comes to the climate, and their disingenuous greenwashing of LNG as 'clean' energy is a distraction from their climate action failures,' it says. Valeriote says the province should instead invest in economic pathways towards long-term sustainability, public health and community well-being. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2025.
