Trump Ends Trade Talks with Canada Hours after Sealing China Deal
The US President, Donald Trump, announced that he terminated all trade talks with Canada, after Ottawa imposed a digital services tax on American technology firms.
Trump's announcement came hours after the US reached a deal with China to speed up rare-earth supplies' flow into the US, reported Reuters. Surprise Announcement
On Friday, Trump said that the US had ended its trade negotiations with Canada over what he called a 'blatant attack' on his country, announcing that he would set a new tariff on Canadian goods within the next seven days.
'We have just been informed that Canada, a very difficult Country to TRADE with, including the fact that they have charged our Farmers as much as 400% Tariffs, for years, on Dairy Products, has just announced that they are putting a Digital Services Tax on our American Technology Companies, which is a direct and blatant attack on our Country,' he said.
'They are obviously copying the European Union, which has done the same thing, and is currently under discussion with us, also,' Trump posed on Truth Social.
'Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately. We will let Canada know the Tariff that they will be paying to do business with the United States of America within the next seven day period,' Trump said. US-Canada Trade Talks
The US and Canada have been negotiating over a trade deal for months. Canada is the US' second largest trade partner after Mexico and the largest buyer of US exports. According to US Census Bureau data, Canada imported $349.4 billion of US goods in 2024 and exported $412.7 billion to the US.
In February 2025, Trump imposed tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China, over the flow of drugs and undocumented immigrants from those countries to the US, prompting the countries to respond with retaliatory measures.
The Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, met with Trump at the G7 summit of world leaders in Alberta in mid-June, where both leaders agreed to pursue negotiations to reach a new economic deal within a month period. Canada Response
After Trump's surprise announcement, Carney's office said that the government would resume negotiations with the US to resolve the dispute.
'The Canadian government will continue to engage in these complex negotiations with the United States in the best interests of Canadian workers and businesses,' it said. Further US Actions
However, the US President told reporters at the White House that Washington would not resume negotiations with Ottawa 'until they straighten out their act,' adding that the US holds 'such power over Canada.'
Furthermore, the US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, downplayed the trade dispute between the US and Canada, during an interview with CNBC.
He suggested that that the US Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, would probably pursue a Section 301 probe into Canada's digital tax, which would pave the way for the US to impose retaliatory tariffs amounting to the approximately $2 billion in losses incurred by American companies. US-China Deal
On Friday, Bessent announced that Washington and Beijing had reached a trade agreement that would speed up American firms' access to rare earth minerals from China, according to the Associated Press (AP). He said that the agreement would reduce tariffs and ease the flow of rare-earth magnets to US companies.
Two weeks ago, Trump said that Washington and Beijing had finalized a deal, which would grant the US access to the rare-earth metals it needs, while the Chinese college students would be able to attend American universities. The agreement followed talks between American and Chinese officials in London and Geneva.
The Chinese Commerce Ministry confirmed the deal on Friday. 'China will, in accordance with the law, review and approve eligible export applications for controlled items. In turn, the United States will lift a series of restrictive measures it had imposed on China,' it said. More Deals Coming
Trump has set July 9, 2025 as a date for countries to reach trade deals with the US to avoid facing more tariffs. However, the Trump administration has indicated that this deadline is flexible and could be extended.
Earlier on Friday, Bessent said that the Trump administration is engaging in trade talks with 18 top trade partners, including the European Union (EU) and India, adding that new deals could be finalized by the Labor Day holiday on September 1.
'We have 18 important trading partners. … If we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18, there are another important 20 relationships, then I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day,' he told Fox Business Network.
Short link :
Post Views: 6
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Saudi Gazette
43 minutes ago
- Saudi Gazette
Nearly 12 million estimated to lose health coverage under Trump budget bill
WASHINGTON — A sprawling budget bill in the US Senate could cut health insurance coverage for nearly 12 million Americans and add $3.3tn (£2.4tn) in debt, according to new estimates. The assessment from the Congressional Budget Office, a non-partisan federal agency, could complicate Republican efforts to pass President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act in the coming days. The spending plan narrowly cleared a preliminary vote in the Senate late on Saturday after party leaders scrambled to arm-twist hesitant members of their rank and file. One defector, Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, announced he would not seek reelection after voting against the president's signature legislation. Democratic lawmakers have led criticism of the bill. The CBO numbers calculate $1tn in cuts to healthcare funding if the measure passes. The latest version of the bill was advanced in a 51-49 Senate vote on Saturday night. Two Republicans — Tillis and Rand Paul of Kentucky — joined Democrats in opposing the has said he opposes the bill because it raises the US debt limit. Tillis has said the bill would cost his state billions of dollars in healthcare senators debated the bill on Sunday, it is unclear whether it has enough support to ultimately have a small majority in the Senate, holding 53 seats. Vice-President JD Vance has the tie-breaker vote so the party can only afford three senators used chamber rules to force a 16-hour reading of the nearly 1,000-page bill in an attempt to delay a vote on its Senate rules, lawmakers now have 20 hours allocated to debate the bill. It is expected that Democrats will use all of their time to further delay a vote, while Republicans try to speed up the could also propose amendments to the bill. If the revised bill passes the Senate, it still must return to the House of Representatives for final approval before landing on the president's desk for signing into has pushed for the bill to clear Congress before a self-imposed 4 July deadline. The White House said failure to pass it would be the "ultimate betrayal".On Saturday, he called the Senate's vote to advance the bill a "great victory".But the bill's proposed cuts to Medicaid, a healthcare program that is relied on by millions of elderly, disabled and low-income Americans, have become a political Senator Mark Warner told CNN on Sunday that the measure would negatively affect millions. "This is tax cuts for the wealthiest to end up cutting healthcare, plain and simple," he the bill, more than 80% of Americans would get a tax cut next year, though wealthier taxpayers would benefit most, including as a percentage of income, according to the non-partisan Tax Policy Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican, told NBC on Sunday that the legislation aims to eliminate fraud, waste and argued that many Americans using Medicaid are not under the poverty line."We don't pay people in this country to be lazy," he said. "We want to give them an opportunity. And when they're going through a hard time, we want to give them a helping hand."Some parts of the spending bill were revised in the Senate in order to appease Republican still contains some of its core components: tax cuts that Trump campaigned on, such as a tax deduction on Social Security benefits, and the elimination of taxes on overtime work and would also extend tax cuts passed by Republicans in bill proposes cuts to certain programs in order to pay for the tax healthcare, the spending bill proposes a work requirement on most adults in order to qualify for also reduces the amount of taxes that states can charge medical providers, the funds from which are used heavily to finance Medicaid some Republican senators voiced concern that these cuts would hurt rural hospitals in their districts, lawmakers added a provision in the latest bill that increases the size of a rural hospital relief fund from $15bn to $ bill includes restrictions on the US food stamps program, by asking most adults with children 14 or older to show proof of work in order to also shifts some costs from the federal government to states starting in 2028. — BBC
Leaders
an hour ago
- Leaders
Norwegian Fund Blacklists US, German Companies Selling Weapons to Israel
KLP, Norway's biggest pension fund, has announced that it will no longer do business with two companies selling weapons to Israel as the equipment is possibly being used in the war in Gaza, according to AFP. The Norwegian fund has dropped US group Oshkosh Corporation and Germany's ThyssenKrupp from its investment portfolio as they supply Isreal with military trucks and equipment. 'Companies have an independent duty to exercise due diligence in order to avoid complicity in violations of fundamental human rights and humanitarian law,' Kiran Aziz, head of responsible investments at KLP Asset Management, said in a statement. KLP also accused ThyssenKrupp of providing Israel's military with corvettes and submarines before the outbreak of Gaza War. Crucially, the fund sold its holdings in Oshkosh Corporation worth 19 million kroner ($1.9 million). Meanwhile, it also sold its investment in ThyssenKrupp valued at 10 million kroner. KLP also confirmed that both companies have strong cooperation with the Israeli armed forces and these relations continued even after the start of the war on Gaza. 'The transfer of weapons and ammunition to Israel may constitute serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian laws and risk state complicity in international crimes, possibly including genocide,' UN experts warned in June 2024. The exclusion of the two companies is based on KLP's criterion relating to the 'sale of weapons to states in armed conflicts that use the weapons in ways that represent serious and systematic breaches of international law governing the conflicts', KLP said. Related Topics: Hamas Reports Intensified Gaza Ceasefire Talks France Offers Help for Safer Gaza Aid Distribution as Trump Urges for Ceasefire Israel Kills 51 Palestinians Near Aid Site in Gaza Short link : Post Views: 40
Asharq Al-Awsat
an hour ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Israel Steps Up Gaza Bombardment ahead of White House Talks on Ceasefire
Palestinians in northern Gaza reported one of the worst nights of Israeli bombardment in weeks after the military issued mass evacuation orders on Monday, while Israeli officials were due in Washington for a new ceasefire push by the Trump administration. A day after US President Donald Trump urged an end to the 20-month-old war, a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected at the White House for talks on a Gaza ceasefire, Iran, and possible wider regional diplomatic deals. But on the ground in the Palestinian enclave there was no sign of fighting letting up. "Explosions never stopped; they bombed schools and homes. It felt like earthquakes," said Salah, 60, a father of five children, from Gaza City. "In the news we hear a ceasefire is near, on the ground we see death and we hear explosions." Israeli tanks pushed into the eastern areas of Zeitoun suburb in Gaza City and shelled several areas in the north, while aircraft bombed at least four schools after ordering hundreds of families sheltering inside to leave, residents said. At least 25 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Monday, health authorities said, including 10 people killed in Zeitoun. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which says Palestinian militants embed among civilians. The Hamas groups deny this. The heavy bombardment followed new evacuation orders to vast areas in the north, where Israeli forces had operated before and left behind wide-scale destruction. The military ordered people there to head south, saying that it planned to fight Hamas operating in northern Gaza, including in the heart of Gaza City. NEXT STEPS A day after Trump called to "Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back", Israel's strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer, a confidant of Netanyahu's, was expected on Monday at the White House for talks on Iran and Gaza, an Israeli official said. In Israel, Netanyahu's security cabinet was expected to convene to discuss the next steps in Gaza. On Friday, Israel's military chief said the present ground operation was close to having achieved its goals, and on Sunday, Netanyahu said new opportunities had opened up for recovering the hostages, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive. Palestinian and Egyptian sources with knowledge of the latest ceasefire efforts said that mediators Qatar and Egypt have stepped up their contacts with the two warring sides, but that no date has been set yet for a new round of truce talks. A Hamas official said that progress depends on Israel changing its position and agreeing to end the war and withdraw from Gaza. Israel says it can end the war only when Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms. The war began when Hamas fighters stormed in to Israel on October 7 2023, killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took 251 hostages back to Gaza in a surprise attack that led to Israel's single deadliest day. Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry, has displaced almost the entire 2.3 million population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis. More than 80% of the territory is now an Israeli-militarized zone or under displacement orders, according to the United Nations.
