Latest news with #Alphabet
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump says he is ending Canada trade talks amid tech tax dispute
Donald Trump has announced he is ending trade talks with Canada, one of its largest trading partners, accusing it of imposing unfair taxes on US technology companies in a 'direct and blatant attack on our country'. The news came hours after the US had announced a breakthrough in talks with China over rare-earth shipments into America, and announcements from top officials that the US would continue trade negotiations beyond a 9 July deadline set by Trump. Signs of a cooling in the trade war sent US stock markets to new highs. The US has been negotiating a trade deal with Canada, one of its top two global trading partners, for months. Mark Carney, Canada's prime minister, met Trump at the G7 summit of world leaders in Alberta earlier this month. Carney announced that Trump had agreed to 'pursue negotiations toward a deal within the coming 30 days'. But talks appear to have foundered over Canada's decision to impose a digital services tax on US technology companies. First payments on the tax are due on Monday and will cost US tech companies, including Alphabet, Amazon and Meta, an estimated $3bn. Trump wrote on Truth Social: '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. 'They are obviously copying the European Union, which has done the same thing, and is currently under discussion with us, also. 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. 'Thank you for your attention to this matter!'
Malay Mail
7 hours ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Trump halts Canada trade talks over digital tax on US tech giants, tariffs to be announced within a week
WASHINGTON, June 28 — President Donald Trump said yesterday he is calling off trade negotiations with Canada in retaliation for taxes impacting US tech firms, adding that Ottawa will learn of their new tariff rate within a week. Trump was referring to Canada's digital services tax, which was enacted last year and forecast to bring in CA$5.9 billion (RM17.76 billion) over five years. While the measure is not new, US service providers will be 'on the hook for a multi-billion dollar payment in Canada' come June 30, noted the Computer & Communications Industry Association recently. The three percent tax applies to large or multinational companies such as Alphabet, Amazon and Meta that provide digital services to Canadians, and Washington has previously requested dispute settlement talks over the matter. 'Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately,' Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform Friday. Canada may have been spared some of Trump's sweeping duties, but it faces a separate tariff regime. Trump has also imposed steep levies on imports of steel, aluminium and autos. Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Ottawa will adjust its 25 percent counter tariffs on US steel and aluminium — in response to a doubling of US levies on the metals to 50 percent — if a bilateral trade deal was not reached in 30 days. 'We will continue to conduct these complex negotiations in the best interest of Canadians,' Carney said Friday, adding that he had not spoken to Trump on the day. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that Washington had hoped Carney's government would halt the tax 'as a sign of goodwill.' He now expects US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to start a probe to determine the harm stemming from Canada's digital tax. China progress Trump's salvo targeting Canada came shortly after Washington and Beijing confirmed finalising a framework to move forward on trade. A priority for Washington in talks with Beijing had been ensuring the supply of the rare earths essential for products including electric vehicles, hard drives and national defence equipment. China, which dominates global production of the elements, began requiring export licences in early April, a move widely viewed as a response to Trump's blistering tariffs. Both sides agreed after talks in Geneva in May to temporarily lower steep tit-for-tat duties on each other's products. China also committed to easing some non-tariff countermeasures but US officials later accused Beijing of violating the pact and slow-walking export licence approvals for rare earths. They eventually agreed on a framework to move forward with their Geneva consensus, following talks in London this month. A White House official told AFP on Thursday that the Trump administration and China had 'agreed to an additional understanding for a framework to implement the Geneva agreement.' This clarification came after the US president told an event that Washington had inked a deal relating to trade with China, without providing details. Under the deal, China 'will review and approve applications for the export control items that meet the requirements in accordance with the law,' China's commerce ministry said. 'The US side will correspondingly cancel a series of restrictive measures against China,' it added. Upcoming deals? Dozens of economies, although not China, face a July 9 deadline for steeper duties to kick in — rising from a current 10 percent. It remains to be seen if countries will successfully reach agreements to avoid them before the deadline. On talks with the European Union, for example, Trump told an event at the White House on Friday: 'We have the cards. We have the cards far more than they do.' But Bessent said Washington could wrap up its agenda for trade deals by September, indicating more agreements could be concluded, although talks were likely to extend past July. Bessent told Fox Business there are 18 key partners Washington is focused on pacts with. '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,' Bessent said, referring to the US holiday on September 1. Wall Street's major indexes finished at fresh records as markets cheered progress in US-China trade while shrugging off concerns about Canada. — AFP
The Hindu
8 hours ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Trump ends trade talks with Canada over tax on U.S. tech firms
President Donald Trump said on Friday (June 27, 2025) he is calling off trade negotiations with Canada in retaliation for taxes impacting U.S. tech firms, adding that Ottawa will learn of their new tariff rate within a week. Mr. Trump was referring to Canada's digital services tax, which was enacted last year and forecast to bring in Can$5.9 billion (US$4.2 billion) over five years. While the measure is not new, U.S. service providers will be 'on the hook for a multi-billion dollar payment in Canada' come June 30, noted the Computer & Communications Industry Association recently. The three percent tax applies to large or multinational companies such as Alphabet, Amazon and Meta that provide digital services to Canadians, and Washington has previously requested dispute settlement talks over the matter. 'Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately,' Mr. Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform Friday. Canada may have been spared some of Trump's sweeping duties, but it faces a separate tariff regime. Mr. Trump has also imposed steep levies on imports of steel, aluminum and autos. Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Ottawa will adjust its 25% counter tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminium — in response to a doubling of U.S. levies on the metals to 50% — if a bilateral trade deal was not reached in 30 days. 'We will continue to conduct these complex negotiations in the best interest of Canadians,' Mr. Carney said Friday, adding that he had not spoken to Mr. Trump on the day. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that Washington had hoped Carney's government would halt the tax 'as a sign of goodwill.' He now expects U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to start a probe to determine the harm stemming from Canada's digital tax. China progress Mr. Trump's salvo targeting Canada came shortly after Washington and Beijing confirmed finalising a framework to move forward on trade. A priority for Washington in talks with Beijing had been ensuring the supply of the rare earths essential for products including electric vehicles, hard drives and national defence equipment. China, which dominates global production of the elements, began requiring export licenses in early April, a move widely viewed as a response to Mr. Trump's blistering tariffs. Both sides agreed after talks in Geneva in May to temporarily lower steep tit-for-tat duties on each other's products. China also committed to easing some non-tariff countermeasures but U.S. officials later accused Beijing of violating the pact and slow-walking export license approvals for rare earths. They eventually agreed on a framework to move forward with their Geneva consensus, following talks in London this month. A White House official told AFP on Thursday that the Trump administration and China had 'agreed to an additional understanding for a framework to implement the Geneva agreement.' This clarification came after the US president told an event that Washington had inked a deal relating to trade with China, without providing details. Under the deal, China 'will review and approve applications for the export control items that meet the requirements in accordance with the law,' China's Commerce Ministry said. 'The U.S. side will correspondingly cancel a series of restrictive measures against China,' it added. Upcoming deals? Dozens of economies, although not China, face a July 9 deadline for steeper duties to kick in — rising from a current 10%. It remains to be seen if countries will successfully reach agreements to avoid them before the deadline. On talks with the European Union, for example, Mr. Trump told an event at the White House on Friday: 'We have the cards. We have the cards far more than they do.' But Mr. Bessent said Washington could wrap up its agenda for trade deals by September, indicating more agreements could be concluded, although talks were likely to extend past July. Mr. Bessent told Fox Business there are 18 key partners Washington is focused on pacts with. '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,' Mr. Bessent said, referring to the U.S. holiday on September 1. Wall Street's major indexes finished at fresh records as markets cheered progress in US-China trade while shrugging off concerns about Canada.
Roya News
9 hours ago
- Business
- Roya News
US ends trade talks with Canada over tech firms tax
President Donald Trump said Friday he is calling off trade negotiations with Canada in retaliation for taxes impacting US tech firms, adding that Ottawa will learn of their new tariff rate within a week. Trump was referring to Canada's digital services tax, which was enacted last year and forecast to bring in Can$5.9 billion (US$4.2 billion) over five years. While the measure is not new, US service providers will be "on the hook for a multi-billion dollar payment in Canada" come June 30, noted the Computer & Communications Industry Association recently. The three percent tax applies to large or multinational companies such as Alphabet, Amazon and Meta that provide digital services to Canadians, and Washington has previously requested dispute settlement talks over the matter. "Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform Friday. Canada may have been spared some of Trump's sweeping duties, but it faces a separate tariff regime. Trump has also imposed steep levies on imports of steel, aluminum and autos. Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Ottawa will adjust its 25 percent counter tariffs on US steel and aluminum -- in response to a doubling of US levies on the metals to 50 percent -- if a bilateral trade deal was not reached in 30 days. "We will continue to conduct these complex negotiations in the best interest of Canadians," Carney said Friday, adding that he had not spoken to Trump on the day. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that Washington had hoped Carney's government would halt the tax "as a sign of goodwill." He now expects US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to start a probe to determine the harm stemming from Canada's digital tax. China progress Trump's salvo targeting Canada came shortly after Washington and Beijing confirmed finalizing a framework to move forward on trade. A priority for Washington in talks with Beijing had been ensuring the supply of the rare earths essential for products including electric vehicles, hard drives and national defense equipment. China, which dominates global production of the elements, began requiring export licenses in early April, a move widely viewed as a response to Trump's blistering tariffs. Both sides agreed after talks in Geneva in May to temporarily lower steep tit-for-tat duties on each other's products. China also committed to easing some non-tariff countermeasures but US officials later accused Beijing of violating the pact and slow-walking export license approvals for rare earths. They eventually agreed on a framework to move forward with their Geneva consensus, following talks in London this month. A White House official told AFP on Thursday that the Trump administration and China had "agreed to an additional understanding for a framework to implement the Geneva agreement." This clarification came after the US president told an event that Washington had inked a deal relating to trade with China, without providing details. Under the deal, China "will review and approve applications for the export control items that meet the requirements in accordance with the law," China's commerce ministry said. "The US side will correspondingly cancel a series of restrictive measures against China," it added. Upcoming deals? Dozens of economies, although not China, face a July 9 deadline for steeper duties to kick in -- rising from a current 10 percent. It remains to be seen if countries will successfully reach agreements to avoid them before the deadline. On talks with the European Union, for example, Trump told an event at the White House on Friday: "We have the cards. We have the cards far more than they do." But Bessent said Washington could wrap up its agenda for trade deals by September, indicating more agreements could be concluded, although talks were likely to extend past July. Bessent told Fox Business there are 18 key partners Washington is focused on pacts with. "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," Bessent said, referring to the US holiday on September 1.
RTHK
11 hours ago
- Business
- RTHK
Trump ends trade talks with Canada
Trump ends trade talks with Canada US President Donald Trump says the US is ending trade talks with Canada. US President Donald Trump said on Friday he is calling off trade negotiations with Canada in retaliation for taxes impacting US tech firms, adding that Ottawa will learn of their new tariff rate within a week. Trump was referring to Canada's digital services tax, which was enacted last year and forecast to bring in US$4.2 billion over five years. While the measure is not new, US service providers will be "on the hook for a multi-billion dollar payment in Canada" come June 30, noted the Computer & Communications Industry Association recently. The three percent tax applies to large or multinational companies such as Alphabet, Amazon and Meta that provide digital services to Canadians, and Washington has previously requested dispute settlement talks over the matter. "Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday. He called the country "very difficult" to trade with. Canada may have been spared some of Trump's most sweeping duties, such as a 10 percent levy on nearly all US trading partners, but it faces a separate tariff regime. Trump has also imposed steep levies on imports of steel, aluminium and autos. Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Ottawa will adjust its 25 percent counter tariffs on US steel and aluminium – in response to a doubling of US levies on the metals to 50 percent – if a bilateral trade deal was not reached in 30 days. "We will continue to conduct these complex negotiations in the best interest of Canadians," Carney said on Friday, adding that he had not spoken to Trump following the US president's announcement. (AFP)
