Latest news with #USCanadaRelations
ABC News
an hour ago
- Business
- ABC News
Trump cuts off US trade talks with Canada, shattering optimism over tariff deals
US President Donald Trump has abruptly cut off trade talks with Canada over its tax targeting US technology firms, calling it a "blatant attack". The move on Friday, local time, plunged US-Canada relations back into chaos after a period of relative calm that included a cordial G7 meeting in mid-June where Mr Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed to wrap up a new economic agreement within 30 days. It also came just hours after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent struck an upbeat tone on trade, touting that progress had been made with China on reviving the flow of critical minerals for the US manufacturing sector, and in other key tariff negotiations. The often-chaotic rollout of Mr Trump's import levies since his return to office this year has frequently whipsawed financial markets, and have begun to weigh on consumer spending, the bedrock of the US economy. US stocks were briefly batted lower by his broadside against Canada, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq managed to close out the week at record highs. Mr Trump's action comes ahead of Canada's plans to begin collecting on Monday a previously enacted digital services tax on US technology firms, including Amazon, Meta, Alphabet's Google and Apple, among others. The tax is 3 per cent of the digital services revenue a firm takes in from Canadian users above $US20 million ($30 million) in a calendar year, and payments will be retroactive to 2022. Mr Trump, in a post on his Truth Social media platform, called the tax "a direct and blatant attack on our country" and said Canada was a "very difficult country to TRADE with". "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." Speaking to reporters at the White House, Mr Trump said that the negotiations with Canada would not resume "until they straighten out their act," adding that the US holds "such power over Canada". Canada is the second-largest US trading partner after Mexico, and the largest buyer of US exports. It bought $US349.4 billion of US goods last year and exported $US412.7 billion to the US, according to US Census Bureau data. Mr Carney's office responded to Mr Trump's announcement by saying: "The Canadian government will continue to engage in these complex negotiations with the United States in the best interests of Canadian workers and businesses." Mr Bessent sought to downplay the US-Canadian dispute in a CNBC interview, saying US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer would likely open a Section 301 probe into Canada's digital tax that would clear the way for tariff retaliation in the amount of harm to US firms, which he said was roughly $US2 billion. The US has prepared similar retaliation against European countries that have imposed digital taxes. A USTR spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Earlier on Friday, Mr Bessent said the Trump administration's various trade deals with other countries could be done by the September 1 Labor Day holiday, citing talks with 18 top trade partners and another revision to a deal with China to reopen the flow of rare earth minerals and magnets. After a week where tariffs took a back seat to the US strike on Iran's nuclear facilities and the massive tax and spending bill in the US Congress, the Trump administration's trade negotiations have picked up. The US sent a new proposal to the European Union on Thursday and India sent a delegation to Washington for more talks. "So we have countries approaching us with very good deals," Mr Bessent said on Fox Business Network. "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," Mr Bessent said. He did not mention any changes to a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the US or see tariffs spike higher, but Mr Trump said at the White House that he could extend the tariff deadline or "make it shorter". Mr Trump said that he would notify countries of their tariff rates within the next week and a half, adding: "I'd like to just send letters out to everybody: Congratulations. You're paying 25 per cent." Mr Bessent said the US and China had resolved issues surrounding shipments of Chinese rare earth minerals and magnets to America, further modifying a deal reached in May in Geneva. As part of its retaliation against new US tariffs, China suspended exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets, up-ending supply chains central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world. During US-China talks in May in Geneva, Beijing committed to removing the measures imposed since April 2, but those critical materials were not moving as fast as agreed, Mr Bessent said, so the US put countermeasures in place. "I am confident now that … as agreed, the magnets will flow," Mr Bessent said, adding that these materials would go to US firms that had received them previously on a regular basis. He later said that the US would begin shipping withheld materials to China when the rare earths shipments resumed. China's Commerce Ministry said on Friday the two countries have confirmed details on the framework of implementing the Geneva trade talks consensus. It said China will approve export applications of controlled items in accordance with the law. It did not mention rare earths. Trump administration officials also held trade talks on Friday with India and Japan, two other countries in advanced negotiations with the US The Japanese government said in a statement that the two sides will continue to work to "reach an agreement that benefits both Japan and the United States". Reuters
Washington Post
7 hours ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Trump halts trade talks with Canada, defending interests of U.S. tech firms
President Donald Trump on Friday abruptly halted trade talks with Canada, citing the country's plans to collect new taxes from large tech companies including Meta, Google, Amazon and other U.S. businesses. Trump called the taxes, which are due on Monday, 'a direct and blatant attack on our Country' in a post to social media that branded America's closest ally a 'difficult' partner. The sharp criticism marked a dramatic reversal from Trump's recent tone with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who hosted him at the Group of Seven summit of world leaders last week. There, the pair sought to repair a rift Trump opened by repeatedly calling to annex Canada as the 51st state.
Al Jazeera
9 hours ago
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Trump says US ending all negotiations with Canada over digital tax
United States President Donald Trump has said the US is immediately ending trade talks with Canada in response to the country's digital services tax on technology companies, in a clear escalation of pressure tactics. Trump in a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday called the Canadian tax a 'direct and blatant attack on our country' and said: 'Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately'. He added, '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.' Canada had approved the Digital Services Tax act on June 20, 2024 and it came into force shortly after on June 28. Under this, Canada will charge a tax of 3 percent of the digital services revenue a firm makes from Canadian users above 20 million Canadian dollars ($14.6m) in a calendar year. Businesses have been calling for a pause saying it would increase the cost of providing services as well as raise the wrath of the US government. But the Canadian federal government so far has refused and is proceeding with the plans. The Canadian Revenue Authority is set to start collecting the tax on Monday and will cover revenue retroactively to 2022. Last week finance minister Francois-Philippe Champagne suggested to reporters that the digital tax may be negotiated as part of broader, ongoing US-Canada trade discussions, Bloomberg news reported. Those discussions seemed to have been going well and a trade deal was expected in July. Now the status of that is unclear. 'This is definitely escalation from Trump,' said Vina Nadjibulla, vice president of research and strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. 'But we have seen this tactic before. Canada will need to work behind the scenes to find an off ramp without giving into his demands,' she said. 'Digital tax is also part of Trump's negotiations with the European Union. Canada will need to coordinate with the EU and other partners as it contemplates its response,' Nadjibulla added. Rachel Ziemba, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, told Al Jazeera that while Trump's declaration was unfortunate, it was 'not surprising' adding, it would also act as a scare tactic for the EU with whom the US is still negotiating its trade deal. Tariffs on Canadian goods are bad for both the US and Canada as they increase the cost for businesses and ultimately consumers, experts say.
National Post
9 hours ago
- Business
- National Post
BREAKING: Trump 'terminating' trade talks with Canada over digital services tax
Article content OTTAWA — U.S. President Donald Trump announced Friday he is putting an end to trade discussions with Canada because of the digital services tax moving ahead next week. Article content Trump made the announcement on his social media network, Truth Social. Article content Article content 'We have just been informed that Canada, a very difficult Country to TRADE with… 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 wrote. Article content Article content '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.' Article content Article content The first payment for Canada's digital tax is due Monday, according to the Finance department, and covers revenue retroactively to 2022. The tax is three per cent of the digital services revenue a firm makes from Canadian users above $20 million in a year. Earlier this month, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said his government was moving ahead with the tax even though it remained an irritant with the United States. Article content 'That's the law in Canada. We had fairly long, extensive discussions at the G7 about the different regimes that you find in different parts of the world. That's not unique to Canada, by the way,' he said. Article content The prime minister's office did not immediately issue a comment about Trump's latest statement. Article content More details to follow… Article content — With files from Christopher Nardi and Bloomberg. Article content
Globe and Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
Drop in Canadian tourism hurting small businesses, Maine governor says
On a visit to New Brunswick, the governor of Maine issued renewed pleas for Canadian tourists to return to the United States, despite their apparent anger over the political climate. Janet Mills says the words of President Donald Trump are not those of the American people, and that many of them were 'appalled' when the president called for Canada to become the '51st state.' Trump has said several times that he wants to make Canada the '51st state' and that he would use economic force to achieve it, and has imposed sweeping tariffs on Canadian goods, including on steel and aluminum. Canadian travel boycott hurting U.S. tourism industry, northeast governors say Ms. Mills is on a three-day charm offensive to Canada where she is scheduled to meet with premiers of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. She told a group at Fredericton's Cyber Centre she understands how insulted Canadians must feel but says there are small businesses across the border in Maine whose families come from parts of Canada, including New Brunswick and Quebec, who are being hit hard. Numbers released by the U.S. federal border crossing on Friday showed 85,000 fewer Canadians entered Maine in May than in the same month a year ago, a drop of about 27 per cent.
