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SBS Australia
43 minutes ago
- Business
- SBS Australia
Midday News Bulletin 28 June 2025
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts . TRANSCRIPT Donald Trump says he's terminating all trade discussions with Canada US announces funding for Gaza aid operation amid UN criticism Australia claims a resounding win against the West Indies. US President Donald Trump says he's terminating all trade discussions with Canada in response to a tax on digital technology firms set to come into effect on Monday. He says the United States will let Canada know within the next week what tariffs will be imposed on Canadian goods. Mr Trump says Canada has acted foolishly by trying to tax U-S tech companies. "They put a tax on companies that were American companies that they shouldn't, a very severe tax. And yeah, I guess they could remove it, they will, but I don't really, I mean, it doesn't matter to me. We have all the cards, we have all of the cards. You know, we do a lot of business with Canada, but relatively little. They do most of their businesses with us. And when you have that circumstance, you treat people better. " The digital services tax will hit companies including Amazon, Google, Meta, Uber and Airbnb with a 3 per cent levy on revenue from Canadian users. The U-S State Department says it has approved $30 million in funding for a controversial aid operation in Gaza which has been criticised by the United Nations. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation took over aid distribution across the strip using private security contractors after Israel partially lifted its months-long blockade in late May. Since then, shooting events around the foundation's aid sites have led to at least 410 deaths, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. On Friday, U-N chief Antonio Guterres says the UN has the experience to better deliver aid. "The problem of the distribution of humanitarian aid must be solved. There is no need to reinvent the wheel with dangerous schemes. We have the solution. A detailed plan grounded in the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence. We have the supplies, we have the experience. Our plan is guided by what people need. It is built on the trust of communities, donors and member states. And it worked during the last ceasefire, so it must be allowed to work again." Israel's Military Advocate General has ordered an investigation into possible war crimes over allegations that Israeli forces deliberately fired at Palestinian civilians near Gaza aid sites. The United Nations says hundreds of Palestinians have been killed over the past month in the vicinity of areas where food was being handed out. Israeli newspaper Haaretz recently quoted unnamed Israeli soldiers who say they were told to fire at crowds to keep them back. The Israeli military denies this, saying it has not instructed soldiers to deliberately shoot at civilians. The Victorian Government is encouraging children to head outdoors and go fishing after the stocking the state's waterways with fish that are large enough to be legally caught. The government is promoting the activity as low-cost school holiday fun as it seeks to promote the state as the best place to fish in the country. Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos says the government has stocked 220 waterways across Victoria. "We are really proud of the investment, because meaningful. It's meaningful for many reasons. Time out away from screens and from the busyness of life, spend time with people you love, bring the kids, go and catch fish, if you want, cook it that night. It is such an easy and wonderful activity to do. " A fishing license is required in Victoria, except for people aged under 18, or over 70. A bowling masterclass from Josh Hazlewood has helped Australia claim a resounding 159-run victory over the West Indies on day three of the Test series opener in Bridgetown. After a hotly contested first two days, Australia dominated with Hazlewood taking 5-43 as the tourists bowled their hosts out for 141 in their second dig. The Windies were thwarted by a collapse of 6-26 in pursuit of 301 for victory.
Malay Mail
an hour 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
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
Japan Times
4 hours ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Trump halts trade talks with Canada, shattering optimism over tariff deals
U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly cut off trade talks with Canada on Friday over its tax targeting U.S. technology firms, saying that it was a "blatant attack" and that he would set a new tariff rate on Canadian goods within the next week. The move plunges U.S.-Canada relations back into chaos after a period of relative calm that included a cordial Group of Seven meeting in mid-June where Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed to wrap up a new economic agreement within 30 days. It also came just hours after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent struck an upbeat tone on trade, touting progress had been made with China on reviving the flow of critical minerals for the U.S. manufacturing sector and in other key tariff negotiations. The often-chaotic rollout of 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 U.S. economy. U.S. 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. Trump's action comes ahead of Canada's plans to begin collecting on Monday a previously enacted digital services tax on U.S. technology firms, including Amazon, Meta, Alphabet's Google and Apple, among others. The tax is 3% of the digital services revenue a firm takes in from Canadian users above $20 million in a calendar year, and payments will be retroactive to 2022. 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." "Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately," Trump said. "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, Trump said that the negotiations with Canada would not resume "until they straighten out their act," adding that the U.S. holds "such power over Canada." Canada is the second-largest U.S. trading partner after Mexico, and the largest buyer of U.S exports. It bought $349.4 billion of U.S. goods last year and exported $412.7 billion to the U.S., according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Carney's office responded to 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." U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Friday. | REUTERS Bessent sought to downplay the U.S.-Canadian dispute in a CNBC interview, saying U.S. Trade Representative 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 U.S. firms, which he said was roughly $2 billion. The U.S. 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, Bessent said the Trump administration's various trade deals with other countries could be done by the Sept. 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 U.S. strike on Iran's nuclear facilities and the massive tax and spending bill in the U.S. Congress, the Trump administration's trade negotiations have picked up. The United States 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," 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," Bessent said. He did not mention any changes to a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States or see tariffs spike higher, but Trump said at the White House that he could extend the tariff deadline or "make it shorter." 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%." Bessent said the United States and China had resolved issues surrounding shipments of Chinese rare earth minerals and magnets to the U.S., further modifying a deal reached in May in Geneva. As part of its retaliation against new U.S. tariffs, China suspended exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets, upending supply chains central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world. During U.S.-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, Bessent said, so the U.S. put countermeasures in place. "I am confident now that ... as agreed, the magnets will flow," Bessent said, adding that these materials would go to U.S. firms that had received them previously on a regular basis. He later said that the U.S. 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 U.S. 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."
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump on Terminating Trade Talks With Canada: 'We Have All The Cards'
President Trump said he is stopping trade negotiations with Canada because of its digital-services tax on U.S. tech companies. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
