Latest news with #tradepolicy
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Canada's steel producers tell government its tariff protection measures aren't enough
TORONTO, June 27 (Reuters) - Canadian steel industry representatives told government officials in a meeting this week that their measures to protect the industry from the consequences of U.S. tariffs are insufficient, two of the representatives who attended the meeting told Reuters. On Thursday, steel producers met with Patrick Haley, assistant deputy minister for trade and finance, and other officials from the ministry, telling them the measures announced earlier this month do not protect the industry from steel dumping and could cause mass layoffs, the representatives said. U.S. President Donald Trump increased import duties on steel and aluminum to 50% from 25% earlier this month. Canada is the top seller of metals to the United States. In response, Canada announced a raft of measures, including establishing new tariff-rate quotas of 100% of 2024 levels on imports of steel products from non-free trade agreement partners. Industry representatives at the meeting asked the government to extend tariff quotas to all countries with unfair trade practices, even if they have free trade agreements. Europe and Asia have started diverting their products to Canada to avoid U.S. tariffs, making domestic steel uncompetitive, they said. "We don't think the measures announced meet our needs under this dire time," Catherine Cobden, President and CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, told Reuters. Cobden attended the meeting with finance ministry officials on Thursday. The Canadian Steel Producers Association said in a separate statement on Thursday that, in its current form, the tariff-rate quota will do little to support its industry. Canada's steel industry has laid off 1,000 workers since the first U.S. tariffs in March, and more layoffs could be coming, the association said. Keanin Loomis, president of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction, which includes steel manufacturers, fabricators, and constructors, said that Thursday's government meeting was heavily steel producers-focused, noting that finished steel products imported to Canada have no tariff protection. Loomis also attended the meeting. In a text response to Reuters, the Canadian Finance Ministry said that the measures it announced represent a comprehensive and strategic package to defend producers and workers, and were a first step. Prime Minister Mark Carney has threatened to increase counter-tariffs on U.S.-produced steel and aluminum if Canada does not reach a broader trade deal with Trump by July 21. Trump on Friday abruptly cut off trade talks with Canada over its new tax targeting U.S. technology firms. "These are temporary and calibrated measures that could be expanded depending on the outcome of ongoing discussions with the United States. We are prepared to adjust our response as needed," a spokesperson for the finance minister said.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
'We can do whatever we want': Trump sows confusion on his summer tariff timeline
The market's task of planning for how tariff developments will play out this summer got more complicated Friday as President Trump and his team offered a host of options as for what to expect in the months ahead. First Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent raised eyebrows when he suggested that his focus could be on an end of summer deadline, saying "I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day." But any hopes for a summer lull between now and then were short-lived when, just a few hours later, Trump offered multiple other scenarios during a wide-ranging press conference. At one point the president reiterated his plan to send letters to dictate tariff rates for at least some countries — perhaps as soon as in the next week — saying "it's going to go very quickly." Then minutes later he said that a July 9 deadline to raise "reciprocal" tariffs is not set and perhaps could move — but in an unpredictable direction. "We can do whatever we want," he told reporters of that deadline. "We could extend it, we could make it shorter," adding his preference was to make it shorter. Trump then capped things off with a social media post in the early afternoon announcing he was "terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately" over digital taxes. "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," he added. It all comes as the administration faces a series of deadlines in the weeks ahead from that July 9 date to strike "reciprocal" trade deals to an early August deadline for progress with China, and Bessent's new end of summer deadline to wrap things up. The immediate effect of Trump's surprise announcement on Canada, which pushed stocks slightly down and off record high levels, was unclear — with talks with America's closest neighbors on yet another track. The key date in those talks with Canada and Mexico often focuses on next summer, when there is a renewal deadline for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Terry Haines of Pangaea Policy summed up the many scenarios in a note to Yahoo Finance (before the Canada post). "Markets are right to assume that bilateral trade deals are on a positive markets shouldn't assume there's only one direction trade/tariffs can go" — adding that plenty of things could go south in the days and weeks ahead. Henrietta Treyz of Veda Partners added her own bottom line on the next few weeks, saying "the best investors and consumers can hope for beyond July 9th is an extension of the current 10% tariff rates" — with potential increases potentially delayed as Trump and his team acknowledge they need more time. But that could mean that perhaps the most likely immediate-term development — both Trump and Treyz noted on Friday — are these long-promised letters from Trump to lower level trading partners simply setting new rates. As Treyz wrote, her forecast remains that "about 135 nations will simply be advised of their new tariff rates, which I suspect will land in the 10%-25% range, the major trading partners will announce robust enough deals in principle or frameworks for continued negotiations that will allow the White House to build an off ramp to avoid higher tariff rates for most countries." The developments come near the end of a June that saw relatively fewer developments on the trade front — with Trump often more focused on issues like geopolitics, immigration, and his tax bill. The month also saw US coffers set to see another monthly record for tariff revenue with more than $26.7 billion in evidence so far for June. Tariffs also remain central to economic projections and could rise, added EY chief economist Gregory Daco in a Yahoo Finance Live appearance as he warned that a new rise in tariffs could accelerate inflation and impact consumer spending through the rest of 2025. "We are going to see a tariff re-acceleration that is going to be tariff induced," he said of the months ahead, adding "there's more pressure to come into the economy." The flood of White House trade commentary also came as Trump and his team continued to tout — and overstate what is publicly known at least — about his limited existing deals with China and the United Kingdom. The US and China did move forward this week and inked their recently agreed-to "framework" to move forward on talks. Trump announced that move on Thursday, which Chinese state media later confirmed as the nations look to get into trade talks in earnest in the weeks ahead and move past a few pressing short-term issues like rare earth minerals and semiconductor export controls. The move this week does further stabilize trade relations but with an array of unresolved trading issues between the world's two largest economies still very much outstanding. One of them Bessent confirmed Friday during his appearance on Fox Business Network's "Mornings With Maria." He confirmed that this week's step forward with China does not include any change in tariff rates, noting "Now our tariffs are 30 on them [and] we're collecting a substantial tariff income." As Haines put it in all caps in a note to clients " — suggesting investors shouldn't react too strongly on that front. Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance. Click here for political news related to business and money policies that will shape tomorrow's stock prices 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
Telegraph
9 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
As Rayner and McSweeney sealed £3bn U-turn, Reeves looked at tractors 140 miles away
Rachel Reeves was looking at tractors when a new £3 billion black hole was blown in the public finances. Thursday was a hi-vis day for the Chancellor, who sported a fluorescent green waistcoat for her visits first to a nursery supplier and then JCB World Headquarters in Rocester, Staffordshire. The business tour was an attempt to drum up interest in the Government's new trade strategy. However, 140 miles south, a huge about-turn on a welfare cuts package that Ms Reeves had personally demanded was being bartered away in her absence. Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir Starmer's chief of staff who masterminded Labour's huge general election victory, was one of the three figures present to negotiate the new terms. That was notable – the softly-spoken Irishman had been the target of vicious briefings from rebels, some of whom darkly muttered about ousting him in a 'regime change'. Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, was the most senior elected figure in the room. As the most prominent Left-winger in the Cabinet, and privately a critic of the welfare cuts when they were first adopted, she was deemed best placed to win rebels over. The third member of the Government's negotiating team was Sir Alan Campbell, a Labour MP since Tony Blair's 1997 victory, who is now Sir Keir's number-cruncher as Chief Whip. Ms Reeves's absence was eye-catching. Would it not have been wise to have the person in charge of the nation's finances in the negotiations as billions of pounds were being bandied around? Apparently not. Treasury sources have waved away the idea that she was out of the loop. Ms Reeves was kept abreast of negotiations by Mr McSweeney personally, taking calls and texts as she toured the nursery manufacturers and construction companies of Middle England. Negotiations between the rebel leaders, who threatened to vote down flagship welfare legislation next Tuesday, and the three Government figures hand-picked to offer concessions did not happen in Downing Street. Instead, it took place in the Palace of Westminster to avoid drawing attention to what had snowballed into the biggest rebellion of Sir Keir Starmer's year-old premiership. 'It was somewhere on the parliamentary estate where you would not expect it to happen,' said a source tapped into rebel strategy. But the location had symbolism, too. This was the home turf not of ministers, but MPs. A total of 127 Labour backbenchers had publicly attached their names to an amendment to effectively kill off the cuts to disability benefit payments. It was enough to comfortably overturn Sir Keir's vast Commons majority, and No 10 knew it. So it was the Government that came, cap in hand, to the rebels – and not the other way round. The rebels were headed by three Labour MPs – Dame Meg Hillier, Debbie Abrahams and Helen Hayes. Each of them leads a Commons select committee, respectively scrutinising the Treasury, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education. These were not your usual Left-wing parliamentary agitators but moderate, highly respected Labour MPs. The profiles of the masterminds behind the amendment reflected the core strength of the rebellion, and how widely across the Labour backbenches it reached. Meetings had taken place on Wednesday too, but came to a head around lunchtime on Thursday. Critics were said to be pushing for moderate tweaks – perhaps a change in exactly how the new points system would work for recipients of the personal independence payments (Pip). Cuts to Pip, which gives money to people with disabilities to cover the extra costs brought about by their condition, was at the heart of the stand-off. However, the rebels went much further. The rebels insisted central parts of the package, which the Prime Minister had defended as recently as Wednesday and dismissed criticisms as 'noises off', had to go. The Government team, so exposed by the size of a rebellion that had caught them off guard, was left with little power to argue back. And so there was celebration from the three committee heads, whose actions were driven by a sincere concern about the 800,000 disabled people who would lose out under the initial plan. 'Major concessions' had been won, a senior rebel source told The Telegraph on Thursday evening, adding: 'We wanted to unite around something better. We are getting there.' As news of the victory spread, the full scale of the concessions began to leak. Gone was the plan to cut Pip from existing claimants, meaning 370,000 disabled people would keep their payments in full. Those currently receiving the health top-up to Universal Credit would also be spared. The U-turn also allowed the rebels to reassure constituents that current claimants would not lose out, after MP inboxes had flooded with concerns from residents. There were other concessions too, such as speeding up the new £1 billion fund to help people get back into work and a promise to properly consult with disability charities before the new system kicks in. In a sign of how scrambled negotiations had been, Liz Kendall, the Work and Pensions Secretary who put the initial package together, sent a letter out to Labour MPs explaining the new deal at 12.27am. Formal government communications issued after midnight are usually a tell-tale sign that all is not going to plan. The rebels had won. The Iron Chancellor's tab But Ms Reeves now has to pick up a tab. The promise that current Pip and Universal Credit recipients will remain untouched is a costly one. The rollback of the benefits cuts has created an estimated £3 billion dent in original savings of £4.6 billion savings from the original package. Given it was Ms Reeves herself who insisted that the cuts were announced before her spring statement in March to help balance the books, it is hard to not read the climbdown as a Treasury defeat. The Chancellor is already facing an incredibly tough autumn Budget. Worsening economic forecasts and increased government debt interest payments mean she is at risk of missing her promises to control borrowing. But No 10's newly-found penchant for U-turns is making her task much harder. The recent reversal on the winter fuel payment cut lost her £1.5 billion. Sir Keir has also hinted at lifting the two-child benefit cap, which would cost another £3.5 billion. The 'Iron Chancellor' has staked her credibility by sticking to her fiscal rules. A determination not to break them could well mean substantial tax rises are coming, clashing with another of her past positions – that she would not impose more tax rises before the general election. Reeves in 'deep trouble' Those in the Chancellor's inner circle insist there are still a 'huge number of moving pieces' between now and the autumn Budget, including new growth and productivity forecasts, energy price changes and interest rate decisions from the Bank of England. Officials widely expect the Bank to cut rates in the coming weeks, in line with external forecasts, which would reduce the cost of borrowing for the Treasury. The Office for Budget Responsibility's (OBR) latest forecast predicts that debt interest payments will exceed £100 billion in this financial year – accounting for more than eight per cent of total public spending. But polling shows that two thirds of Labour MPs oppose the party's fiscal rules, and see breaking them and borrowing more as the best solution to the Chancellor's dilemma. 'It's hard to forgive her for where we are now,' said one MP. 'She chose to target the poorest.' There are few MPs now openly discussing Ms Reeves leaving the Government, but most are calling for a 'reset' in Downing Street, and for Sir Keir to consider his political strategy more carefully. One rebel said simply that based on the economic statistics alone, the Chancellor is in 'deep trouble'. Dr Simon Opher, another of the rebels, said: 'The changes do not tackle the eligibility issues that are at the heart of many of the problems with Pip. 'The Bill should be scrapped and we should start again and put the needs of disabled people at the centre of the process.' On Friday, some rebels were vowing to continue the fight. Members of the Socialist Campaign Group, made up of a few dozen Left-wingers, plan to vote against the welfare legislation on Tuesday. Exact numbers remain to be seen. But government insiders and decisive rebel leaders are confident enough critics will support the new package that the legislation will comfortably pass. The Chancellor is left to clean up the mess. She could yet still dig herself out of this growing fiscal hole come autumn – but it may well be the public that ends up paying.
Forbes
9 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
3 Ways To Profit With Big Tech Back In The Driver's Seat
Big Tech is back in the driver's seat! The technology sector has been leading the market rally off the early-April lows – with sizable double-digit gains piling up. Here are three ways you can profit, courtesy of top MoneyShow experts. Mike Larson Big Tech is SO back. Again. Ever since the stock market bottomed out on April 7, we've seen most (though not ALL) of the biggest technology stocks rocket higher. All but two are outperforming smaller-capitalization stocks, as represented by the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM), as well as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) -- as you can see in this MoneyShow Chart of the Day. Big Tech SPY IWM Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) is the Big Tech name with the most post-'Liberation Day' juice – up 58%. Tesla Inc. (TSLA) isn't far behind, with a 40.4% rally. Next are Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Meta Platforms Inc. (META), both nipping at Tesla's heels with gains of 37.8% and 37.3%. Only Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) are notably lagging (+11.2% and +16.4%, respectively). What's behind the resumption of the Big Tech trade – a trade that has periodically popped back up over the past year or two? A few things... First, investors are boosting bets on earlier Federal Reserve rate cuts. Lower rates help boost growth-stock multiples. Second, concerns about tariff and trade policy have eased. President Trump has dialed backed some of his most punitive tariffs – and signaled a willingness to keep negotiating with trade partners. That could prevent some of the worst-case tech supply chain scenarios from playing out. Third, FOMO is back in play. Investors got too bearish during the declines, didn't get on board early enough in the subsequent rally, and they're now dog-piling into old favorites to play catch up. Add it all up and you have a tech sector that is leading again – and driving the averages to new highs. From where I sit, that's bullish…and underscores why my 'Be (Selectively) Bold' approach (still) looks like the right one here. Joe Markman Digital Creators & Consumers It's happening in real-time, yet most investors remain completely oblivious. The 'it' is the Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution, the greatest productivity accelerant since electricity. Let's talk about what it means for Microsoft Corp. (MSFT). According to a report on Bloomberg, MSFT is planning to cut thousands of jobs in its Xbox gaming division. These cuts will be in addition to the 6,000 employees fired in May at LinkedIn and other Microsoft subsidiaries. This is a sticky subject. There is going to be massive disruption. But it is a wonderful time to be a Microsoft shareholder. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Analysts scoffed at Magnificent Seven corporate leaders when they kept increasing capital expenditures for AI infrastructure. Research suggested that the companies would never earn a return on that invested capital because they couldn't imagine a large-enough business to justify the investment. When Satya Nadella, Microsoft's chief executive, invested $10 billion in OpenAI two years ago, Wall Street analysts thought he had lost his mind. There was no demand for another Siri, they wrote. What the analysts missed then is that ChatGPT, OpenAI's flagship product, isn't Siri. ChatGPT can write software code, while Siri can barely play songs on Apple Music. Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) digital assistant was never going to succeed, mostly due to corporate culture. The iPhone maker is a hardware company. But executives at the other Mag-7 companies live and breathe software. They understood immediately what ChatGPT was, and they went all-in on AI. Make no mistake: layoffs at the biggest software companies are about to become much more common. This is because large portions of software employees can be replaced with AI. In the same way that electricity enabled mechanized, automated production that required fewer workers to achieve greater output, AI software is going to hollow out large parts of white-collar work. These changes will happen swiftly and persistently, as they are now occurring at Microsoft. In the past, foundational technology shifts have led to greater employment as new sectors and businesses were born. Pessimists said the Internet was going to shutter the global economy. More than two decades later, it turns out that connecting the entire world to a network led to millions of new jobs in the digital economy and employment in business verticals that previously did not exist. The flip side for investors is that productivity means increased profits. When headcounts are lower, more money flows to the bottom line. None of this is being reflected currently in share price valuations. Expect this to change in the second half of 2025 as hyperscalers talk about doing more with less, much to the surprise of the Wall Street analyst community. Recommended Action: Buy MSFT. George Gilder Gilder's Technology Report The market capitalization leaderboard for semiconductors continues to highlight the divergence between IP ownership and physical production. US firms dominate the top rankings — Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) at $2.476 trillion, Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) at $804 billion — but that masks how irreplaceable the manufacturing layer has become in a geopolitically fractured world. Key fabrication and tooling players like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM), Samsung, and ASML Holding NV (ASML) remain undervalued by comparison. This valuation gap reflects investor focus on scalability and software leverage. Top 10 Semiconductors In today's semiconductor market, location defines exposure, not necessarily strength. Nvidia, Broadcom, and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) — all US-headquartered — are rewarded for their innovation, commanding premium valuations and massive market capitalizations. But their products are inseparable from the Asian manufacturing ecosystem. TSMC, Samsung, and ASML remain irreplaceable at the physical layer of chip production. Tariffs, meanwhile, distort incentives. They penalize final assembly hubs like China without reshoring critical stages such as wafer fabrication or back-end packaging. This imbalance creates investment opportunities — and risks. US design-centric firms gain margin leverage, but companies controlling equipment, lithography, or memory — like ASML, Applied Materials, and SK Hynix — are the real backbone of global production. Investors should pay close attention to companies bridging these two worlds: Those that own irreplaceable manufacturing capacity and are structurally tied to Western markets. ASML and TSM remain critical infrastructure. Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT), Lam Research Corp. (LRCX), and KLA Corp. (KLAC) control the tools that keep fabs alive. Nvidia and Broadcom may lead the stock market — but it's the factory floor that decides who can actually deliver.
Globe and Mail
11 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Chart of the Day 6/27/25: Big Tech is SO Back. Again.
Big Tech is SO back. Again. Ever since the stock market bottomed out on April 7, we've seen most (though not ALL) of the biggest technology stocks rocket higher. All but two are outperforming smaller-capitalization stocks, as represented by the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM), as well as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) -- as you can see in this MoneyShow Chart of the Day. 'Big Tech,' SPY, IWM (% Change Since April Low) Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) is the Big Tech name with the most post-"Liberation Day" juice – up 58%. Tesla Inc. (TSLA) isn't far behind, with a 40.4% rally. Next are Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Meta Platforms Inc. (META), both nipping at Tesla's heels with gains of 37.8% and 37.3%. Only Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) are notably lagging (+11.2% and +16.4%, respectively). What's behind the resumption of the Big Tech trade – a trade that has periodically popped back up over the past year or two? A few things... First, investors are boosting bets on earlier Federal Reserve rate cuts. Lower rates help boost growth-stock multiples. Second, concerns about tariff and trade policy have eased. President Trump has dialed backed some of his most punitive tariffs – and signaled a willingness to keep negotiating with trade partners. That could prevent some of the worst-case tech supply chain scenarios from playing out. Third, FOMO is back in play. Investors got too bearish during the declines, didn't get on board early enough in the subsequent rally, and they're now dog-piling into old favorites to play catch up. Add it all up and you have a tech sector that is leading again – and driving the averages to new highs. From where I sit, that's bullish…and underscores why my 'Be (Selectively) Bold' approach (still) looks like the right one here. Finally, if you want to get more articles and chart analysis from MoneyShow, subscribe to our Top Pros' Top Picks newsletter here.
