Carney's pledge that Canada would recognize Palestinian state gets mixed reactions
Omar Mansour from Victoria says he feels encouraged by Carney's announcement but believes Canada needs to do more to assist people trying to flee the Gaza Strip.
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Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
‘Superficial' to compare Canada, Mexico approaches to U.S. tariffs: Anand
Foreign Minister Anita Anand said Tuesday it would be 'superficial' to compare the approaches Canada and Mexico have taken to navigating trade negotiations with the United States, given how different their economic relationships with the U.S. are, despite only Canada facing rising tariffs. Anand and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne met with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and their ministerial counterparts in Mexico City to talk economic growth, trade and security. The two-day trip comes as many Canadians wonder why the U.S. hit Canada on Friday with a 35 per cent tariff on goods not compliant with the Canada-United States-Mexico agreement on trade, known as CUSMA, while Mexico received a 90-day reprieve from threatened higher U.S. levies. The U.S. counts Canada and Mexico among its largest trading partners. U.S. President Donald Trump said last week the 90-day period would allow room to negotiate a new trade deal with Mexico — something Canada is also currently trying to secure. Story continues below advertisement Asked if the ministers took away anything from their conversations with Sheinbaum that could help those talks along, Anand suggested the meeting was much more focused on Canada's relationship with Mexico and 'the desire for a strong North American economy.' 'I want to stress that Canada's economic relationship with the United States differs significantly from Mexico's,' she told reporters at a virtual briefing. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'To parse out individual elements of one country's negotiations versus our own is somewhat superficial, because the relationship is so very complex.' 0:52 Mexico, Canada coordinate as Trump warns of new USMCA tariffs Prior to the meeting, Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard suggested he would be speaking with Champagne about about the two countries' experiences in dealing with U.S. tariffs. 'They want to know how Mexico is getting these results,' Ebrard told journalists. Story continues below advertisement 'We're going to exchange experiences. They're paying a 35 per cent tariff, and Mexico isn't.' Champagne added the talks focused on strengthening partnerships with Mexico on energy, artificial intelligence and other areas of cooperation. He said the meeting was an example of Canada's strategy of diversifying its international relationships in the face of unpredictability from the Trump administration, calling it the right strategy for Canadians. Mexico secured the three-month reprieve after speaking with Trump directly last week. Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed Tuesday at an event in British Columbia that he has not spoken to Trump 'in recent days,' after previously holding several indirect conversations with the U.S. president in the weeks before Trump raised tariffs on Canada. 'We'll speak when it makes sense,' he told reporters. Sheinbaum posted on X after Tuesday's meeting that Canada and Mexico were 'strengthening the relationship between our countries.' Ontario Premier Doug Ford last year called for a bilateral trade deal between Canada and the United States because he said Mexico was serving as a back door for Chinese auto parts and vehicles entering the North American market. Those calls earned support from former prime minister Justin Trudeau and then-deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, now the transport minister. Story continues below advertisement Anand said Sheinbaum's presence at this summer's G7 summit in Alberta, where she met with Prime Minister Mark Carney, began the process of repairing the Canada-Mexico relationship and that this week's meetings continued that process. She called the meetings 'productive' in a post on X. 'These discussions with the president and members of her government advanced key shared priorities in terms of economic growth, security and trade diversification,' she added. Both Anand and Champagne stressed that CUSMA, which is due for a mandatory review next year, remains in the best interests of all three North American partners and should be preserved and strengthened. —with files from Reuters
Calgary Herald
an hour ago
- Calgary Herald
Carney pledges $1.2 billion for lumber sector hit by Trump
Article content Prime Minister Mark Carney promised as much as $1.2 billion to shore up Canada's lumber industry, which has been hit hard by United States duties that are about to significantly increase. Article content Carney said Tuesday that up to $700 million in loan guarantees will help forestry companies of all sizes maintain and restructure their operations. He also pledged $500 million in grants and contributions for product development and market diversification. Article content Article content Article content 'Canada does not dump lumber into the United States, and we will continue to make the case that these current and proposed duties are unjustified,' Carney said in West Kelowna, British Columbia. Article content Article content 'We are a vital supplier to our southern neighbor, representing around a quarter of the U.S. market and helping to keep down the costs of American homes.' Article content The dispute between the U.S. and Canada over softwood lumber stretches back decades, with the U.S. periodically imposing duties to counteract what it claims are unfair Canadian government subsidies. Article content The U.S. Commerce Department is expected on Friday to conclude hiking duties on Canadian softwood to about 35 per cent from a previous total of 14.4 per cent. That's a combination of anti-dumping and countervailing duties. Article content U.S. President Donald Trump has escalated the fight even further, ordering an increase to U.S. lumber production and an investigation of the national security risk of lumber imports. The probe is under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which Trump has already used to place new tariffs on steel, aluminum and copper. Article content Article content Canada shipped $40.3 billion of forest products and building and packaging materials to the U.S. last year, its fifth-largest category of exports to its largest trading partner. Article content Article content Carney said his government would launch its promised homebuilding agency, called Build Canada Homes, in the fall, which will prioritize Canadian lumber, steel and aluminum in construction. It will also require companies contracting with the federal government to source domestic lumber. Article content As well, the government will draft new initiatives to diversify international markets for Canadian lumber, along with retraining programs for workers, he said. Article content Canada has long denied the U.S. claim that it sets artificially low 'stumpage rates,' fees sawmills pay to provinces to harvest timber from government-owned forests. The World Trade Organization in 2020 largely backed Canada's argument that U.S. levies were unfair.
Calgary Herald
an hour ago
- Calgary Herald
Israel poised to order new Gaza war plan
Article content JERUSALEM — Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared Tuesday to unveil an updated Gaza war plan designed to destroy Hamas and secure the release of dozens of hostages, with Israeli media reporting he would order the total occupation of the Palestinian territory. Article content Netanyahu was expected to meet security chiefs in Jerusalem to issue new orders, even as Israel's diplomats convened a UN Security Council meeting in New York to highlight the plight of Israelis held in Gaza. Article content Article content Article content The timing of the security meeting has not been officially confirmed. Netanyahu said Monday that it would be 'in the coming days.' Article content Article content Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 said Netanyahu would meet the army chief of staff, and the defence and army ministers. Unnamed senior officials told Israeli media he intends to order the re-occupation of Gaza. Article content 'Netanyahu wants the Israeli army to conquer the entire Gaza Strip,' said a report on public broadcaster Kan. Article content 'Several cabinet members who spoke with the prime minister confirmed that he has decided to extend the fight to areas where hostages might be held.' The private daily Maariv declared: 'The die is cast. We're en route for the total conquest of Gaza.' Article content While the reconquest plan has not been officially confirmed, it has already drawn an angry response from the Palestinian Authority and Gaza's Hamas-run government, which insisted it will not shift its position on ceasefire talks. Article content Article content 'We want to reach an agreement that ends the war. The ball is now in the hands of Israel and the Americans, who support Israeli positions and delay the conclusion of an agreement,' senior Hamas official Husam Badran told broadcaster Al Jazeera. Article content Desperate families Article content After 22 months of combat sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attacks by Hamas that killed 1,219 people and saw hundreds kidnapped, the Israeli army has devastated large parts of the Palestinian territory. Article content More than 60,933 Palestinians have been killed, according to figures from Hams-run Gaza's health ministry, and humanitarian agencies have warned that the territory's 2.4 million people are slipping into a catastrophic famine. Article content Article content But Netanyahu is under pressure on several fronts.
