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CBC
5 hours ago
- CBC
Western countries' pledge to recognize Palestinian state may help negotiations, but some say it's too late
Plans announced by France, the United Kingdom and Canada to recognize a Palestinian state won't bring one about anytime soon, though they may further isolate Israel and strengthen the Palestinians' negotiating position over the long term. The problem for the Palestinians is that there may not be a long term. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects Palestinian statehood and has vowed to maintain open-ended control over occupied East Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and the war-ravaged Gaza Strip — territories Israel seized in the 1967 war that the Palestinians want for their state. Israeli leaders favour the outright annexation of much of the West Bank, where Israel has already built well over 100 settlements, illegal under international law, housing more than 500,000 Jewish settlers. Israel's offensive in Gaza has reduced most of it to a smouldering wasteland and is pushing it toward famine, and Israel says it is pressing ahead with plans to relocate much of its population of some two million to other countries. The United States, the only country with any real leverage over Israel, has taken its side. Palestinians have welcomed international support for their decades-long quest for statehood but say there are more urgent measures Western countries could take if they wanted to pressure Israel. WATCH: 'It's better than nothing' — Palestinians react to Canada's plan to recognize state: Palestinians react to news that Canada will recognize Palestinian state After almost two years of war, Palestinians in Gaza welcome the news that Canada will recognize a Palestinian state in September — with conditions — but some say the move comes 'a little too late.' "It's a bit odd that the response to daily atrocities in Gaza, including what is by all accounts deliberate starvation, is to recognize a theoretical Palestinian state that may never actually come into being," said Khaled Elgindy, a visiting scholar at Georgetown University's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies. "It looks more like a way for these countries to appear to be doing something," he said. More than 60,000 people have been killed in Gaza as a result of Israel's offensive, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Fathi Nimer, a policy fellow at Al-Shabaka, a Palestinian think-tank, says they could have suspended trade agreements with Israel, imposed arms embargoes or other sanctions. "There is a wide tool set at the disposal of these countries, but there is no political will to use it," he said. WATCH: Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will recognize Palestinian state in September: Canada to recognize Palestinian state in September if conditions met Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada will recognize a Palestinian state later this year if the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank, meets certain conditions. New surge to recognize Palestinian state Most countries in the world recognized Palestinian statehood decades ago, but Britain and France would be the third and fourth permanent members of the UN Security Council to do so, leaving the U.S. as the only holdout. "We're talking about major countries and major Israeli allies," said Alon Pinkas, an Israeli political analyst and former consul general in New York. "They're isolating the U.S. and they're leaving Israel dependent — not on the U.S., but on the whims and erratic behaviour of one person: Trump." Recognition could also strengthen moves to prevent annexation, said Hugh Lovatt, an expert on the conflict at the European Council on Foreign Relations. The challenge, he said, "is for those recognizing countries to match their recognition with other steps, practical steps." It could also prove significant if Israel and the Palestinians ever resume the long-dormant peace process, which ground to a halt after Netanyahu returned to office in 2009. WATCH: Canada adding its voice 'to a diplomatic chorus' with statehood recognition: Prospects for a 2-state solution have been 'gravely eroded,' says Carney Rob Oliphant, parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs, says Canada is 'adding its voice to a diplomatic chorus' by planning to recognize Palestinian statehood as the humanitarian situation in Gaza worsens. "If and when some kind of negotiations do resume, probably not in the immediate future, but at some point, it puts Palestine on much more equal footing," said Julie Norman, a professor of Middle East politics at University College London. "It has statehood as a starting point for those negotiations, rather than a certainly-not-assured endpoint." Israel rejects calls for statehood Israel's government and most of its political class were opposed to Palestinian statehood long before the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas that triggered the war. Netanyahu says creating a Palestinian state would reward Hamas and eventually lead to an even larger Hamas-run state on Israel's borders. Hamas leaders have at times suggested they would accept a state on the 1967 borders, but the group remains formally committed to Israel's destruction. Western countries envision a future Palestinian state that would be democratic but also led by political rivals of Hamas who accept Israel and help it suppress the militant group, which won parliamentary elections in 2006 and seized power in Gaza the following year. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose authority administers parts of the occupied West Bank, supports a two-state solution and co-operates with Israel on security matters. He has made a series of concessions in recent months, including announcing the end to the Palestinian Authority's practice of providing stipends to the families of prisoners held by Israel and slain militants. Such measures, along with the security co-ordination, have made it deeply unpopular with Palestinians, and have yet to earn it any favours from Israel or the Trump administration. Israel says Abbas is not sincerely committed to peace and accuses him of tolerating incitement and militancy. Lovatt says there is much to criticize about the PA but that "often the failings of the Palestinian leadership are exaggerated in a way to relieve Israel of its own obligations." Some worry that progress toward a Palestinian state is coming too late. People walk down a street surrounded by buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. (Jehad Alshrafi/The Associated Press) If in September 2023, Palestinians were told that major countries were on the verge of recognizing a state, that the UN's highest court had ordered Israel to end the occupation, that the International Criminal Court had ordered Netanyahu's arrest and that prominent voices from across the U.S. political spectrum were furious with Israel, they might have thought their dream of statehood was at hand. But those developments pale in comparison to the ongoing war in Gaza and smaller but similarly destructive military offensives in the West Bank. Israel's military victories over Iran and its allies have left it the dominant and nearly unchallenged military power in the region, and Trump is the strongest supporter it has ever had in the White House. "This [Israeli] government is not going to change policy," Pinkas said. "The recognition issue, the ending of the war, humanitarian aid — that's all going to have to wait for another government."
CBC
11 hours ago
- CBC
Trump's tariff games + hotline for drug users
The National breaks down the winners and losers of U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to reshape the global economy. Plus, the hotline for people who use drugs alone.
Globe and Mail
19 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
The Latest: Trump orders new tariffs on multiple US trade partners to take effect in 7 days
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that would have new tariffs on a wide swath of U.S. trading partners to go into effect in seven days — the next step in his trade agenda that will test the global economy and alliances. The order was issued shortly after 7 p.m. It came after a flurry of tariff-related activity in recent days, as the White House announced agreements with various nations and blocs ahead of Trump's self-imposed Aug. 1 deadline. Also on Thursday, Trump announced that he would be extending trade negotiations with Mexico for 90 days. But the vast majority of nations are continuing to face uncertainty ahead of the coming deadline. And while a handful of trade deals have also trickled in, many details remain hazy — with businesses and manufacturers around the world bracing for heightened operating costs and potential price hikes regardless. Meanwhile, Trump's overhaul of American trade policy hasn't gone unchallenged. Appellate court judges have expressed broad skepticism around Trump's legal rationale for his most expansive round of tariffs. Here's the Latest: Trump signs order for new tariffs to go into effect in 7 days The president has signed an executive order that would have new tariffs on a wide swath of U.S. trading partners to go into effect in seven days — the next step in his trade agenda that will test the global economy and alliances. The order was issued shortly after 7 p.m. It came after a flurry of tariff-related activity in recent days, as the White House announced agreements with various nations and blocs ahead of Trump's self-imposed Aug. 1 deadline. Weakening dollar and coming tariffs hit Aperol maker Campari Group CEO Simon Hunt says pending U.S. tariffs on European products isn't the only challenge facing the global maker of premium spirits, wines and aperitifs like Aperol. In addition to an expected 15% tariff, the weakening dollar is pushing up the price of imports. 'This means the knock-on effect on consumer pricing is more substantial than simply the tariffs,'' Hunt told The Associated Press on Thursday. Still, the Campari Group — which counts Aperol, Campari, Courvoisier cognac and Glen Grant whiskey in its vast portfolio — estimates the expected tariffs will cost it 20 million euros this year and 35 million euros next year. Hunt says his team has worked out multiple mitigation scenarios, but that until the tariffs are finalized it is too early to discuss which to employ, including whether or not to hike prices. As for shifting production, Campari already has a significant facility in Kentucky, where it produces Wild Turkey bourbon. But Hunt underlined that a number of the group's brands 'are driven by provenance. So if I take cognac, for example, I can't make cognac in Kentucky. There's no version of that that works.' Hunt said the industry on both sides of the Atlantic is still hoping for carve-outs excluding spirits, wine and alcohol from the tariffs. 'It's in everyone's interest, but that's up to the White House and the EU to agree to,'' he said. Appellate judges question Trump's authority to impose tariffs without Congress Members of the 11-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington appeared unconvinced by the Trump administration's insistence that the president could impose tariffs without congressional approval, and it hammered its invocation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to do so. 'IEEPA doesn't even mention the word 'tariffs' anywhere,' Circuit Judge Jimmie Reyna said, in a sign of the panel's incredulity to a government attorney's arguments. Brett Schumate, the attorney representing the Trump administration, acknowledged that 'no president has ever read IEEPA this way' but contended it was nonetheless lawful. ▶ Read more about the challenge in federal court. Mexico kicks US tariff can back another 90 days On Thursday, Trump said that he would extend trade talks with Mexico by 90 days, as his 25% tariff rates on many goods from the country remain in place. Mexico had previously faced the prospect of a 30% tariff from Trump set to start Friday, something the country now gets to stave off for the next three months. The announcement arrived after a call with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum — with Trump noting in a post on Truth Social that the conversation with Sheinbaum was 'very successful in that, more and more, we are getting to know and understand each other.' He also said that autos would face 25% tariffs — but copper, aluminum and steel would still be taxed at 50%. Sheinbaum later applauded the latest delay in Trump's threatened tariffs. She said that it was a 'good agreement' and that the two leaders had continued to 'negotiate and work as equals.' Any good covered under the USMCA trade pact would also remain tariff free, she added. Gabriela Siller, economic analysis director for Banco Base in Mexico, said the delay in new tariffs was 'positive,' but means that sectors already dealing with import taxes will continue to suffer. Moody's Analytics Director Alfredo Coutiño added that Mexico doesn't need postponements, but rather 'resolution of the problem.' The decision 'wins time, but it prolongs the agony and uncertainty,' he said. ▶ Read more about the U.S. and Mexico's new 90-day negotiation period. Chile officials express relief over Trump's decision to exclude refined copper from 50% tariffs Authorities in Chile, the world's largest copper producer, breathed a collective sigh of relief Thursday at Trump's decision to exclude refined copper from his coming 50% tariffs on copper imports. Chile has a trade agreement with the U.S. and last year accounted for 65% of American imports of refined copper, according to the U.S, Geological Survey. Its copper exports totaled over $50.1 million, government data shows. In a joint statement, three Chilean Cabinet members said it was 'good news' that Trump's tariff would not apply to copper cathodes, Chile's main export. 'This result reflects the hard work that Chile has done in this area,' said Foreign Minister Alberto van Klaveren, 'both in our country and through our embassy in Washington.' Switzerland and Norway are among countries uncertain about what Aug. 1 will bring Earlier this week, Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg said it was 'completely uncertain' whether a U.S.-Norway deal would happen by Friday's deadline. 'We must be prepared for the tariffs into the U.S. to increase on Aug. 1,' Stoltenberg told public broadcaster NRK. 'But we are working and in close dialogue with the Americans to see if it is still possible to prevent it.' Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs announced in April initially set a relatively low — by comparison to some other countries — rate of 15% on Norwegian goods. That's the same rate that the European Union agreed to in a hard-wrought deal announced Sunday. Meanwhile, Switzerland is facing a much higher rate — 31% — which has suspended until Friday. It's uncertain whether that rate will return afterward. Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter recalled how she met with Trump at the White House just a week after the tariffs were announced, and made her case for Switzerland against them. 'Now it's in the hands of the United States, in the hands of the American president – and it's up to him to decide,' she told public broadcaster RTS this week. Brazil says 35% of its exports to the US will be affected by Trump's 50% tariff rate Brazil's Vice President Geraldo Alckmin said Thursday that 35% of the country's exports to the United States will be affected by Trump's new 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods. Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to impose the tariffs, citing Brazil's policies and the criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro as an 'economic emergency' under a 1977 law. The order exempts certain items, including civil aircraft and parts, aluminum, tin, wood pulp, energy products and fertilizers. Alckmin said those items make up 45% of Brazilian exports to the U.S., while another 20% — such as steel — were already subject to higher tariffs. Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said Trump's order marks the start of talks, not the end of the process. He added that U.S. officials appeared receptive to Brazil's concerns. 'There is a lot of injustice in the measures announced yesterday,' Haddad told reporters, noting his office is scheduling a second meeting with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. ▶ Read more about Trump's coming 50% tariffs on Brazil. Ferrari awaits clarification on EU tariffs before changing prices Luxury sportscar maker Ferrari said Thursday that it was awaiting confirmation of tariffs on European imports to the U.S. before scaling back a price surcharge imposed in April. Ferrari, which last year sold some 4,000 cars in the Americas, raised prices by 10% on imports to the United States after April 2, except for the Ferrari 296, SF90 and Roma model families. CEO Benedetto Vigna said that until there is an executive order lowering tariffs on imported cars, Ferrari will maintain the higher prices. 'It's very difficult to judge, because the order intake depends very much on the cars that we have available for order, and since we are close to the end of the life cycles of several of our models and others are sold out, we can't really measure the overall sentiment,'' CFO Antonio Picca Piccon added. Cars shipments from Europe prepare for latest price increases A light drizzle off the North Sea washed tens of thousands of cars ready to load on a giant cargo ship — all with a brand new increase in price thanks to American tariffs rolling out worldwide. Belgium's coastline is one of the chokepoints of the global trade in automobiles — brought by trains and trucks from the factories of Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and BMW and others to ship to customers overseas in the United Kingdom, Asia, the Middle East, South America and North America. The port of Zeebrugge exports about 1.8 million cars every year from Europe around the world. And at just one terminal run by Internation Car Operators, about 70,000 cars sat waiting on teams of drivers in white gloves to drive them into a massive container ship shaped like a shoe box. When Trump initially announced global tariffs on cars, manufacturers scrambled to get their vehicles to customers before the tariff deadline. But following an agreement between Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the uncertainty is giving way to business-as-usual — just with a heftier price tag for consumers. A key text still isn't ready for the coming tariffs on EU goods The European Union is working on the assumption that the U.S. will impose a 15% tariff on most EU exports on Friday, even though the two sides have yet to complete a key document clarifying how the agreement will operate. Under a political agreement reached last weekend, Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the 15% duties would be imposed on around two-thirds of EU goods. But as of Thursday the two sides were still working on a joint statement that would lay out the terms of their understanding, EU commission spokesman Olof Gill said. Carve outs were agreed for a range of 'strategic' goods like aircraft and aircraft parts, certain chemicals, some drug generics or natural resources. Gill said that 'it is also our clear understanding that the U.S. will implement the exemptions to the 15% ceiling.' 'The U.S. has made these commitments. Now it's up to the US to implement them. The ball is in their court,' Gill said. He added that negotiations on additional exemptions to the new tariff regime continue. ▶ Read more about the EU's preparations for coming U.S. tariffs. French skincare company says tariffs will lead to rising prices and job freezes French skincare company Yon-Ka is warning of job freezes, scaled-back investment, and rising prices after the U.S. and EU struck a trade deal that will see 15% tariffs imposed on most European goods entering the American market. 'The U.S. market is our first client', said Alexis Wolkowinski, President of Yon-Ka, in an interview at the company's headquarters outside Paris. 'We are strong in the U.S., but because we are strong, it's impacted us more than anything else. So yes, it's very, very difficult for us to have to support this tax.' Roughly 25% of Yon-Ka's global turnover comes from the United States, Wolkowinski said. With the added burden of a weaker dollar against the euro, the tariff adds further pressure on margins. A modest price increase of 3–4% is likely in the coming months — far from enough to offset the added costs. 'We'll have to bear a lot of these costs on our shoulders," he added. Key US inflation gauge rose last month as Trump's tariffs lifted goods prices The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge ticked higher last month in a sign that Trump's broad-based tariffs are starting to lift prices for many goods. Prices rose 2.6% in June compared with a year ago, the Commerce Department said Thursday, up from an annual pace of 2.4% in May. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, prices rose 2.8% in the past year, the same as the previous month, which was revised higher. Trump is using Canada's recognition of the Palestinian state in trade talks Trump said Canada's announcement it will recognize a Palestinian state 'will make it very hard' for the U.S. to reach a trade agreement with its northern neighbor. The threat posted in the early hours Thursday on Trump's social media network is the latest way he has sought to use his trade war to coerce countries on unrelated issues and is a swing from the ambivalence he has expressed about other countries making such a move. 'Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine,' Trump said in his post on Truth Social just past midnight. 'That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh' Canada!!!" The Republican president said this week that he didn't mind British Prime Minister Keir Starmer taking a position on the issue of formally recognizing Palestinian statehood. And last week, he said that French President Emmanuel Macron's similar move was 'not going to change anything.' ▶ Read more about Trump's trade talks with Canada. US and Pakistan announce trade agreement The U.S. and Pakistan reached a trade agreement expected to allow Washington to help develop Pakistan's largely untapped oil reserves and lower tariffs for the South Asian country, officials from both nations said Thursday. Officials did not specify where the exploration would take place — and in a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said 'we are in the process of choosing the oil company that will lead this partnership.' Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the 'long-awaited' deal and thanked Trump for playing a key role in finalizing it. Pakistan's Finance Ministry said in a statement early Thursday the agreement aims to boost bilateral trade, expand market access, attract investment and foster cooperation in areas of mutual interest. The deal includes a reduction in reciprocal tariffs, particularly on Pakistani exports to the U.S., the statement from the ministry said. A new figure wasn't immediately provided. ▶ Read more about the Pakistan's trade agreement with the U.S. Indian government assesses the impact of the US's coming tariffs India's Trade Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said the Indian government is in talks with exporters, industries and other stakeholders to assess the impact of 25% import tariff imposed by the U.S. on Indian goods. In a statement to the parliament, Goyal said the government will take all necessary steps to secure and advance the national interest. The minister said India has in the past decade transformed from being one of the fragile fives to the fastest growing major economy in the world. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry said it was disappointed with the imposition of 25% import tariffs and an additional penalty on Indian goods by the U.S. — with Harsha Vardhan Agarwal, president of the industry body, noting that the move 'will have a clear bearing on our exports.' 'India and U.S. have a long-standing partnership, which is strengthened by our deepening engagement across an array of areas from technology to defense to energy and advance manufacturing," Agarwal said in a statement late Wednesday. 'There is a lot our two countries can achieve together.' Meanwhile, in social media post early Thursday, Trump claimed that the U.S. had "done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high.' He also took particular aim at Russia — and stated that both India and Russia 'can take their dead economies down together.' India relies heavily on imported crude oil, particularly from Russia India is currently the third biggest importer of oil after China and the United States, depending heavily on imported crude oil. Over 80% of India's crude oil is imported. Russia is the biggest supplier to India — followed by Iraq, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and the United States. Earlier this month, the country's crude processors were hit by the EU's sanctions on Indian diesel imports made from Russian oil, with Nayara Energy, an Indo-Russian oil refining and marketing company specifically targeted with penalties. 'Whether India will stop importing from Russia, depends on what the penalty is. The country will weigh its options before deciding,' said Sangeeta Godbole, a former trade negotiator with three decades of experience in the Indian government. Godbole said the vagueness of the penalty threat issued by the U.S. might be deliberate. 'It's all so fluid right now. According to me, the only people we can turn to are the Middle-East countries but they are part of the OPEC+ just like Russia,' she added. South Korean president hails trade deal with the US South Korea's president hailed the trade deal announced by Trump Thursday, saying it would serve as a chance to further strengthen economic cooperation and military alliance with the United States. In a Facebook post, Lee Jae Myung said the $350 billion investment fund is meant to solidify a foundation for bilateral cooperation on strategic industries. The fund will play a role of supporting the entrance to the U.S. market by South Korean companies in areas where they excel such as shipbuilding, semiconductors, secondary batteries, biotechnology and energy. Lee also said the deal would remove uncertainty surrounding South Korea's export environment as the U.S. 15% tariff for goods from South Korea is a lower or similar figure facing other major trade competitors. 'The government was only engaged in negotiations by placing a top priority on national interests,' Lee said. 'It's important to pull out a mutually beneficial agreement, rather than seeking unilateral benefits.'
