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44 minutes ago
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U.S. commerce secretary dismisses question that free trade with Canada is dead
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is dismissing the question of whether U.S. free trade with Canada is dead, calling the notion "silly" and saying a substantial amount of Canadian goods enter the U.S. tariff-free under the current North American free trade deal. "We have a plan called [the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement], virtually 75 per cent of all goods coming from Mexico and Canada are already coming tariff-free," Lutnick said in an interview on Face the Nation that aired Sunday morning on CBS. But in the same breath, Lutnick suggested tariffs on Canada are here to stay, for now. "The president understands that we need to open the markets. Canada is not open to us. They need to open their market. Unless they're willing to open their market, they're going to pay a tariff," he added. The commerce secretary's comments come days after Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters in French there's "not a lot of evidence right now" that the U.S. is willing to cut a deal with Canada without some tariffs included. WATCH | Carney says 'not a lot of evidence' for tariff-free deal: But the prime minister also said on Tuesday that Canada has "almost free trade" with the U.S. — a reference to tariff exemptions granted to Canadian goods that are compliant with USMCA, known as the Agreement (CUSMA) among Canadians. According to an RBC report released last month, approximately 79 per cent of U.S. imports from Canada were "explicitly duty free" in January 2025. That figure rose to approximately 89 per cent in April. "Why should we have our country be wide open while theirs is closed? This is an 80-year wrong that President Trump is trying to fix, and our businesses are going to really, really enjoy it," Lutnick told host Margaret Brennan. CUSMA negotiations looming Lutnick also told Brennan that Trump "is absolutely going to renegotiate [CUSMA], but that's a year from today." "It makes perfect sense for the president to renegotiate it. He wants to protect American jobs. He doesn't want cars built in Canada or Mexico when they could be built in Michigan or Ohio. It's just better for American workers," he added. CUSMA is not officially up for renegotiation until 2026, but some Canadian business leaders and others have called on the federal government to kick-start talks for the sake of economic stability. There are also lingering questions over whether negotiations will yield another trilateral trade pact. Last November, Ontario Premier Doug Ford pitched ditching Mexico and signing a bilateral deal with the United States — a move Alberta Premier Danielle Smith agreed was worth exploring. That suggestion sent a chill through Canada-Mexico relations, but Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum appear to be closing the gap. The two leaders met with each other in June during the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., and "looked forward to meeting again in Mexico in the coming months," according to a news release published on the prime minister's website. Canada-U.S. trade talks continue Carney and his negotiating team continue to work toward a deal with Trump in hopes of avoiding the U.S. president's latest threat — a 35 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods. The U.S. president made the threat in a letter he posted on social media that was addressed to the prime minister. He said the tariffs would come into effect on Aug. 1 and that the United States would increase levies if Canada retaliates. Lutnick said the White House will cut better deals with large countries that open their economies "to ranchers, fishermen, farmers and businesses," but if they keep tariff barriers in place then "it seems fair" to impose levies. WATCH | Trump threatens 35 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods: In his letter, Trump cited fentanyl "pouring" into the U.S. from Canada as the reason for his latest tariff threat, even though data continues to show minimal amounts of the drug are crossing the Canada-U.S. border compared to the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump also took a shot at Canada's supply management system, a long-standing irritant that he claims leads to Canada imposing tariffs as high as 400 per cent on American dairy products. High Canadian tariffs only apply if the agreed tariff-rate quotas on U.S. dairy imports under USMCA are reached or exceeded. The U.S.-based International Dairy Association says the Americans have never gotten close to exceeding quotas, but also claims it's because of "protectionist measures" from Canada that limit exports. The Liberal government has maintained it will not dismantle supply management.
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NFLPA's J.C. Tretter resigns after backlash against candidacy to replace Lloyd Howell, uses 'Game of Thrones' character to defend himself
J.C. Tretter was the other name scrutinized in the backlash that led to NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell resigning. He's headed out too now. The former Cleveland Browns center, who was working as the union's chief strategy officer after two terms as president during his playing days, told CBS Sports on Sunday he is taking himself out of the running for the interim executive director position and resigning from the union, citing the impact on his family. He did so after it was reported he was in a two-man race for interim executive director alongside NFLPA chief player officer Don Davis. From CBS Sports: "I'm not resigning because what I've been accused of is true. ... I'm not resigning in disgrace. I'm resigning because this has gone too far for me and my family, and I've sucked it up for six weeks. And I felt like I've been kind of left in the wind taking shots for the best of the organization," he said. "… I got to the point this morning where I woke up and I realized, like, I am going to keep dying on this f***ing sword forever of, I'll never, ever be able to do what's best for me. And I will always pick what's best for the organization. And in the end, what's the organization done for me? Like, nothing. Tretter played a central role in Howell's hire, which has been increasingly questioned after it was reported the players might not have known about a sexual discrimination lawsuit against him at his previous employer and that he had a massive conflict of interest as a Carlyle Group consultant. It was also revealed last week that a grievance successfully brought by the NFL against Tretter was covered up. The news that Tretter might have replaced Howell when the vote went to the players was met with disbelief and criticism from some former players, many of whom worked in NFLPA leadership or as player representatives. A text message was also reportedly being distributed among players railing against him as "the common denominator in all these scandals." Promoting Tretter to executive director would have represented an endorsement of the NFLPA's leadership in recent years, and it has become very clear that would be a hard sell. The NFLPA has had a very bad month The controversy began last month when Pablo Torre and Mike Florio reported the NFL and NFLPA buried a ruling on a collusion grievance that saw an arbitrator conclude that the league encouraged its teams to reduce guaranteed money in 2022 after Deshaun Watson's unprecedented, fully guaranteed contract. The NFL actually won the grievance because the arbitrator, Christopher Droney, concluded he could not establish a "clear preponderance" that NFL teams acted on that advice, but he still left a damning sentence on page 55 of a 61-page document: 'There is little question that the NFL Management Council, with the blessing of the Commissioner, encouraged the 32 NFL Clubs to reduce guarantees in veterans' contracts at the March 2022 annual owners' meeting.' The NFL's reason for hiding that conclusion is obvious. It validates many critics' portrayals of a league willing to color outside the lines to suppress player compensation in any way it can get away with. What was less clear was why the NFLPA agreed with the NFL that the public, and more notably the players, didn't need to see that a neutral observer concluded its main adversary was acting in such a way. Questions abounded for Howell and the rest of the union's leadership, and it got worse as the weeks went on. After Howell resigned Thursday, it was reported Friday he had been discovered to have expensed more than $3,000 at strip clubs. The NFLPA has never been anywhere close to the most prestigious or effective player union in sports, but the latest developments were beyond the pale enough for many that Tretter couldn't escape the backlash either. J.C. Tretter compares himself to a 'Game of Thrones' character while defending decisions In a lengthy interview with CBS, Tretter defended himself on many of the above contentions, most notably the notion that he pushed Howell into the executive director role from the shadows. Howell was one of two finalists, alongside former SAG-AFTRA director David White. Tretter said that while Howell performed better in interviews, the NFLPA executive committee voted 10-1 in favor of White over Howell, with Tretter among the 10. However, the committee did not share its preference with the board of 32 player representatives, who voted for Howell. Tretter said he expects there will be changes to the approval process in the next go-around. From CBS Sports: "We did hundreds of hours of work, and we did multiple rounds of interviews. We had people flying into D.C. regularly to meet candidates in person. I don't think it's feasible to do that for everybody," he explained. "… The executive committee is in the day-to-day of it. The board has the approval rights. "It's a fair question. I think that's something that the board and the [executive committee] and the players need to wrestle with as they launch the next search is like, 'How is it set up?' I'm not saying we did everything right. I think we made decisions based off what we had done historically and wanted to do something different and thought what we were doing was the best option. We've learned more since then. There are probably going to be changes. There should be changes. They should do something that they feel confident in and they should learn from every experience they have." Tretter also said he regretted the quote about injuries and running backs that led to the covered-up NFL grievance, calling it a "dumb tongue-in-cheek remark" and denied having any access to the collusion grievance Howell agreed with the NFL to keep secret. Overall, Tretter had a comparison for his role in all this — Tyrion Lannister. Let's hear him out: Tretter has been thinking about one specific scene from "Game of Thrones" over the last few weeks. Tyrion Lannister is on trial for killing his nephew, King Joffrey, and though he didn't commit the murder, he says that he wished he had. "I wish I was the monster you think I am," Lannister says at his trial. "I felt a lot of that over the last six weeks," Tretter said Sunday. "I'm being accused of being this all-controlling, all-powerful person, and I'm not. And I f***ing wish I was because I don't think we'd be in the same place we are now if I was.
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
President Trump calls for Commanders to go back to old nickname, threatens to block D.C. stadium deal if they don't
President Donald Trump is using the bully pulpit again in the NFL, this time to get a franchise to revert to its former nickname that was changed after decades of controversy. Trump made multiple long posts on Truth Social on Sunday calling for the Washington Commanders to switch back to their old "Washington Redskins" team name. He even threatened to block the Commanders' impending move back to D.C. and their new stadium if they fail to do so. Trump also called for MLB's Cleveland Guardians to go back to their former "Indians" nickname. While not mentioning Trump by name, Guardians president Chris Antonetti made it clear the team isn't interested in going back Sunday. 'I understand there are very different perspectives on the decision we made a few years ago, but it's a decision we made and we've gotten the opportunity to build the brand as the Guardians over the last four years and we're excited about the future that's in front of us,' he said, via The Athletic. The Commanders have not addressed Trump's post. The Guardians officially changed their team name ahead of the 2022 season, shortly after they stopped using the 'Chief Wahoo' logo, which many saw as racist and offensive toward Native Americans. The Commanders retired their old 'Redskins' nickname in 2020. They went by the Washington Football Team briefly before landing on the Commanders. Their old nickname, which had been in use since 1933, was widely seen as an offensive slur and drew plenty of criticism in its final years of use. 'For obvious reasons,' Commanders owner Josh Harris said in August, that can't return. 'I think [Commanders] is now embraced by our team, by our culture, by our coaching staff,' he said earlier this year, via ESPN. 'So we're going with that.' Though it's unclear if the threat of blocking their stadium deal, real or not, will sway the Commanders, both Harris and Antonetti seem very content with their franchises' new names. As for the validity of Trump's stadium threat, the Associated Press wrote: The Commanders and the District of Columbia government announced a deal earlier this year to build a new home for the football team at the site the old RFK Stadium, the place the franchise called home for more than three decades. Trump's ability to hold up the deal remains to be seen. President Joe Biden signed a bill in January that transferred the land from the federal government to the District of Columbia. The provision was part of a short-term spending bill passed by Congress in December. While D.C. residents elect a mayor, a city council and commissioners to run day-to-day operations, Congress maintains control of the city's budget.
