Trump ramps up trade war with Canada over Palestine as deadline looms
Trump is set to impose a 35 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods not covered by the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement if the two countries do not reach an agreement by the deadline.
'Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them,' Trump said on Truth Social.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney previously said tariff negotiations with Washington had been constructive, but the talks may not conclude by the deadline.
Talks between the two countries were at an intense phase, he added, but a deal that would remove all US tariffs was unlikely.
Meanwhile, the global tariff regime is facing a crucial court challenge. From 2am Friday (AEST), eleven judges in Washington DC will hear arguments from the Trump administration and two small businesses who say that many of his import duties are illegal.
The businesses sued the president over his enacting the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. All of the White House's tariffs on major trading partners have been enacted under that law.
Canada is the second-largest US trading partner after Mexico, and the largest buyer of US exports. It bought $US350 billion ($540b) of US goods last year and exported $US413b to the US, according to US Census Bureau data.
Canada is also the top supplier of steel and aluminium to the United States, and faces tariffs on both metals as well as on vehicle exports.
In June, Carney's government scrapped a planned digital services tax targeting US technology firms after Trump abruptly called off trade talks saying the tax was a 'blatant attack'.
Carney followed France and Britain as he said on Wednesday that his country was planning to recognise the State of Palestine at a meeting of the United Nations in September.
In announcing the decision, Carney spoke of the reality on the ground, including starvation in Gaza.
'Canada condemns the fact that the Israeli government has allowed a catastrophe to unfold in Gaza,' he said.
Israel and the United States, Israel's closest ally, both rejected Carney's comments.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News AU
30 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Anthony Albanese seeks phone call with Benjamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is seeking a phone call with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. The federal government is considering whether to join a growing list of international allies in formally recognising Palestinian statehood. This comes after the United Kingdom, France, and Canada flagged support for Gaza last week and announced intentions to recognise a Palestinian state.
Perth Now
30 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Stocks slump on latest tariffs, soft jobs data
US stocks slumped on Friday, and the S&P suffered its biggest daily percentage decline in more than two months as new US tariffs on dozens of trading partners and a surprisingly weak jobs report spurred selling pressure. Also weighing on equities was an 8.3 per cent tumble in shares after the company posted quarterly results but failed to meet lofty expectations for its Amazon Web Services cloud computing unit. Just hours before the tariff deadline on Friday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing duties on US imports from countries, including Canada, Brazil, India and Taiwan, in his latest round of levies as countries attempted to seek ways to reach better deals. Further denting confidence in the economic picture, data showed US job growth slowed more than expected in July while the prior month's report was revised sharply lower, indicating the labour market may be starting to crack. The report significantly pushed up expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its September meeting. "There's no way to pretty-up this report. Previous months were revised significantly lower where the labour market has been on stall-speed," said Brian Jacobsen, Chief Economist at Annex Wealth Management in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. "Last year the Fed messed up by not cutting in July so they did a catch-up cut at their next meeting. They'll likely have to do the same thing this year." Market expectations the Fed will cut rates by at least 25 basis points at its September meeting stood at 86.5 per cent, according to CME's FedWatch Tool, up from 37.7 per cent in the prior session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 542.40 points, or 1.23 per cent, to 43,588.58, the S&P 500 lost 101.38 points, or 1.60 per cent, to 6,238.01 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 472.32 points, or 2.24 per cent, to 20,650.13. The S&P 500 recorded its biggest single-day percentage decline since May 21 while the Nasdaq suffered its biggest daily percentage drop since April 21. For the week, the S&P 500 fell 2.36 per cent, the Nasdaq declined 2.17 per cent, and the Dow fell 2.92 per cent. The CBOE Volatility Index, also known as Wall Street's fear gauge, closed up 3.66 points at 20.38, its highest close since June 20. Amazon was the biggest drag on the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq and pushed the consumer discretionary index, down nearly 3.6 per cent as the worst performing of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors. Also reporting earnings was Apple, which lost 2.5 per cent after it posted a current-quarter revenue forecast well above Wall Street estimates, but CEO Tim Cook warned US tariffs would add $US1.1 billion ($A1.7 billion) in costs over the period. Stocks briefly extended declines after Trump said he ordered the commissioner of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Erika L. McEntarfer, to be fired in the wake of the jobs data. "(Trump) didn't seem to be disappointed with the last five jobs reports," said Art Hogan, Chief Market Strategist, B. Riley Wealth, Boston, saying that the firing stood out as irregular. "I think this is clearly something that happens in dictatorships, not in democracies." The Federal Reserve said Governor Adriana Kugler is resigning early from her term and will exit the central bank on Aug. 8, enabling President Donald Trump to select a new governor as he has ramped up pressure against Chair Jerome Powell recently to cut interest rates. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.17-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, and by a 2.69-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted eight new 52-week highs and 29 new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 29 new highs and 202 new lows. Volume on US exchanges was 19.51 billion shares, compared with the 18.44 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
Canberra Times
an hour ago
- Canberra Times
Australia commits to more food, medical aid for Gaza
He's also said it was a matter of "when, not it" Australia would recognise a Palestinian state, under Labor's policy to back a two-state solution in the Middle East, with the condition that Hamas - which Australia considers a terrorist organisation - steps back from any governing role in the Strip.
