Varcoe: 'Important thread of hope': Trump stands by tariffs but Canada seeks trade deal within 30 days
Article content
'I'm a tariff person.'
Article content
Article content
Well, that didn't take long.
Article content
Mere hours into the opening day of the G7 summit on Monday, the U.S. president emerged from a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney and opined on an array of topics: tariffs, the Israel-Iran conflict and who was to blame for kicking Russia out of the powerful international group a decade ago.
Article content
Article content
Yet, on the issue squarely in front of Carney — getting the U.S. president to lift tariffs on steel, aluminum and some of the auto sector — the news was decidedly mixed, although Canadian business groups saw some glimmers of hope.
Article content
Article content
Trump reiterated his belief in the wonders of putting tariffs on foreign goods entering the United States, but also indicated that reaching a deal within days or weeks between the two countries 'is achievable.'
Article content
Late Monday afternoon, the prime minister's office issued a statement, noting that the two leaders 'agreed to pursue negotiations toward a deal within the coming 30 days.'
Article content
Article content
After the sit-down with Carney in Kananaskis, Trump told reporters he's 'sure we can work something out.'
Article content
Article content
Key details of a potential deal remain murky.
Article content
'We have different concepts. I have a tariff concept. Mark has a different concept, which is something that some people like, but we're going to see if we can get to the bottom of it today,' the U.S. president said.
Article content
'I'm a tariff person. I've always been a tariff person. It's simple, it's easy, it's precise and it just goes very quickly. And I think Mark has a more complex idea, but also very good.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
38 minutes ago
- CTV News
Airports close across the Mideast as the Israel-Iran conflict shutters the region's airspace
Huge smoke rises up from an oil facility facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike Saturday, in southern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP Photo) BEIRUT — After Israeli strikes landed near the hotel where he was staying in the Iranian province of Qom, Aimal Hussein desperately wanted to return home. But the 55-year-old Afghan businessman couldn't find a way, with Iranian airspace completely shut down. He fled to Tehran after the strike Sunday, but no taxi would take him to the border as the conflict between Iran and Israel intensified. 'Flights, markets, everything is closed, and I am living in the basement of a small hotel,' Hussein told The Associated Press by cellphone on Monday. 'I am trying to get to the border by taxi, but they are hard to find, and no one is taking us.' Israel launched a major attack Friday with strikes in the Iranian capital of Tehran and elsewhere, killing senior military officials, nuclear scientists, and destroying critical infrastructure. Among the targets was a nuclear enrichment facility about 18 miles from Qom. Iran has retaliated with hundreds of drones and missiles. The dayslong attacks between the two bitter enemies have opened a new chapter in their turbulent recent history. Many in the region fear a wider conflict as they watch waves of attacks across their skies every night. The conflict has forced most countries in the Middle East to close their airspace. Dozens of airports have stopped all flights or severely reduced operations, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded and others unable to flee the conflict or travel home. Airport closures create 'massive' domino, tens of thousands stranded 'The domino effect here is massive,' said retired pilot and aviation safety expert John Cox, who said the disruptions will have a huge price tag. 'You've got thousands of passengers suddenly that are not where they're supposed to be, crews that are not where they are supposed to be, airplanes that are not where they're supposed to be,' he said. Zvika Berg was on an El Al flight to Israel from New York when an unexpected message came from the pilot as they began their descent: 'Sorry, we've been rerouted to Larnaca.' The 50-year-old Berg saw other Israel-bound El Al flights from Berlin and elsewhere landing at the airport in Cyprus. Now he's waiting at a Larnaca hotel while speaking to his wife in Jerusalem. 'I'm debating what to do,' Berg said. Israel has closed its main international Ben Gurion Airport 'until further notice,' leaving more than 50,000 Israeli travelers stranded abroad. The jets of the country's three airlines have been moved to Larnaca. In Israel, Mahala Finkleman was stuck in a Tel Aviv hotel after her Air Canada flight was canceled, trying to reassure her worried family back home while she shelters in the hotel's underground bunker during waves of overnight Iranian attacks. 'We hear the booms. Sometimes there's shaking,' she said. 'The truth, I think it's even scarier … to see from TV what happened above our heads while we were underneath in a bomb shelter.' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office warned Israelis not to flee the country through any of the three crossings with Jordan and Egypt that are open to the Israeli public. Despite having diplomatic ties with Israel, the statement said those countries are considered a 'high risk of threat' to Israeli travelers. Iran on Friday suspended flights to and from the country's main Khomeini International Airport on the outskirts of Tehran. Israel said Saturday that it bombed Mehrabad Airport in an early attack, a facility in Tehran for Iran's air force and domestic commercial flights. Many students unable to leave Iran, Iraq and elsewhere Arsalan Ahmed is one of thousands of Indian university students stuck in Iran, with no way out. The medical student and other students in Tehran are not leaving the hostels where they live, horrified by the attacks with no idea of when they'll find safety. 'It is very scary what we watch on television,' Ahmed said. 'But scarier are some of the deafening explosions.' Universities have helped relocate many students to safer places in Iran, but the Indian government has not yet issued an evacuation plan for them. Though airspace is still partially open in Lebanon and Jordan, the situation is chaotic at airports, with many passengers stranded locally and abroad with delayed and canceled flights even as the busy summer tourism season begins. Many airlines have reduced flights or stopped them altogether, and authorities have closed airports overnight when attacks are at their most intense. Syria, under new leadership, had just renovated its battered airports and begun restoring diplomatic ties when the conflict began. Neighboring Iraq's airports have all closed due to its close proximity to Iran. Israel reportedly used Iraqi airspace, in part, to launch its strikes on Iran, while Iranian drones and missiles flying the other way have been downed over Iraq. Baghdad has reached a deal with Turkey that would allow Iraqis abroad to travel to Turkey — if they can afford it — and return home overland through their shared border. Some Iraqis stranded in Iran opted to leave by land. College student Yahia al-Suraifi was studying in the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz, where Israel bombed the airport and an oil refinery over the weekend. Al-Suraifi and dozens of other Iraqi students pooled together their money to pay taxi drivers to drive 200 miles (320 kilometres) overnight to the border with northern Iraq with drones and airstrikes around them. 'It looked like fireworks in the night sky,' al-Suraifi said. 'I was very scared.' By the time they reached the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, it was another 440 miles (710 kilometres) to get to his hometown of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq. Back in Tehran, Hussein said the conflict brought back bitter memories of 20 years of war back home in Afghanistan. 'This is the second time I have been trapped in such a difficult war and situation,' he said, 'once in Kabul and now in Iran.' Article by Kareem Chehayeb And Qassim Abdul-zahra. Abdul-Zahra reported from Baghdad. Associated Press journalists Riazat Butt in Islamabad, Moshe Edri in Tel Aviv, Israel; Aijaz Hussain Srinagar, India; Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus, and Adam Suderman in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report.
CTV News
38 minutes ago
- CTV News
Chinese embassy in Israel urges citizens to leave
BEIJING — The Chinese embassy in Israel has urged Chinese citizens to return home or leave the country via land border crossings as soon as possible, on grounds that the security situation has deteriorated and Israeli airspace remained closed. 'At present, the Israeli-Iranian conflict continues to escalate, with civilian facilities damaged and civilian casualties increasing, making the security situation even more severe,' the embassy warned in a Tuesday notice on WeChat. The notice recommended Chinese citizens to leave via the land crossing towards Jordan. Reporting by Liz Lee and Ryan Woo; Editing by Jacqueline Wong.
Cision Canada
40 minutes ago
- Cision Canada
G7 Leaders' statement on recent developments between Israel and Iran
, June 16, 2025 /CNW/ - We, the leaders of the G7, reiterate our commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East. In this context, we affirm that Israel has a right to defend itself. We reiterate our support for the security of Israel. We also affirm the importance of the protection of civilians. Iran is the principal source of regional instability and terror. We have been consistently clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza. We will remain vigilant to the implications for international energy markets and stand ready to coordinate, including with like-minded partners, to safeguard market stability.
