
G7 weighs joint tariffs on low-value Chinese imports
Canada's Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne confirmed that talks are underway among G7 members to address the surge in inexpensive Chinese goods, which are often sold through e-commerce platforms at prices that evade traditional tariffs.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Asharq Al-Awsat
8 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
EU Threatens Countermeasures over Trump's Steel Tariffs Hike
The European Commission said on Saturday that Europe was prepared to retaliate against President Donald Trump's plan to double tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, raising the prospect of an escalating trade fight between two of the world's largest economic powers. Trump's announcement on Friday that he would increase tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to 50% from 25%, intensifies his global trade war and came just hours after he accused China of violating an agreement with the US to mutually roll back levies and trade restrictions for critical minerals. The European Commission said it "strongly" regrets Trump's plan to increase tariffs, adding it "undermines ongoing efforts to reach a negotiated solution." "This decision adds further uncertainty to the global economy and increases costs for consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic," a European Commission spokesperson said, adding that "the (European Union) is prepared to impose countermeasures." The spokesperson noted that the European Union had paused its countermeasures to create space for continued negotiations. "The European Commission is currently finalizing consultations on expanded countermeasures. If no mutually acceptable solution is reached, both existing and additional EU measures will automatically take effect on 14 July or earlier, if circumstances require," the spokesperson added. Trump announced the higher tariffs just outside Pittsburgh, where he was talking up an agreement between Nippon Steel and US Steel. Trump said the $14.9 billion deal, like the tariff increase, will help keep jobs for steel workers in the US. He later posted on social media that the increased tariff would also apply to aluminum products and that it would take effect on Wednesday. The planned US move ratchets up pressure on global steel producers, and has sparked protests from trading partners around the world. Canada's Chamber of Commerce quickly denounced the tariff hike as "antithetical to North American economic security." "Unwinding the efficient, competitive and reliable cross-border supply chains like we have in steel and aluminum comes at a great cost to both countries," Candace Laing, president of the chamber, said in a statement. Canada's United Steelworkers union on Saturday called the move a direct attack on Canadian industries and workers. Australia's center-left government also condemned the tariff increase, with Trade Minister Don Farrell calling it "unjustified and not the act of a friend." The US is the world's largest steel importer, excluding the European Union, with a total of 26.2 million tons of imported steel in 2024, according to the Department of Commerce. As a result, the new tariffs will likely increase steel prices across the board, hitting industry and consumers alike. Steel and aluminum tariffs were among the earliest put into effect by Trump when he returned to office in January. The tariffs of 25% on most steel and aluminum imported to the US went into effect in March, and he had briefly threatened a 50% levy on Canadian steel but ultimately backed off.


Asharq Al-Awsat
a day ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Google Says it Will Appeal Online Search Antitrust Decision
Alphabet's Google on Saturday said it will appeal an antitrust decision under which a federal judge proposed less aggressive ways to restore online search competition than the 10-year regime suggested by antitrust enforcers. "We will wait for the Court's opinion. And we still strongly believe the Court's original decision was wrong, and look forward to our eventual appeal," Google said in a post on X. US District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington heard closing arguments on Friday at a trial on proposals to address Google's illegal monopoly in online search and related advertising. In April, a federal judge said that Google illegally dominated two markets for online advertising technology, with the US Department of Justice saying that Google should sell off at least its Google Ad Manager, which includes the company's publisher ad server and its ad exchange. The DOJ and a coalition of states want Google to share search data and cease multibillion-dollar payments to Apple and other smartphone makers to be the default search engine on new devices. Antitrust enforcers are concerned about how Google's search monopoly gives it an advantage in artificial intelligence products like Gemini and vice versa. John Schmidtlein, an attorney for Google, said at the hearing that while generative AI is influencing how search looks, Google has addressed any concerns about competition in AI by no longer entering exclusive agreements with wireless carriers and smartphone makers including Samsung Electronics, leaving them free to load rival search and AI apps on new devices.


Al Arabiya
a day ago
- Al Arabiya
Is US oil dominance ending? Wood Mackenzie VP Robert Clark on the future of shale
The US has dominated the oil and gas sector in the last decade. But how long could this dominance last, given lower oil prices today, and what would a waning American oil dominance mean for oil markets globally in the future? Moreover, in the longer term, could the US continue to dominate the energy sector as the transition to clean energy quickens again, or will the Chinese competition prove too much for America in the future? Robert Clark, the Vice President of Upstream Research at Wood Mackenzie, joins Al Arabiya Business' Naser ElTibi from Texas to discuss his latest report on the topic titled 'tough on the top.'