Months into his worldwide trade war, Donald Trump still appears resistant to learning how tariffs work
Some of Trump's latest wins have included separate deals with the United Kingdom and European Union members, in which imports from those places will be hit with a 15 per cent tariff upon arrival in the United States. Trump sees this as a win because foreign imports will be tariffed, while American goods will face no such treatment in the EU or Britain. He even explains it this way: 'They' will pay something. 'We' will pay nothing.
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Canada News.Net
40 minutes ago
- Canada News.Net
Crypto, private equity eyed for 401(k)s under new Trump directive
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Millions of Americans saving for retirement could one day see private equity and cryptocurrency added to their 401(k) investment options under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump, potentially giving these industries long-coveted access to trillions of dollars in retirement funds. The order directs the Labor Department and other agencies to redefine what qualifies as an approved asset under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), which governs U.S. retirement plans. Currently, most 401(k) accounts are invested in stocks, bonds, cash, and a small share of heavily traded commodities like gold. Employers are legally required to act in the best interests of their employees when offering investment options. There will be no immediate changes. Federal agencies must first draft and finalize new regulations, likely a process of months or longer, before employers can expand available choices. Once implemented, retirement plans could include alternative assets such as private equity, cryptocurrencies, and real estate. The move is a win for the US$5 trillion private equity sector, which has long sought access to 401(k) accounts, and for cryptocurrency firms, many of which supported Trump's 2024 campaign and are seeking mainstream acceptance. Bitcoin rose two percent this week to $116,542, nearly doubling since Trump was elected. Under former President Joe Biden, regulators approached crypto investments in retirement accounts "with extreme care" due to volatility. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum can swing 10 percent in a single day, compared with two percent to three percent for major stock indexes. "It was inevitable that bitcoin would make its way into American 401(k)s," said Cory Klippsten, CEO of Swan Bitcoin. "As fiduciaries realize bitcoin's risk-adjusted upside over the long term, we'll see growing allocations, especially from younger, tech-savvy workers." For private equity firms, 401(k) access would unlock a vast pool of new capital. Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman has described this as a "dream" for the industry since at least 2017. Private equity has historically returned about 13 percent annually since 1990, versus 10.6 percent for the S&P 500, but investments are illiquid, often tied up for years until underlying companies are sold. Bryan Corbett, president and CEO of the Managed Funds Association, said the industry looks forward to creating "a thoughtful framework" with the Trump administration to expand retirement options "with appropriate investor guardrails." Even after new rules are finalized, it could take years before private equity and crypto appear widely in retirement plans. Major firms like Fidelity, Vanguard, and T. Rowe Price would need to design compliant products, and employers may be slow to change plan menus. Vanguard said it has not committed to offering private assets in defined contribution plans but will continue to educate investors "to ensure a clear understanding of the opportunities and risks."
Toronto Sun
an hour ago
- Toronto Sun
GUNTER: Canada still hasn't seen Carney's promised leadership
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a press conference after a Cabinet meeting to discuss both trade negotiations with the US and the situation in the Middle East, at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on July 30, 2025. Photo by DAVE CHAN / AFP via Getty Images The chances of Canada convincing Donald Trump's White House to reverse his tariffs on a wide range of Canadian goods seems remote. There's a possibility cases working their way through the U.S. courts will — maybe within the next six to 12 months — find Trump has overstepped his authority to impose tariffs and reverse them. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Who knows, the U.S. Senate may even find its spine and take back much of its Constitutional authority over tariffs. It's also just possible large sections of his MAGA base will turn on Trump as his tariff policies increase inflation and unemployment. Could happen. In the meantime, Canada has to make whatever deal it can with Trump while also making itself more resilient against U.S. trade sanctions. Keep in mind that the Americans' much-touted deals with the E.U., the U.K. and Japan aren't really deals at all. There are no documents, the details are sketchy and the two sides in each now disagree over just what each deal contains. Trump just likes the show of being Mr. Tough Guy, of having other countries' leaders appear to bow before him and kiss his ring. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. It won't be easy for Canada to get the same kind of 'deal' as those other countries. Trump seems to have a special hate on for Canada. And we are being backburnered by the Trump administration. Our concerns are being handled by mid-level officials, not boss-to-boss, despite Prime Minister Mark 'Elbows Up' Carney insistence that he knows Trump, knows who to deal with him and is uniquely qualified to reach an agreement. If we could even just return to Harper-era export levels with the U.S., Canada would be far less vulnerable. Under Stephen Harper's government, about 75 per cent of our foreign trade was with our southern neighbour. Now, thanks to the Liberals' complete indifference to all things economic, Ottawa has taken the easy path for the last 10 years until we are reliant on the Americans for 90 per cent of our trade. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. They account for around one-quarter of our GDP, while we account for less than three per cent of theirs. That means Canada has a need for a deal, but lacks leverage. So we need to export more to other countries to make us less susceptible to shocks from the U.S. Read More But given all that, where is the leadership from Carney? Remember his expansive promises to bring down internal trade barriers and get major projects going that would help us expand our exports around the globe? Name me one such objective he has checked off to date. We're never going to get over our dependence on the U.S., nor should we want to. Theirs is the largest, richest economy in the world and we have primo access to it. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But we do need to make the most of our natural resource potential by opening mines, building pipelines and constructing or expanding ports. Yet while Carney talks about all those things, his latest 'action' on constructing a promised economic corridor came Thursday when he promised Indigenous groups that would have a quasi veto over projects they disliked. To understand what's at stake, consider that new figures on the Trans Mountain pipeline, completed just last year, shows it will generate in short order about $13 billion in new income for oil companies and governments. Imagine if we had two or even three more pipelines for oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), plus some major mines for the rare earth minerals currently in such demand. Yet if Canada has no trade deal with the U.S. (not even a faux one) and years and years more of lengthy negotiations on resource megaprojects, our economy will continue to sputter along. Columnists Toronto & GTA Toronto Blue Jays World Toronto & GTA
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Trump's East Wing expansion requires a reimagined White House tour
U.S. President Donald Trump's long-term vision to expand the White House's entertaining capacity is going to have short-term impacts on Americans seeking to visit the complex now. A residence, a workplace and a museum, the White House is the only home of a head of state in the world that is also open to the public most days. Hundreds of thousands of people enter the People's House for free tours each year, gaining firsthand access to the Blue Room, where President Grover Cleveland married Frances Folsom, the Red Room, where first lady Dolley Madison entertained, and the Diplomatic Reception Room, where President Franklin Delano Roosevelt held his radio 'fireside chats.' But that could stop next month when construction on Trump's 90,000-square-foot ballroom – which will overtake the current footprint of the East Wing – gets underway. Tour bookings have been halted temporarily, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN, because construction will directly impact the current tour screening process and entry point. With the exception of visiting heads of state, guests arriving at the White House for receptions, dinners and tours currently enter through Sherman Park, just behind the US Treasury building, and get screened by US Secret Service in a temporary visitor center. Multiple previous efforts over the last two decades to build a permanent structure have failed to get the necessary funding from Congress or the Department of Interior to proceed. Once visitors have passed through checkpoints and security, they enter through the East Wing, which was first constructed in 1902 and took its current structure during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. Trump's ballroom is expected to expand out beyond the site of the current East Wing, which is home to the Office of the First Lady, the Military Office, the Visitors Office and the Office of Legislative Affairs. East Wing In this December 2021 photo, people make their way through the East Colonnade of the East Wing of the White House in Washington, DC. Kent Nishimura/The Losvia CNN Newsource A spokesperson for first lady Melania Trump — whose office oversees tours — downplayed the disruption, saying only new tour bookings have been paused. 'There have been zero tour cancelations due to the addition of the State Ballroom. Instead, new tour bookings were paused proactively while a collaborative group of White House, U.S. Secret Service, National Park Service, and Executive Residence staff work to determine the best way to ensure public access to the White House as this project begins and for the duration of construction,' Nick Clemens said in a statement to CNN. 'The White House tour route has evolved over presidencies, and we look forward to near-term updates about the new State Ballroom. The President and First Lady remain committed to continuing the tradition of public access to the People's House in the present and for the future.' Officials are currently assessing how to move the screening process and likely truncate the tour while still capturing the essence of a White House visit during the construction. The scope of construction, a source familiar with the situation told CNN, is 'going to be invasive to what is the norm now [for tours]. They're going to have to put up temporary screening mechanisms. They're going to have to reroute the parameter of Secret Service protection.' In a reimagined route, the source said, visitors would miss entering by the first lady's office, walking through the East Colonnade past the family theater, and the area known as 'Booksellers Hall' where state dinner guests are received. But there will likely still be access to the home's most historic spaces: the State Floor, State Dining Room, Red Room, Blue Room, Green Room, East Room, Library, Vermeil Room, and Diplomatic Reception Room. The adjustments may also impact how many tickets are administered. 'The tours are not going to be canceled,' the source added. 'They're going to find a solution – but I think they're going to probably have to manage the numbers that come in and out now. There may have to be some changes.' White House Ballroom The White House Ballroom will be separated from the main building of the White House. McCrery Architects PLLC/The White House via CNN Newsource Construction is expected to get underway in September and is 'expected to be completed long before the end of President Trump's term,' according to a statement from the White House that included renderings of the new structure, which is nearly double the square footage of the main White House mansion. Trump has said that he, along with other donors, will privately fund the project, which is currently projected to cost US $200 million. Officials from the White House, Secret Service, National Park Service, and Executive Residence staff are working quickly to reassess the tour flow, another source familiar with the matter said, but changes to White House tours have taken years to enact in other circumstances. During the Biden administration, first lady Jill Biden unveiled a multimillion-dollar upgrade to the tour to make it more accessible and interactive, including new digital screens in the East Colonnade, a three-dimensional model of the White House's architectural transformations over the years, and tactile 'reader rails' with detailed information about each room on the tour. Those upgrades took more than two years to come to fruition in close coordination with the East Wing, the National Park Service, which oversees all improvements to the White House, the White House Historical Association, the White House curator's office, and executive residence staff.
