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Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
From Laos to Brazil, Trump's tariffs leave a lot of losers. But even the winners will pay a price
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's tariff onslaught this week left a lot of losers – from small, poor countries like Laos and Algeria to wealthy U.S. trading partners like Canada and Switzerland. They're now facing especially hefty taxes – tariff – on the products they export to the United States starting Aug. 7. The closest thing to winners may be the countries that caved to Trump's demands — and avoided even more pain. But it's unclear whether anyone will be able to claim victory in the long run — even the United States, the intended beneficiary of Trump's protectionist policies. 'In many respects, everybody's a loser here,'' said Barry Appleton, co-director of the Center for International Law at the New York Law School. Barely six months after he returned to the White House, Trump has demolished the old global economic order. Gone is one built on agreed-upon rules. In its place is a system in which Trump himself sets the rules, using America's enormous economic power to punish countries that won't agree to one-sided trade deals and extracting huge concessions from the ones that do. 'The biggest winner is Trump,' said Alan Wolff, a former U.S. trade official and deputy director-general at the World Trade Organization. 'He bet that he could get other countries to the table on the basis of threats, and he succeeded – dramatically.'' Everything goes back to what Trump calls 'Liberation Day'' – April 2 – when the president announced 'reciprocal'' taxes of up to 50% on imports from countries with which the United States ran trade deficits and 10% 'baseline'' taxes on almost everyone else. He invoked a 1977 law to declare the trade deficit a national emergency that justified his sweeping import taxes. That allowed him to bypass Congress, which traditionally has had authority over taxes, including tariffs — all of which is now being challenged in court. Winners will still pay higher tariffs than before Trump took office Trump retreated temporarily after his Liberation Day announcement triggered a rout in financial markets and suspended the reciprocal tariffs for 90 days to give countries a chance to negotiate. Eventually, some of them did, caving to Trump's demands to pay what four months ago would have seemed unthinkably high tariffs for the privilege of continuing to sell into the vast American market. The United Kingdom agreed to 10% tariffs on its exports to the United States — up from 1.3% before Trump amped up his trade war with the world. The U.S. demanded concessions even though it had run a trade surplus, not a deficit, with the UK for 19 straight years. The European Union and Japan accepted U.S. tariffs of 15%. Those are much higher than the low single-digit rates they paid last year — but lower than the tariffs he was threatening (30% on the EU and 25% on Japan). Also cutting deals with Trump and agreeing to hefty tariffs were Pakistan, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines. Even countries that saw their tariffs lowered from April without reaching a deal are still paying much higher tariffs than before Trump took office. Angola's tariff, for instance, dropped to 15% from 32% in April, but in 2022 it was less than 1.5%. And while Trump administration cut Taiwan's tariff to 20% from 32% in April, the pain will still be felt. '20% from the beginning has not been our goal, we hope that in further negotiations we will get a more beneficial and more reasonable tax rate,' Taiwan's president Lai Ching-te told reporters in Taipei Friday. Trump also agreed to reduce the tariff on the tiny southern African kingdom of Lesotho to 15% from the 50% he'd announced in April, but the damage may already have been done there. Bashing Brazil, clobbering Canada, shellacking the Swiss Countries that didn't knuckle under — and those that found other ways to incur Trump's wrath — got hit harder. Even some of the poor were not spared. Laos' annual economic output comes to $2,100 per person and Algeria's $5,600 — versus America's $75,000. Nonetheless, Laos got rocked with a 40% tariff and Algeria with a 30% levy. Trump slammed Brazil with a 50% import tax largely because he didn't like the way it was treating former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing trial for trying to lose his electoral defeat in 2022. Never mind that the U.S. has exported more to Brazil than it's imported every year since 2007. Trump's decision to plaster a 35% tariff on longstanding U.S. ally Canada was partly designed to threaten Ottawa for saying it would recognize a Palestinian state. Trump is a staunch supporter of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Switzerland was clobbered with a 39% import tax — even higher than the 31% Trump originally announced on April 2. "The Swiss probably wish that they had camped in Washington'' to make a deal, said Wolff, now senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. "They're clearly not at all happy.'' Fortunes may change if Trump's tariffs are upended in court. Five American businesses and 12 states are suing the president, arguing that his Liberation Day tariffs exceeded his authority under the 1977 law. In May, the U.S. Court of International Trade, a specialized court in New York, agreed and blocked the tariffs, although the government was allowed to continue collecting them while its appeal wend its way through the legal system, and may likely end up at the U.S. Supreme Court. In a hearing Thursday, the judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit sounded skeptical about Trump's justifications for the tariffs. 'If (the tariffs) get struck down, then maybe Brazil's a winner and not a loser,'' Appleton said. Paying more for knapsacks and video games Trump portrays his tariffs as a tax on foreign countries. But they are actually paid by import companies in the U.S. who try to pass along the cost to their customers via higher prices. True, tariffs can hurt other countries by forcing their exporters to cut prices and sacrifice profits — or risk losing market share in the United States. But economists at Goldman Sachs estimate that overseas exporters have absorbed just one-fifth of the rising costs from tariffs, while Americans and U.S. businesses have picked up the most of the tab. Walmart, Procter & Gamble, Ford, Best Buy, Adidas, Nike, Mattel and Stanley Black & Decker, have all hiked prices due to U.S. tariffs "This is a consumption tax, so it disproportionately affects those who have lower incomes,'' Appleton said. 'Sneakers, knapsacks ... your appliances are going to go up. Your TV and electronics are going to go up. Your video game devices, consoles are going to up because none of those are made in America.'' Trump's trade war has pushed the average U.S. tariff from 2.5% at the start of 2025 to 18.3% now, the highest since 1934, according to the Budget Lab at Yale University. And that will impose a $2,400 cost on the average household, the lab estimates. 'The U.S. consumer's a big loser,″ Wolff said. ____ AP Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber contributed to this story. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
B.C. Housing vacancies raise concern for Fort St. John, B.C. councillor after release of FOI docs
A Fort St. John city councillor is raising concern about the number of B.C. Housing units sitting empty as demand for housing grows across the community. He's also frustrated the city had to file a freedom of information (FOI) request to get an answer about vacancy rates from the housing agency. Documents the city obtained last month show 24 out of 164 homes managed by B.C. Housing were vacant as of June 30. That amounts to a 15 per cent vacancy rate, three times higher than that of private rentals in the city. Coun. Trevor Bolin says the information only came after six months of unanswered questions from the city's housing and emergency shelter committee, a group formed last year to address homelessness and housing issues in the city of 24,000 people. "The biggest shocker was the fact we had to do an FOI… the second surprise was finding out they have a 15 per cent vacancy," said Bolin, who raised the issue during a July 28 council meeting, in an interview. "The committee just got tired of asking, we got tired of waiting," he said. "FOI's are there to ensure that accountability and transparency are upheld." When asked about the vacancies, B.C. Housing told CBC News they're common but usually temporary and are due to turnover, cleaning or maintenance. Fort St. John is the largest city in northeastern B.C., and a key service hub for the province's oil and gas industry. The city's population has grown 27 per cent over the past 15 years, and B.C. Stats projects at least another six per cent growth over the next decade. That's driving demand for housing, especially rentals. Assessment finds growing waitlists Nearly half of households in Fort St. John are renters, according to the city's 2024 housing needs assessment, which found long wait lists for seniors housing, co-ops, and homes for people with disabilities and Indigenous residents. One co-operative housing provider had more than 100 people on its wait list. Over 100 seniors were waiting to get into supportive housing. WATCH | Christine Boyle steps into new role as B.C.'s minister of housing: Since 2015, Fort St. John's rental vacancy rate has typically stayed above the three per cent mark considered healthy, but has declined considerably since peaking at over 30 per cent in 2016 during a downturn in the economy, according to the assessment. Bolin says the local rate now sits around 4.8 per cent. While the housing assessment says supply isn't yet a crisis, it does note that many renters are facing affordability challenges, especially families needing two- or three-bedroom units. As the city grows, up to 44 per cent of future demand for housing will be for rentals, and up to 15 per cent of new units will need to be at below-market rents, the report says. "As industry gets busier and the town gets busier, we're going to see more pressure on the housing market," Bolin said. "If we've got 15, 16 [B.C. Housing] units that are back on the market and being lived in, that, in the community the size of Fort St. John, is huge." Maintenance and repairs In a statement, B.C. Housing said vacancies are common but often temporary due to turnover and maintenance, and it acknowledged the challenges the city had accessing vacancy data. The agency said it's working to fill vacant units as soon as possible. Eight are currently being filled, while 16 others need repairs and are expected to be ready throughout the fall. "When partners let us know they have ongoing data needs, we work with them to set up information sharing agreements," a spokesperson said. "B.C. Housing's northern operations team will be reaching out to the City of Fort St. John to explore setting up an information sharing agreement to provide data on a scheduled basis." While B.C. Housing directly manages 164 units, it says others in Fort St. John are operated by non-profits, which track and report their own vacancy numbers. Bolin says B.C. Housing vacancies should be benchmarked, and kept no higher than the local average. He also wants to see the agency start to report vacancy numbers quarterly. The city, province, and B.C. Housing must share data more readily and plan proactively to ensure supply meets demand, so no one falls through the cracks, he said. "Really, if we don't get a handle of it and get a hold of it, it could continue to get worse," Bolin said.
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
West Vancouver demolition order halted after appeal court finds judge had conflict
B.C.'s appeal court has overturned an earlier decision upholding a demolition order for a West Vancouver mansion. Homeowner Rosa Dona Este was successful in her bid to overturn the earlier court decision, after it was found the judge who allowed the order to go ahead had previously worked for a law firm representing the municipality and had consulted on the matter of Este's home. Este had argued against the judge's decision about the validity of the demolition order but also raised concerns over the judge's involvement in the case before being appointed to B.C.'s Supreme Court. 'According to Dr. Este, the judge also erred by failing to recuse herself based on a reasonable apprehension of bias,' said the appeal court's decision, handed down earlier this month. 'Este raised this issue prior to the hearing and advanced an application asking the judge to recuse herself on this basis. The judge dismissed the application, noting that almost seven years had elapsed since she had worked at the firm and stating she could not recall having ever been involved in the file or related matters.' While Judge Francesca Marzari had said previously that she did not recall working on the case involving Este's home, a lawyer for the West Vancouver district later filed an affidavit that said Marzari 'had sent an email to employees of the District advising them on matters related to the possible demolition of Dr. Este's home.' 'This information about the judge's prior involvement in the matter under appeal is clearly relevant to Dr. Este's allegation of apprehension of bias. For the reasons that follow, I conclude Dr. Este's applications must be granted,' wrote appeal court Justice Bruce Butler. Butler noted that if the appeal were refused, 'steps could be taken that could lead to irreparable harm to Dr. Este.' 'The balance of convenience, and particularly the overriding concern for maintaining judicial independence and impartiality, weighs in favour of granting a stay,' he wrote. The property in question is a 6,000-sq.-ft. waterfront home at 2668 Bellevue Ave. and was bought in 2003 by Este and her mother, Mina Esteghamat‑Ardakan. Este lived in the home until 2015 when a fire caused extensive damage. The home remained uninhabited and in a derelict state until 2020 when, following a number of neighbour complaints, the district ordered it demolished. Complications arose when the district found Este had rebuilt parts of the home without having sought proper permits or permission from her co-owner. Este's ex-husband, Mehran Taherkhani, also fought the demolition, arguing he had a stake in the matter because of divorce proceedings set for trial in 2026. Este and her mother had also previously been in court, battling over control of the property. sip@ Related Family battle over derelict West Vancouver house doesn't sway judge, who orders demolition to proceed
