Trump, Carney to speak soon over tariffs, Canadian official says
Dominic LeBlanc, the federal cabinet minister in charge of US-Canada trade, told CBS News' "Face the Nation" that he believes there is an option of striking a deal that will bring down tariffs.
"We're encouraged by the conversations with Secretary Lutnick and Ambassador Greer, but we're not yet where we need to go to get the deal that's in the best interest of the two economies," LeBlanc said, referring to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
The trade minister said he expected Carney and Trump to speak "over the next number of days."
"We think there is an option of striking a deal that will bring down some of these tariffs provide greater certainty to investment," LeBlanc said.
Washington linked Friday's tariff announcement in part to what it said was Canada's failure to stop fentanyl smuggling. It was the latest blow in a months-long tariff war, which Trump initiated shortly after returning to power this year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Ukraine expands evacuations in eastern Donetsk region
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A residential building in the abandoned, Russian-controlled town of Maryinka, in Ukraine's Donetsk region, on Aug 7. KYIV - Ukraine said on Aug 8 it would evacuate families with children from 19 more villages in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russian forces have been advancing. The villages, home to hundreds of people, are all within about 30km of the front line. 'A total of approximately 109 children are currently in these settlements,' Donetsk region governor Vadym Filashkin said in a post on Telegram. 'I emphasise once again: staying in the Donetsk region is extremely dangerous. Evacuate while you still can,' he added. The Russian army has been gaining ground in east Ukraine for over a year, and in July accelerated its advances for a fourth straight month. Except for the early months of Russia's invasion, which it launched in February 2022, only November of 2024 saw greater Russian advances than those of July, according to an AFP analysis of data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War. US President Donald Trump, who has been pressing for an end to the nearly three-and-a-half year war, is expected to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin for a summit as early as next week, according to the Kremlin. AFP
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Trump administration eyes military action against drug cartels, US officials say
WASHINGTON: The administration of US President Donald Trump can use the military to target Latin American drug gangs designated as global terrorist organisations and has directed the Pentagon to prepare options, US officials said on Friday (Aug 8). In February, the Trump administration designated Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, other drug gangs, and Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua as global terrorist organisations, part of a broader push to increase immigration enforcement against alleged gang members. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday the new authority would allow the administration to use the military against cartels. "It allows us to now target what they are operating and to use other elements of American power, intelligence agencies, the Department of Defense, whatever... to target these groups if we have an opportunity to do it," Rubio said. "We have to start treating them as armed terrorist organisations, not simply drug dealing organisations." POSSIBLE OPERATIONS The New York Times reported on Friday that Trump had secretly signed a directive to begin using military force against the groups. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the move but said military action did not appear imminent and it was unclear what types of operations might be carried out. A second US official said the authority could allow the US Navy to take action at sea, including drug interdiction missions, and could also extend to targeted military raids. The US military has already increased airborne surveillance of Mexican drug cartels to collect intelligence on their activities. MEXICO'S RESPONSE Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Friday that US forces would not be entering Mexican territory. She said her government had been informed of a coming order but that it was unrelated to US military activity on Mexican soil. Any move to use American forces against cartels could raise legal questions. Brian Finucane of the International Crisis Group has written that military action in Mexico would "be hard to square with domestic or international law". "Even though US military action in Mexico would almost certainly be unlawful, as a practical matter such illegality may not serve as an effective impediment," Finucane said after the February designations. LONG-STANDING TENSIONS Trump has previously offered to send US troops to Mexico to help combat drug trafficking, an offer Sheinbaum said in May she had refused. He has also said publicly that the US would act unilaterally if Mexico failed to dismantle drug cartels, a position Sheinbaum has described as a violation of her country's sovereignty. According to former defence secretary Mark Esper's memoir, Trump considered military action in Mexico during his first term, asking at least twice in 2020 whether the military could "shoot missiles into Mexico to destroy drug labs". Esper wrote that he replied it would be illegal and an act of war. Washington's efforts to prosecute and combat cartel activity have strained relations with Mexico, which has viewed some actions as challenges to its sovereignty. On Friday, Sheinbaum also rejected US Attorney General Pam Bondi's accusation that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was linked to the Sinaloa Cartel, saying Mexico was not investigating any such ties and had no evidence. She added that if Washington possessed evidence, it should share it.
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Average US tariffs top 20%, back to 1910s levels: WTO and IMF
PARIS: The average US tariff rate has risen to 20.1 per cent, its highest level since the early 1910s – except for a brief spike earlier this year, after new duties took effect on Thursday (Aug 7), data from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) showed on Friday. The figure is far above the 2.4 per cent average in place when President Donald Trump took office on Jan 20, 2017. Trump's April 2 announcement of 'reciprocal' tariffs on the United States' main trading partners, followed by further increases on Chinese goods, briefly drove the average rate to 24.8 per cent in May, a figure last seen in 1904, according to the United States International Trade Commission. A trade truce later eased the record tariff levels between Washington and Beijing, but that arrangement is set to expire next week. TRADE DEALS AND NEW DUTIES The WTO and IMF calculations factor in recent US trade agreements with the European Union, Japan, South Korea and other nations, which have now taken effect. The figures also include the latest US tariffs applied to Brazil, Canada and imports of semi-finished copper. These agreements generally imposed lower tariffs than those threatened by Trump in April, but were still higher than the baseline 10 per cent rate introduced earlier in his administration. RATES AT HISTORIC HIGHS The updated average exceeds the nearly 20 per cent rate the United States imposed in the 1930s – an era of protectionism that economists widely believe deepened and prolonged the Great Depression. However, the WTO and IMF stressed that the rate is based on 2024 trade volumes. Actual impacts may differ, as companies have already altered behaviour by stockpiling goods, delaying purchases or shifting suppliers to avoid higher duties. According to the Budget Lab at Yale University, once changes in consumption patterns and knock-on effects are considered, the effective rate could drop to about 17.7 per cent – unless Trump imposes further duties.
