Furious Trump walks away from Canada trade talks
Donald Trump has walked away from trade talks with Canada in response to a digital services tax he described as a 'blatant attack on our country'.
The president said he had immediately ended discussions taking place to address the series of tariffs he placed on the country earlier this year.
In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump said his administration had been informed that Canada was planning to proceed with a three per cent tax on technology companies such as Meta, Uber, Amazon and Google, on revenue earned from Canadian customers.
Because the tax is retroactive, the American companies could face a bill of as much as $2bn by the end of the month.
On Thursday, Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary, said the Group of Seven nations would put a pause on the taxes for US tech companies. In exchange, he said Republicans in Congress were planning to halt a so-called revenge tax on foreign investors.
'Based on this egregious tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on trade with Canada, effective immediately,' Mr Trump wrote. 'We will let Canada know the tariff that they will be paying to do business with the United States of America within the next seven day period.'
Canada is the US's second biggest trading partner after Mexico, and bought around $350bn (£255) worth of American goods last year, according to official data. In exchange, it exported $412bn (£300) of goods.
Canadians were stunned when Mr Trump announced major tariffs on its northern neighbour, as well as Mexico. Canada hit back at the 25 per cent levy on steel and aluminium, with a similar tariff on a range of US items.
Mark Carney has said the trading relationship between the two countries had been changed forever.
Anger over the tariffs was one of the reasons Mr Carney's beleaguered Liberal Party was re-elected, despite being poised to lose to the Conservative Party in a general election in May.
Mr Carney who previously led both the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada, took a hard line against the US president as he continued to make '51st state' jibes.
There was no immediate response from Mr Carney's office on Friday's development.
It comes as Mr Trump's government is set to reimpose a number of high tariffs that he announced in April on almost all of America's trading partners.
Of those nations, only two countries, Britain and China, have agreements with the US to even a framework of a trade deal.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
37 minutes ago
- Reuters
Democrat Wyden presses Bessent to commit to US sanctions on Russia
WASHINGTON, June 27 (Reuters) - The top Senate Finance Committee Democrat pressed U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday to commit to enforcing Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia and to clarify comments about Russia rejoining an international bank payments network. In a letter to Bessent, Senator Ron Wyden also sought answers on how the U.S.-Ukraine critical minerals deal and investment agreement would help improve Ukraine's post-war security and not benefit any entity or country that aided Russia's war effort. Wyden cited Bessent's comments during his confirmation hearing that he was prepared to strengthen Russian sanctions, including on oil majors, if Trump requested this to help end the Ukraine war, which Bessent called "one of the greatest tragedies of my adult life." "I ask that you reaffirm your commitment to stringently enforce these sanctions and answer questions about how you envision other measures pursued by this administration, including agreements with Ukraine, potentially working in conjunction with these sanctions," Wyden wrote. The Oregon Democrat, who has opposed most of Trump's trade and tax agenda advanced by Bessent, asked the Treasury chief to explain comments he made to Fox News Channel in which he did not rule out bringing Russia back into the SWIFT international banking network. Russia was expelled from the payments messaging system after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. "Would Treasury allow Russian banks to rejoin SWIFT absent a comprehensive peace agreement with Ukraine that fully addresses Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine?" Wyden asked in a series of questions for Bessent to answer. Wyden also asked whether Bessent would continue the U.S. Treasury's implementation of commitments by G7 leaders to curtail Russia's use of the international financial system to support its war against Ukraine. A Treasury spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wyden's letter.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Your Nike shoes are about to cost a whole lot more thanks to Donald Trump, company warns
Nike warned that tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump will cost the company about $1 billion as it looks to make 'surgical' price increases in the fall. The company is shifting production away from China, where Nike makes about 16 percent of the footwear it imports into the U.S., Chief Financial Officer Matthew Friend told investors Thursday. 'We will optimize our sourcing mix and allocate production differently across countries to mitigate the new cost headwind into the United States,' Friend said on the call. The sports giant appears to be unloading some of the burden of the tariffs onto customers. Last month Nike announced it was increasing prices for adult apparel and equipment by $2 to $10 from June 1. It forecast that footwear costing between $100 to $150 would rise by $5, while shoes costing above $150 would increase by $10. There were some exceptions — the price of children's products, Nike Air Force 1s or Jordan products would not rise. 'We regularly evaluate our business and make pricing adjustments as part of our seasonal planning,' Nike previously said in a statement, without mention of the tariffs. Nike also reported a quarterly profit of $211 million, or 14 cents per share. Revenue totaled $11.1 billion. Both edged out Wall Street projections. Nike, Adidas, Under Armour and Puma were among 76 companies that signed a letter in April addressed to Trump, asking for a footwear exemption from reciprocal tariffs. The letter warned tariffs would 'become a major impact at the cash register for every family.' The potential for higher prices from Trump's tariffs have raised alarms for families, notably those who already spend a good chunk of money on equipment needed to participate in sports. Trump and his Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said late Thursday that the U.S. and China have signed an agreement on trade, but provided no details. Elsewhere, Trump on Friday said he was suspending all trade talks with Canada — and making plans to force Americans to pay high import taxes on its goods — after the northern ally's finance department confirmed plans to collect a digital services tax.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Tech firms warn 'Scattered Spider' hacks are targeting aviation sector
WASHINGTON, June 27 (Reuters) - Tech companies Google and Palo Alto Networks are sounding the alarm over the "Scattered Spider" hacking group's interest in the aviation sector. In a statement posted on LinkedIn, opens new tab on Friday, Sam Rubin, an executive at Palo Alto's (PANW.O), opens new tab cybersecurity-focused Unit 42, said his company had "observed Muddled Libra (also known as Scattered Spider) targeting the aviation industry." In a similar statement, Charles Carmakal, an executive with Alphabet-owned Google's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab cybersecurity-focused Mandiant unit, said his company was "aware of multiple incidents in the airline and transportation sector which resemble the operations of UNC3944 or Scattered Spider." Neither executive identified which specific companies had been targeted, but Alaska Air Group-owned Hawaiian Airlines and Canada's WestJet have both recently reported being struck by unspecified cyber incidents. Neither company has gone into detail about the intrusions or commented on any potential links between the incidents and Scattered Spider. The loose-knit but aggressive hacking group, alleged to at least in part comprise youngsters operating in Western countries, has been blamed for some of the most disruptive hacks to hit the United States and Europe in recent memory. In 2023, hackers tied to the group broke into gaming companies MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment, partially paralyzing casinos and knocking slot machines out of commission. Earlier this year, the group wreaked havoc at British retailers. More recent targets include the U.S. .
