Donald Trump's ‘Liberation Day' arrives with promise of tariffs
NewsFeed Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' arrives with promise of tariffs
Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' has arrived in the United States, with the president preparing to impose massive tariffs on just about all imports into the country. Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher explains.
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Qatar Tribune
2 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
US hotels face worker shortage amid looming immigration curbs
Agencies A U.S. crackdown on foreign-born workers could spell trouble for the hotel and hospitality industry, which has lobbied for years to expand the pathways for immigration to the United States to help fill over 1 million job vacancies. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would issue an immigration order soon, following a social media post in which he cited labor issues in the farm and hotel industries stemming from his immigration crackdown. But on Friday, the Washington Post reported that no such policy changes were under way, according to three people with knowledge of the administration's immigration policies. In 2024, travel supported the jobs of 15 million U.S. workers and directly employed 8 million, with approximately one-third of those workers immigrants, according to the U.S. Travel Association and American Hotel and Lodging Association. There are about 1 million job openings in 2025. Hotels and resorts have struggled to find enough Americans willing to work hospitality jobs, including seasonal or temporary jobs at ski resorts and amusement parks. The leisure and hospitality industries have quit rates higher than all other industries. The accommodation and food services subsector has experienced a quit rate consistently around or above 4% since July 2022, according to the U.S. Chamber of 71% of the hotels that had job openings were unable to fill them despite active searches, according to a 2024 survey conducted by AHLA and Hireology, an employee management platform. U.S. Travel and AHLA have lobbied Congress for broader pathways for legal immigration in an effort to close these gaps. The industry's priority was to push for expanding the H-2B visa program, which was capped at 66,000 visas a year, to bring more seasonal workers to the United States. In March 2024, then-President Joe Biden signed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, which authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to increase the number of H-2B temporary nonagricultural workers if the agency determines there are not enough American workers 'willing, qualified, and able to perform temporary nonagricultural labor.' DHS and the Department of Labor in December published a joint temporary final rule increasing the limit on H-2B non-immigrant visas for fiscal year 2025. The industry also supported legislation that looked to make it easier for temporary workers to return to the U.S. and allow people seeking asylum to work as soon as 30 days after applying for asylum. 'One of the most important issues in our industry for time and eternity has been workforce ... and the need for comprehensive immigration reform,' Hilton Worldwide CEO Chris Nassetta said at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit in January, according to a report by Travel Weekly.
Qatar Tribune
2 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Canada to boost mining amid China's rare earth curbs, says ex-finance minister
Agencies Canada's new government will invest more in mining at a time when the country's economy and manufacturing sector are facing 'challenges' related to China's curbs on rare earth exports, Bill Morneau, former Canadian finance minister, told the Post. 'One of the challenges for Canada is that we will need to increase our own mining,' Morneau, who was in office between 2015 and 2020 under then-prime minister Justin Trudeau, said in Shanghai on Friday. 'The initiative by new [Prime Minister] Mark Carney is to advance the ability to get big projects done. Certainly, mining is one of the critical ones,' Morneau explained. The former official acknowledged how Canada had taken some flak – collateral damage – amid US-China trade war escalations. Canadian firms, he said, have been affected by China's export restrictions on critical minerals that are still reverberating through the global industrial chain. 'Canada has a very significant part to play in the North American automotive sector. Any challenges around rare earths have an impact on that sector and, therefore, on Canada,' he said. 'So, there is a stake in that discussion for Canada. It's one of the important reasons that we hope these things get resolved.' Canada is sitting on a reserve of 15.2 million tonnes of rare earth oxide, according to a 2023 official estimate. Its reserves include both light and heavy rare earth elements, with key projects in Quebec and Labrador. Also on Friday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford was quoted by the Financial Times as saying that Canada was fast-tracking development of its critical minerals reserve over indigenous opposition, to generate revenue in response to US President Donald Trump's tariffs. Morneau also complained about how long it took to get mining approvals. Mining projects in Canada have traditionally been a complex process involving multiple levels of government, with discussions concerning the environment, indigenous rights and workers' safety, to name a few. Sometimes the process can take several years. 'Canada has much opportunity … But we have not been as rapid in getting mining approvals as we would like,' Morneau said. 'But clearly, China has a significant advantage in rare earths from the investments made over many years. I hope that we have – as much as possible – a free flow of trade in that area.' In a new development, China has granted permits to a major rare earth miner to facilitate shipments to the US and Europe. This is widely seen as a positive outcome after Chinese and US officials had 'agreed in principle' to a trade framework – pending approval from their respective leaders – following crunch talks in London and a call between presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump on June 5. Beijing's perceived slow progress in loosening its export controls, in place since April, on critical minerals, the lifeline for hi-tech industries – including smartphones, electric vehicles and fighter jets – was a major gripe for the US. Morneau, an advocate of closer ties with China as a hedge against uncertainties from Canada's long-standing ally, said he was encouraged to see the latest talks between Beijing and Washington. 'There is a need for an understanding between the two, which will help all other countries in the Western sphere to have better trading opportunities with China,' he talks hold out hopes of a mutual understanding, he said, adding, however, that everyone has to understand there will continue to be geopolitical rivalries – those are natural and expected. 'The acute issue right now is, can we get to a more stable trading situation? There are places where the US and China will not agree. That's just the way it is. But as soon as we can get to an understanding on where we do agree, then it's easier to have a trading relationship that works.' Getting down to the specifics in trade talks is a good place to start, he said. 'Discussions about rare earths are specific discussions,' Morneau explained. 'If we can agree on the specifics and places where we are going to allow businesses to successfully interact, then that will be a precursor to improved outcomes.' On the Chinese economy, Morneau said China faces challenges similar to those faced by many countries. 'There are long-term demographic issues. There are the obvious challenges of moving to domestic demand-led growth when you have more volatility around trade,' he said. His advice to Beijing was to improve social security. 'One of the reasons people increase consumption is their confidence. Social programmes always have an important place to play,' he said. 'That's been our experience in Canada.' After both Beijing and Ottawa had repeatedly clashed with Washington on trade, Carney and Chinese Premier Li Qiang, in a June 6 phone call, agreed on a 'reset' in the bilateral relationship after years of turbulence. Morneau expressed optimism that China and Canada could expeditiously resolve disputes and grow trade in agriculture, natural resources and tech. China is Canada's second-largest trading partner after the US, but a string of incidents in recent years deeply strained ties. China also imposes tariffs on Canadian agricultural exports such as canola and seafood.
Al Jazeera
9 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Live: Israel warns ‘Tehran will burn' after deadly missile barrage by Iran
Iran and Israel trade missiles and air strikes as the conflict that's killed dozens escalates with no end in least 80 people – including 20 children – have been killed in Iran and four in Israel, with hundreds wounded on both sides in the ongoing tit-for-tat President Donald Trump has lauded Israel's premeditated assault and warned of much worse to come unless Iran quickly accepts the sharp downgrading of its nuclear Iran-US nuclear talks is unjustifiable while 'barbarous' Israeli attacks persist on the country, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi Israeli military says its air strikes on Iran killed more than 20 Iranian army and Revolutionary Guards commanders. Update: Date: 34s ago (15:10 GMT) Title: Blasts heard in more than 10 Iranian cities Content: Iran and Israel are currently striking each other. Explosions have been heard in more than 10 Iranian cities, where attacks are reported to take place. Part of those blast sounds could be related to targets being hit, and others could be air defences being activated. Iranian officials say the country will continue its retaliatory action against Israel. So far, we have heard ballistic missiles being launched from Iran to Israeli targets as well as drone attacks. The Iranian people's sentiment over what is going on is mixed. Different people I talked to say they are angry, as some of the targets hit in Iran are not necessarily military or nuclear – they are rather residential buildings. There is also anxiety and fear among the people. Weeks ago, they were very hopeful when Iran started the trajectory of talks with the US that could pave the way to de-escalation of the situation. Now, with the new developments, everybody has doubts. Update: Date: 5m ago (15:05 GMT) Title: Here's what's been happening Content: Here are the main developments over the last few hours: Update: Date: 10m ago (15:00 GMT) Title: Welcome to our live coverage Content: Thanks for tuning in to our coverage of the situation between Iran and Israel. Stay here for up-to-the-minute coverage of Israel's attacks on Iran and Iran's barrages of missiles in reply. You can find all our updates from the last day and a half of hostilities here.
