logo
Trump's global tariff pause is supposed to expire Wednesday. What's at stake for Canada?

Trump's global tariff pause is supposed to expire Wednesday. What's at stake for Canada?

CBC06-07-2025
U.S. President Donald Trump's three-month pause on his sweeping global tariffs is set to expire in just a few days. Ahead of the deadline, some trade experts say Canada still faces big risks, despite avoiding that round of levies back in April.
"What the president needs is a bunch of wins by July 9 because he needs to show that his strategy is working," said Inu Manak, a fellow for trade policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, during an interview with CBC's The House that aired Saturday.
On April 2, Trump held up a list in the Rose Garden of the White House and announced what he called "reciprocal tariffs" on more than 150 countries, including China and the European Union. The rates for individual countries on the list varied from 10 per cent to more than 40 per cent.
Canada wasn't on that list, though other tariffs Trump had previously imposed on Canadian goods remained.
One week after he unveiled the list, the president backed down and said he would freeze the global tariffs for 90 days to allow each country to negotiate deals with his administration.
The problem for Canada is Trump hasn't closed many deals in those 90 days, Manak said. So far, the U.S. has reached agreements with Britain and Vietnam. Negotiations with other top markets like China, India, the European Union and Japan are ongoing.
"If we don't see a lot of deals coming out of this, what we're likely to see is [Trump] to get more agitated and ask for more concessions from the countries that he knows he can push a little harder," Manak said. "So I think for Canada, that would be a very bad situation."
Carlo Dade, international policy director at the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy, told CBC News "there's a risk every day of the week that [Trump] decides to come after Canada. That is not an exaggeration."
"We're open to this potential as long as the president has unrestrained power to implement tariffs whenever, wherever, however he wants," he said.
Trump used a law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to apply the worldwide tariffs and his earlier fentanyl tariffs on Canada and Mexico. The law is intended to address "unusual and extraordinary" threats during national emergencies.
In late May, the New York-based U.S. Court of International Trade ruled Trump exceeded his authority by invoking IEEPA. The White House swiftly appealed and a federal appeals court allowed IEEPA tariffs to remain in effect while it reviewed the decision.
WATCH | Europe gets a reprieve on tariffs:
Trump delays tariff threat on EU to July
1 month ago
Duration 2:52
U.S. President Donald Trump says he will delay his 50 per cent tariff on imports from the European Union until July 9 after a weekend phone call between Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Manak said another challenge is Trump isn't facing political consequences for his tariffs right now — and no major economic fallout, either.
"Right now, he's kind of sitting at a point where he feels he can kind of get away with maintaining the pressure that exists. And that pressure is enough to get other countries to the table," she said.
At a White House news conference at the end of June, Trump told reporters the U.S. "can do whatever we want. We could extend [the July 9 deadline]. We could make it shorter. I'd like to make it shorter."
On Sunday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested the July 9 deadline is being pushed back by about a month.
He said on CNN's State of the Union the Trump administration would send letters to trading partners "saying that if you don't move things along, then on Aug. 1 you will boomerang back to your April 2 tariff level."
"So I think we're going to see a lot of deals very quickly," Bessent told host Dana Bash.
Is there opportunity for Canada?
Fen Osler Hampson, co-chair of the Expert Group on Canada-U.S. Relations at Carleton University, said Canada could leverage the economic uncertainty from Trump's tariffs and "put the pedal to the metal" to expand trade with European and Asian allies.
Hampson added that Canada already has good trading relationships with those regions through the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
With U.S. tariffs, Hampson said those countries are "going to be looking for other market opportunities, both to sell and buy. I think our challenge is to get serious and to realize the real dividends that can come from those two major regional trading agreements."
WATCH | Trump isn't pleased with taunts of 'chickening out' on trade:
Does Trump 'always chicken out' on tariffs?
1 month ago
Duration 5:34
Investors are poking fun at U.S. President Donald Trump's on-again, off-again tariff threats, calling it 'TACO' trade — which stands for 'Trump Always Chickens Out.' When asked about the term, Trump called it a 'nasty question.' CBC's Katie Simpson reports.
Diversifying Canada's trading partners is one of Prime Minister Mark Carney's top goals — and a key objective for International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu.
"I think Canada has a lot to offer and we should be screaming that at the top of our lungs," Sidhu told CBC's The House in an interview that aired Saturday.
Canada has already deepened its trade relationships with countries such as Ecuador and the United Arab Emirates since Carney and Sidhu came into office.
But key markets that could make a big dent in easing Canada's reliance on U.S. trade — like the U.K., India and China — are thornier due to fraught diplomatic relationships and other irritants.
Colin Robertson, a former Canadian diplomat and vice-president at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, agreed that Canada can do more trade with other countries, but added a note of caution: businesses, not governments, are the only ones who can decide which companies they trade with.
"Ultimately, business has to see a business opportunity," Robertson said, adding that the U.S. continues to be the market with the easiest access for Canadian businesses.
On The House, Sidhu told guest host Janyce McGregor that Canadian businesses were indeed comfortable dealing with the U.S., but now they're asking him to help facilitate access to more countries.
Canada-U.S. trade talks
Carney and Trump continue to negotiate a Canada-U.S. trade deal, after setting a deadline of July 21.
Hampson said the deadline helps Canada hold the Americans' attention as the Trump administration negotiates with other countries.
Canada and U.S. restarted negotiations Monday morning, Carney says
6 days ago
Duration 1:15
Prime Minister Mark Carney says he had a 'good' conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday, and that the two leaders will keep working to reach a deal by July 21. The federal government scrapped the digital services tax over the weekend after Trump paused all trade talks.
The Americans also have an interest in getting a deal done soon, Robertson said.
"If [the Americans] can't do it with Canada, their ally and their partner, it's much harder to do with Mexico, much harder with China," he said. "We should be the lowest of the hanging fruit from the American perspective."
Trade discussions hit a roadblock in late June when Trump announced he would walk away from the negotiating table over Canada's digital services tax. The federal government scrapped the tax a few days later and discussions got back on track.
Robertson said he's a bit skeptical about how far Canada will get with the U.S. by July 21, but adds that Trump enjoys declaring victory even if the agreement is "only 80 per cent of the way there."
"Would we settle for 80 per cent? Be basically there and leave the rest to be cleaned up? I think so," he said. "Because if Trump's taken his eye off it and says it's basically there, then that's sufficient from where we're coming from."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Is Nvidia Stock Too Expensive to Buy Now?
Is Nvidia Stock Too Expensive to Buy Now?

Globe and Mail

time31 minutes ago

  • Globe and Mail

Is Nvidia Stock Too Expensive to Buy Now?

Key Points Data center growth is slated to continue for some time. Nvidia's GPUs are unrivaled in the AI space. Many stocks trade at the same price tag as Nvidia with far less growth. 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia › Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) has been the top artificial intelligence (AI) stock to own for some time now, but with its latest rise, many investors are concerned that Nvidia's stock is too expensive to buy more shares at the current price. While I understand the hesitation, I think there is a compelling argument that Nvidia isn't expensive when you take a longer view than just a single year. If you can commit to owning Nvidia stock for three to five years, I think there's a good reason to buy the stock right now. However, if you're only looking at a single year, the stock may appear somewhat pricey. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More » Data center expansion will continue to be a massive source of growth Nvidia is the global leader in graphics processing units (GPUs), and it has established this position through superior hardware and unmatched software that allow users to optimize GPUs for various workloads. One estimate pegs Nvidia's data center market share for GPUs at 90%, which underscores just how widely used Nvidia's products are. GPUs aren't just popular for AI workloads; they're used whenever an arduous computing task is involved. Whether it's drug discovery, cryptocurrency mining, engineering simulations, or their original purpose, gaming graphics, GPUs excel at the task because of their ability to process multiple calculations in parallel. Combine that with the ability to connect GPUs in clusters, and their computing power can be quickly amplified. As more data centers are built, the demand for GPUs is expected to rise, which will likely benefit Nvidia's stock over the long term. For 2025, the AI hyperscalers all announced record capital expenditures, with most of the funds going toward data center construction. While this is impressive, the records are likely to be shattered again in 2026, as data center construction spans multiple years. This supports a third-party projection that Nvidia cited during its 2025 GTC conference, stating that 2024 global data center capital expenditures totaled $400 billion but are expected to rise to $1 trillion by 2028. Should that occur, Nvidia's stock has plenty of room to run, as it captures a large portion of that spending. In the company's fiscal-year 2025 (which encompasses most of 2024), its data center revenue totaled $115 billion, which means Nvidia captures nearly 30% of total data center spending. If it can maintain that market share, it has the potential to generate $300 billion from data centers alone, provided the projection comes true. That's a significant upside from today's totals, making today's stock price appear less expensive than it initially seems. Nvidia's stock appears expensive, but so do many others in the market Currently, Nvidia's stock trades at about 40 times forward earnings. NVDA PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts That's historically quite expensive, but few companies have been able to sustainably grow as quickly as Nvidia. For Q2, Nvidia expects 50% revenue growth, which is far more than the majority of companies in the market. Furthermore, if you're going to call Nvidia expensive, then there are countless other stocks investors must be cautious with. Stocks like Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) (36 times forward earnings), Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) (35 times forward earnings), and Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) (53 times forward earnings) are just as expensive as Nvidia, yet don't have near the growth rate or upside. NVDA PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts I think it's safe to say that the broader market is rather expensive as a whole, but with how rapidly Nvidia is growing and how bright its long-term prospects are, I think investors are still safe to pick up shares here, as long as they have the mindset that they're holding for three to five years. If you can keep that time frame in mind, Nvidia is still a compelling investment. Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now? Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $652,133!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,056,790!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,048% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 180% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 15, 2025

Should You Invest $1,000 in Quantum Computing Competitor Rigetti Computing?
Should You Invest $1,000 in Quantum Computing Competitor Rigetti Computing?

Globe and Mail

time31 minutes ago

  • Globe and Mail

Should You Invest $1,000 in Quantum Computing Competitor Rigetti Computing?

Key Points Rigetti Computing is a pure-play quantum computing investment. Investors must understand the risks associated with investing in Rigetti. A massive quantum computing market is expected to emerge by 2030. 10 stocks we like better than Rigetti Computing › Quantum computing is an intriguing investment field. Right now, there's a ton of money pouring into the technology, but it really isn't adding any value back into the economy. That's because it's still a fledgling technology that's working its way toward commercial viability. However, once it reaches that point, the companies involved in this space could see their stocks skyrocket alongside demand. Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI) is a company in the quantum computing race, and it's a popular pick among investors. However, is now the right time to invest $1,000 into the stock? Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More » Image source: Getty Images. Rigetti Computing is a high-risk, high-reward investment Rigetti Computing is a pure play within the quantum computing investment realm, which means it's quantum computing relevancy or bust. This has several benefits and drawbacks. On the positive side, the company is laser-focused on quantum computing and is devoting every bit of its resources to investing in the technology and bringing it to market. Additionally, if Rigetti Computing succeeds in its goal to achieve quantum computing relevancy, its stock is primed to soar because it has no revenue to speak of right now (besides some that it gets from research contracts). Rigetti Computing is only a $4 billion business, so it has immense upside if it can achieve significant growth. The downside of investing in quantum computing pure plays is that there is no backup plan. If another competitor and its technology surpass Rigetti's, the stock becomes obsolete, and every share is worthless, ultimately sending the stock to $0. That's a grim outlook, but it's entirely within the realm of possibility. Furthermore, because its only cash sources are various contracts, issuing new shares, or taking on debt, it doesn't have the financial backing that some of the large tech companies competing in quantum computing have. For example, one large competitor in this space is Alphabet, the parent company of Google. Over the past 12 months, Alphabet produced a jaw-dropping $75 billion in free cash flow. It means nothing for Alphabet to sink $1 billion into the quantum computing race -- a sum of money that Rigetti can only dream of. Investing in Rigetti Computing is a high-risk endeavor, but if it pays off, shareholders could reap substantial rewards. 2030 is a key milestone in quantum computing To invest in a stock as risky as Rigetti Computing, investors need to be assured that there's an adequate payoff should it win the quantum computing race. Quantum computing has applications in many fields, such as weather forecasting, logistics networks, and artificial intelligence (AI). Numerous other problems can likely be solved by quantum computing which haven't been explored yet. However, it will be a few years before quantum computing becomes widespread. Rigetti Computing estimates that before 2030, the annual value for quantum computing providers will be around $1 billion to $2 billion. However, it expects that opportunity to expand to $15 billion to $30 billion per year between 2030 and 2040. Should Rigetti capture 20% of that market, that's $3 billion in annual revenue. Since the stock is valued at around $4 billion, there's certainly plenty of room for upside. So, should you invest $1,000 in Rigetti Computing? I'd say it depends on your portfolio size. If you have $2,000 to invest, then investing $1,000 into Rigetti Computing is a bad idea. If your portfolio is $100,000 or greater, then this may not be a bad idea if you're a firm believer that Rigetti Computing will win the quantum computing race. There's a ton of risk here, so it may be wiser to spread bets out among multiple quantum computing companies. By keeping your position sizing small, you limit the effect if the stock price reaches zero. But if a 1% position increases 10-fold in value, your portfolio reaps the reward of an incredible investment. Rigetti Computing is a high-risk, high-reward investment, and people need to understand this before investing any money in the stock. Should you invest $1,000 in Rigetti Computing right now? Before you buy stock in Rigetti Computing, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Rigetti Computing wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $652,133!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,056,790!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,048% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 180% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 15, 2025

Prediction: 3 Stocks That Will Be Worth More Than Palantir 5 Years From Now
Prediction: 3 Stocks That Will Be Worth More Than Palantir 5 Years From Now

Globe and Mail

time31 minutes ago

  • Globe and Mail

Prediction: 3 Stocks That Will Be Worth More Than Palantir 5 Years From Now

Key Points Palantir's stock price has risen much faster than its business has grown. ASML, Salesforce, and IBM all have strong investments in AI. 10 stocks we like better than Palantir Technologies › Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) experienced a significant rise over the past few years and is now the 24th largest company by market capitalization globally. However, through a combination of factors, I think there could be multiple stocks that pass Palantir over the coming years. Three that I think have that chance are ASML Holding (NASDAQ: ASML), International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM), and Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), but this list could grow if the market comes to its senses regarding Palantir's stock. Palantir's stock appears to be significantly overvalued Palantir has been on an absolute tear since the start of 2024, rising nearly 800%. However, its revenue only grew 39% year over year in the first quarter, indicating a significant disparity between stock price appreciation and actual business growth. This shows up in the stock's valuation, which trades for 113 times sales and 244 times forward earnings. PLTR PS Ratio data by YCharts; PS = price to sales, PE = price to earnings. Very few companies ever reach this valuation for good reason: It's nearly impossible to live up to expectations. If we use a five-year timeline to examine Palantir's stock, let's make the following assumptions: Revenue growth of 40%. Profit margin reaches 30%. Share count remains flat. Those are three incredibly bullish assumptions -- the company hasn't achieved 40% year-over-year growth in recent quarters and would have to sustain that for five years. Also, a 30% profit margin would place it among the best software companies, and its current 18% margin is still a considerable distance from that level. Lastly, management is notorious for issuing a large number of shares to employees, and its share count has increased by 7.3% since the start of 2024, indicating significant dilution. Regardless, if these heady assumptions could come true, Palantir would generate $16.8 billion in revenue and $5 billion in profits. That's huge growth from today's $3.1 billion in revenue, but it would still value the company at 67 times hypothetical 2030 earnings. A 67 multiple for forward earnings makes for a very expensive stock, and Nvidia, which is consistently growing faster than Palantir, has only a 38 forward earnings multiple right now. I think this is a fairly clear-cut case that Palantir is drastically overvalued at today's levels. Even with the most bullish assumptions, Palantir's stock would still appear overvalued five years from now, even if the company achieves incredible growth figures. As a result, I believe the stock is ripe for a decline, and there are many other stocks (beyond the ones I mentioned) that could surpass Palantir. This trio has a strong outlook and significantly cheaper prices ASML is only slightly behind Palantir's $362 billion market cap, with a valuation of $292 billion at the time of this writing. It is a key provider of machinery in chip manufacturing, and it holds a technological monopoly with its extreme ultraviolet (EUV) machines. As more chip fabrication facilities emerge to support the huge AI demand, the company will experience strong growth, which management has told investors to expect in 2026. As a result, I think ASML could easily surpass Palantir. IBM is a legacy computing business that's working to make the pivot into AI and quantum computing, which is forecast to see commercial adoption around 2030. If it becomes the go-to for this technology, the stock could be ripe for huge upside from its current $266 billion valuation. Lastly, Salesforce dominates in customer relationship management software. It's also working to integrate AI into its product and maximize its profitability. Compared to many stocks on the market, it is relatively cheap and is valued at a lower level than the S&P 500, which trades for 23.7 times forward earnings. IBM PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts. As a final note, all three of these stocks trade for far less than Palantir's hypothetical 2030 valuation, which should be a sign for investors that the stock is unsustainably expensive. There is a near-endless list of stocks that appear to be better investments, and these three are among them. Should you invest $1,000 in Palantir Technologies right now? Before you buy stock in Palantir Technologies, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Palantir Technologies wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $652,133!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,056,790!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,048% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 180% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 15, 2025

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store