Latest news with #economicTensions
National Post
13-05-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Neil D. Stephenson: McGill rugby award celebrates enduring tale of Canada-U.S. friendship
As a Canadian with an education in political science and a former executive of a major American news organization, I am dismayed by the ongoing economic tensions between Canada and the United States. This conflict — which Canada neither instigated nor desired — has been manufactured by U.S. President Donald Trump. Article content Article content Despite political rhetoric on both sides of the border assuring us that Canadians love Americans, and vice versa, it is essential for ordinary citizens to take tangible steps to maintain and demonstrate this friendship — and to remind ourselves of the many thousands of past instances in our lives where that friendship has manifested itself without us consciously thinking about it. Article content Article content In that spirit, and given the recent federal election, I wanted to share two stories: first, of a new varsity sports award; and second, of a historic, 151-year-old cross-border sports rivalry. Article content Article content The first story begins with its two inspirations, a woman named Marie Evelyn Moreton (better known as Lady Byng, wife of Canada's 12th governor general, Lord Julian Byng) and Winston Churchill. The former was a hockey fanatic who wanted to encourage gentlemanly conduct and good sportsmanship, and the latter famously quipped that, 'Rugby is a hooligan's game played by gentlemen.' Article content The other lead characters in the story include a rugby team founded in 1872, an American rugby player from McGill's 1955 squad and a newly endowed sports award. Throughout its storied history, the McGill University Rugby Football Club (MURFC, which is known today as the McGill Redbirds) has emphasized the importance of how its players conduct themselves on and off the field. Article content In keeping with the dicta expressed by Churchill and Byng, MURFC has officially announced the Dr. Joseph Hanaway McGill Rugby Gentleman's Award. This award annually recognizes a McGill rugby player who consistently exemplifies gentlemanly conduct on and off the field for a minimum of two playing seasons. Article content Article content The idea for a non-endowed award was first proposed to McGill Athletics in late 2020 to formally recognize the qualities of integrity, sportsmanship and respectfulness that are integral to rugby culture worldwide. After just five months of fundraising, we surpassed the $80,000 threshold required for an endowment and the newly endowed award was formally announced to the team at a ceremony on April 10. Article content Article content As of today, McGill has received $107,000 in contributions, with additional pledges still coming. Beginning in December, the award will confer a $3,500 cash prize to the named recipient.
Irish Times
12-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
US claims ‘substantial progress' after trade talks with China
US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said the US made 'substantial progress' over two days of trade talks with Chinese officials in Geneva, in the first sign that Washington and Beijing might start to ratchet down economic tensions. 'We will be giving details tomorrow, but I can tell you that the talks were productive,'|Mr Bessent told reporters on Sunday after he and US trade representative Jamieson Greer finished their meetings with Chinese vice-premier He Lifeng. Mr Greer said it was 'important to understand how quickly we were able to come to agreement, which reflects that perhaps the differences were not so large as maybe thought' and added that there had been a 'lot of groundwork'. The optimistic comments from the US negotiating team were the first sign that the two countries might de-escalate the trade war that has roiled financial markets and triggered concerns about global supply chains. READ MORE US futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose 1.5 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively. Haven assets sold off during trading in Asia, with gold shedding 1.4 per cent and 10-year US Treasury bond yields climbing 0.02 percentage points to 4.40 per cent. Bond yields move inversely to prices. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.9 per cent while mainland China's benchmark CSI 300 index climbed 0.6 per cent. The US dollar strengthened 0.3 per cent against a basket of its peers while the Swiss franc and Japanese yen, both haven currencies, weakened 0.3 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively. The US has placed a 145 per cent tariff on goods from China while Beijing has retaliated with its own 125 per cent levy. Following the first day of talks on Saturday, Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that the US and China had made 'great progress'. He added: 'A total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive manner.' In Geneva, Mr Greer said the agreement with the Chinese would help ease trade tensions. 'The [US] has a massive $1.2 trillion trade deficit (€1.06) [with the world], so the president declared a national emergency and imposed tariffs, and we're confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us to work towards resolving that national emergency.' Mr He, the Chinese vice-premier, said he had held 'candid, in-depth and constructive' talks with his US counterparts and that an 'important consensus' had been reached, according to state-run news agency Xinhua. According to Xinhua, Mr He announced that China and the US had agreed to create a mechanism to hold further talks on trade and economic issues. The US and Chinese negotiating teams met at the Geneva residence of the Swiss ambassador to the UN. Until recently, there were few signs that either country was prepared to negotiate. Chinese officials had told Washington that Mr Trump's tariffs on China amounted to economic bullying and warned that Beijing would not capitulate in the same way as other countries that had rushed to negotiate with Washington. However, following a fall in the bond market and signs that the volume of trade with China was plummeting, Mr Bessent publicly warned that the situation was not sustainable. Last week, he stressed that both sides had a 'shared interest' in de-escalation since the level of tariffs imposed in both directions 'isn't sustainable'. He previously said that the high tariffs amounted to an effective trade embargo with China. Chinese state media have made fun of what they said were US flip-flops on trade talks and the eagerness of Mr Trump to hold negotiations. A social media account affiliated with China's state broadcaster CCTV said that the US had 'repeatedly jumped back and forth' and was trying to contact China through 'various channels' to jump-start talks. Since the start of the trade war, officials and economic experts in both countries have also argued that the other side was more vulnerable. Mr Bessent said China faced economic challenges and had more incentive to come to the table. But the Trump administration became more concerned following warnings from Wall Street and after Walmart and Target told Mr Trump that retail store shelves would become empty. Yang Panpan of the state-affiliated Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said the US negotiating position this time was weaker, given a weakening dollar and sinking international investor confidence in America. 'Inflation is a major challenge [for the US],' Ms Yang said. 'Financial market instability is another challenge . . ...red to the past, these concerns have intensified.' - Add–tional reporting by William Sandlund in Hong Kong and Leo Lewis in Tokyo – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
