Latest news with #tradeTalks
Telegraph
13 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Carney threatens to raise tariffs on US if Trump talks fail
Mark Carney has threatened to increase Canadian tariffs on US steel if crunch trade talks with President Trump fail. On Thursday, the Canadian prime minister said he would amend his country's 25pc tariff on US steel and aluminium imports to a level 'consistent with the progress' of the negotiations. He added that he wanted to 'reinforce' his country's strength in negotiations with the US president as he announced a sweeping package of measures aimed at hurting American exports. The move paves the way for Canada to increase its counter-tariffs if talks fail, or reduce them if Mr Trump makes concessions. Mr Carney discussed tariffs with Mr Trump earlier this week and both leaders have agreed to begin a month-long series of negotiations. He said: 'We'll take all the time we need to get the best deal for Canada, but no longer. And seeing progress that's been made, President Trump and I agreed to pursue negotiations towards a deal within the coming 30 days. 'We'll continue these negotiations, of course, in good faith. In parallel, we must reinforce our strength at home and safeguard Canadian workers and businesses from the unjust US tariffs that exist at present.' The talks come three months after President Trump imposed 25pc tariffs on all imported steel and aluminium, and weeks after he raised them to 50pc. The measure is especially punishing for Canada because it is the largest supplier of foreign steel and aluminium to US markets. Mr Carney said late on Thursday that Canada would raise its counter-tariffs if a deal is not reached within 30 days. 'Canada will adjust its existing counter-tariffs on US steel and aluminium products on June 21, at the end of that 30-day period ... to levels consistent with the progress that's made at that point on the broader trading arrangements with the United States,' he said. Mr Carney, a former Governor of the Bank of England, also announced plans to ban Canadian government products from using US steel unless the world's largest economy offers tariff-free access to Canadian steel. The measures come after repeated attacks on the usually close US-Canadian relationship by Mr Trump. Since being elected last November, the US president has repeatedly called for Canada to become America's 51st state. Mr Trump announced a series of tariff increases on Canada, with the White House claiming in February that the US was responding to a 'national emergency' caused by the 'extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs'. Leaders at the G7 summit in Canada on Monday pushed Mr Trump to back away from his punishing trade war. Mr Trump said that he believed that scoring a deal with Canada in the coming weeks was 'achievable'.
Washington Post
13 hours ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Canadian tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum could rise depending on trade talks, says Carney
TORONTO — Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday he will impose new tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum imports on July 21 depending the progress of trade talks with U.S. President Donald Trump. Carney, who met with Trump at the Group of Seven meetings in Alberta this week, reiterated Thursday that Canada and the U.S. 'agreed to pursue negotiations toward a deal within the coming 30 days.'
News24
2 days ago
- Business
- News24
SA, US to resume trade talks as tariff deadline looms
South Africa will resume trade talks with the Trump administration on the sidelines of the US-Africa Business Summit next week, with less than a month to go before Washington's reciprocal tariffs are set to come into effect. The negotiating teams will aim to thrash out the details of South Africa's proposed framework agreement, which includes ramping up liquid natural gas imports, a joint fund for the exploration of critical minerals and duty-free US quotas for the auto and steel industries. Officials first presented the measures to the Trump administration when President Cyril Ramaphosa visited US President Donald Trump in Washington on May 21. Discussions on the technical details of the accord have taken place and South Africa's team will resume negotiations at the summit, according to people familiar with the talks who asked not to be identified because they're not authorised to speak to the media. The meeting is scheduled to take place in the Angolan capital, Luanda, from June 22-25. The South African trade department did not respond to a request for comment. The US State Department didn't immediately respond to a request sent by email. South Africa is behind countries including India and the UK in negotiating a trade deal with the US, making it unlikely that the parties will reach a deal by the July 9 deadline, when tariffs will triple from the current 10%. Africa's most-industrialised nation is hedging its bets on the US accepting a proposal to maintain the duty at current levels until an agreement is concluded. 'Effectively what we have put forward tries to be a mitigating factor for July 9,' deputy director-general for trade, Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter, told lawmakers in Cape Town last week. What South Africa has proposed: The establishment of a joint fund for the exploration of critical minerals in South Africa A duty-free quota of 40 000 vehicles per annum for the auto industry and duty-free access for automotive components sourced from South Africa for production in the US A duty-free quota of 385 million kilograms of steel and 132 million kilograms of aluminum annually Increasing imports of LNG from the US to as much as 100 petajoules annually for 10 years, which may generate as much as $12 billion of trade over a decade. Washington's trade complaints against Pretoria span a range of industries from vehicles to citrus and meat, while differences between the two nations extend beyond trade. Trump has spread the false conspiracy theory that white farmers have been subjected to a genocide in South Africa and that the authorities have seized their land. There have been no official land seizures in South Africa since apartheid ended in 1994. The threat of higher US tariffs has also prompted the South African authorities to diversify its export markets, Mlumbi-Peter said last week. 'We have identified 22 critical markets that we need to diversify our exports to,' she said. 'The export branch is working with the private sector to continue our diversification efforts so that we can build a greater resilience so that we are not too vulnerable in one market.'
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
South Africa, US to Resume Trade Talks as Tariff Deadline Looms
South Africa will resume trade talks with the Trump administration on the sidelines of the US-Africa Business Summit next week, with less than a month to go before Washington's reciprocal tariffs are set to come into effect. The negotiating teams will aim to thrash out the details of South Africa's proposed framework agreement, which includes ramping up liquid natural gas imports, a joint fund for the exploration of critical minerals and duty-free US quotas for the auto and steel industries. Officials first presented the measures to the Trump administration when President Cyril Ramaphosa visited Washington on May 21.
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Failure of EU-US trade talks would have immediate ramifications for budget, Taoiseach warns
The failure of EU-US trade talks would have immediate ramifications for the upcoming budget , Taoiseach Micheál Martin has warned. 'There's no doubt that the tariff situation does create a completely different context leading into this budget,' Mr Martin said at the National Economic Dialogue event in Dublin. US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 50 per cent tariffs on imports from the European Union (EU) but has put a stay on the measure until July 9th to allow for talks. 'Until it's resolved and until certainty is restored then it will be challenging in terms of the signing of a new budget,' Mr Martin said. READ MORE 'Europe is working very hard with its counterparts in the US to get a negotiated deal,' he said. Brussels negotiators hope that by agreeing to a 10 per cent US tariff on all EU exports, they can avoid higher tariffs on cars, medicines, and electronics. Mr Martin failed to rule out the prospect of providing tax breaks for developers in the budget in a bid to boost the supply of apartments amid a slowdown in construction. [ VAT rate for hospitality to be cut in budget, Harris says Opens in new window ] 'I don't want to speculate in relation to taxation measures. Certainly on the National Development Plan, on the public expenditure side, very significant priority is being given to the housing issue,' he said. 'We're looking right across the board about how we can get more houses built faster,' he said. Will rent reform make building apartments viable? Listen | 40:12 'There was a need to create a certainty in policy to bring private sector investment,' he said. The Taoiseach also defended the rapid rise in spending in recent budgets, which the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (Ifac) has flagged as a major risk to the public finances. 'We've had unprecedented events that have impacted recent budgets, Covid-19 in particular, and the inflationary spiral that followed' and the influx of Ukranian refugees, he said. 'We've had increased population growth on a significant scale over the last number of years, combined with infrastructural deficits (that) means there has to be a degree of catching up,' 'That said expenditure is high,' Mr Martin said, noting 'the important thing was to get a sustainable fiscal framework that balances revenue with expenditure'. In a report last week, Ifac warned that public spending was rising much faster than planned and that this was the result of 'poor budgeting' on the Government's part It said current spending was up 6 per cent so far this year, well above the 1.4 per cent uplift outlined in the Budget.
