Canada launched retaliatory tariffs on $30 billion worth of US goods on Tuesday, following President Donald Trump's decision to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian products.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada was prepared to fight back against what he called “unjustified” US actions. Ottawa intends to add 25 per cent tariffs on to an additional $125 billion in three weeks if Washington has not lifted its levy.
Mr Trump's decision to launch a trade war with Canada, Mexico and China had an immediate impact on the markets. Fears rattled investors as Wall Street on Tuesday continued a sell-off that started on Monday.
“US tariffs continue to unsettle businesses and financial markets,” David Kohl, chief economist at Julius Baer, wrote to clients.
The Dow Jones plunged 670.25 points - or 1.55 per cent - after falling almost 650 points the previous day. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also ended in the red.
Julius Baer estimated that the annual value of US imports affected by the Trump tariffs would climb from under $500 billion to more than $1.5 trillion.
“At the same time, the erratic actions have triggered record-high trade uncertainty and rising US import volumes due to potential tariff increases,” Mr Kohl said.
Mr Trump has also threatened to enact a 25 per cent tariff on all aluminium and steel products beginning on March 12. Experts have previously told The National that the action will have a limited impact on Gulf exports. Mr Trump has also recently ordered the government to consider potential tariffs on copper.
Ottawa is expected to challenge the tariffs at the World Trade Organisation and through the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement signed in 2020 during Mr Trump's first term.
“There is absolutely no justification or need whatsoever for these tariffs today,” Mr Trudeau said, addressing Mr Trump directly.
“It's not in my habit to agree with the Wall Street Journal, but Donald, they point out that even though you're a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do.”
Mr Trudeau was referencing a recent opinion piece published by the Journal in which its editorial board called the President's decision “the dumbest tariff plunge”.
Mr Trump has said his reason for enacting the tariffs was to force both countries into protecting their borders and preventing illegal fentanyl from crossing into the US.
Last month, Canada named a fentanyl czar and committed nearly $1 billion to border protection and Mexico committed to sending 10,000 troops to their northern border, which prompted Washington to delay the decision to enact tariffs by 30 days.
Mr Trudeau said the new measures have been effective.
“Our actions are working,” he said. “We stepped up. We engaged closely and constructively with the President and his administration. We did everything we promised. We stuck to our word. And we did it because we believe in working together to protect our citizens.”
The Canadian leader, who has announced his intention to resign once his Liberal Party elects a new leader next week, expressed exasperation at the direction of Washington under Mr Trump.
“The United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, their closest friend at the same time, they're talking about working positively with Russia, appeasing Vladimir Putin, a lying, murderous dictator. Make that make sense,” he said.
When asked why he believed the US leader was imposing the sanctions, Mr Trudeau said it was likely an attempt to crush the Canadian economy.
“He has said repeatedly that what he wants is to see a total collapse of the Canadian economy, because that will make it easier to annex us, Mr Trudeau said. “That's never going to happen. We will never be the 51st state.”
Meanwhile, Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum said her country would impose “tariff and non-tariff measures” against the US from Sunday.
She said that Mexico had developed “strong actions” to tackle organised crime and fentanyl trafficking over the northern border, and that Mexican officials had participated in bilateral security and trade meetings that had “led to substantive co-operation agreements”.
“There is no reason to justify these actions,” she said. She would continue to seek a negotiated solution with Washington following its “unilateral” decision, she added.
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The biog:
From: Wimbledon, London, UK
Education: Medical doctor
Hobbies: Travelling, meeting new people and cultures
Favourite animals: All of them
KYLIAN MBAPPE 2016/17 STATS
Ligue 1: Appearances - 29, Goals - 15, Assists - 8
UCL: Appearances - 9, Goals - 6
French Cup: Appearances - 3, Goals - 3
France U19: Appearances - 5, Goals - 5, Assists - 1
The specs: Fenyr SuperSport
Price, base: Dh5.1 million
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 800hp @ 7,100pm
Torque: 980Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESmartCrowd%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiddiq%20Farid%20and%20Musfique%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%2F%20PropTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24650%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%20institutional%20investors%20and%20notable%20angel%20investors%20(500%20MENA%2C%20Shurooq%2C%20Mada%2C%20Seedstar%2C%20Tricap)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
HOW%20TO%20ACTIVATE%20THE%20GEMINI%20SHORTCUT%20ON%20CHROME%20CANARY
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Last 10 NBA champions
2017: Golden State bt Cleveland 4-1
2016: Cleveland bt Golden State 4-3
2015: Golden State bt Cleveland 4-2
2014: San Antonio bt Miami 4-1
2013: Miami bt San Antonio 4-3
2012: Miami bt Oklahoma City 4-1
2011: Dallas bt Miami 4-2
2010: Los Angeles Lakers bt Boston 4-3
2009: Los Angeles Lakers bt Orlando 4-1
2008: Boston bt Los Angeles Lakers 4-2
