US President Donald Trump backed down on a threat to double planned tariffs on steel and aluminium to 50 per cent for Canada, after Ontario's Premier dropped a threat to add a surcharge to electricity exports.
Doug Ford's decision to drop the surcharge meant the tariffs would not be enacted on Wednesday, top White House trade adviser Pete Navarro told CNBC. Mr Navarro said that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had done "a beautiful job negotiating that".
Mr Ford said earlier that Mr Lutnick had called him and that he had agreed to remove the surcharge.
“He has to bounce it off the President but I’m pretty confident he will pull back,” Mr Ford said of the steel and aluminium tariff threat. "By no means are we just going to roll over. What we are going to do is have a constructive conversation."
Mr Trump made the threats of increased tariffs on his Truth Social platform earlier on Tuesday, saying they would take effect on Wednesday. The US has also levied tariffs on its southern neighbour Mexico and on China.
The comments come amid a massive stock market sell-off this week, as the President faces increasing pressure to show he has a plan to grow the economy and not send it spiralling into a recession. The selling continued on Tuesday, with the Dow down more than 1.5 per cent at midday.
Mr Trump has given a variety of explanations for his antagonism towards Canada, saying his 25 separate tariffs are about fentanyl smuggling and voicing objections to Canada putting high taxes on dairy imports that penalise US farmers. But he continued to call for Canada to become part of the US as a solution, a form of perceived taunting that has infuriated Canadian leaders.
“The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished 51st state,” Mr Trump said in his post on Tuesday. “This would make all tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the President's decision on Tuesday by highlighting a chart that showed Canadian tariffs on US dairy products.
"If you look at the rates of tariffs across the board that Canadians have been imposing on the American people and our workers here, it is egregious … not just Canada, but the rate of tariffs across the board," she said. "If you look at Canada … American cheese and butter, a nearly 300 per cent tariff."
Ms Leavitt failed to mention that Canada's tariffs on dairy come into effect only if the US hits a certain quota, which it has not done in years.
As to the President's calls to make Canada the 51st state, she said: "Canada is a neighbour. They are a partner. They have always been an ally. Perhaps they are becoming a competitor now. But as the President also laid out in his Truth Social posts today, he believes that Canadians would benefit greatly from becoming the 51st state of the United States of America."
Mr Ford earlier called Mr Trump’s decision to raise tariffs yet again “disappointing” and repeated that the President was responsible for the escalating trade war.
“This is absolute chaos created by one person and that's Donald Trump, not the American people. I always say Canadians love Americans. I love Americans and this has to stop,” Mr Ford said.
The Conservative leader of Canada’s most populous province said the countries should sit at the table and renegotiate the US-Mexico-Canada agreement, which Mr Trump brokered during his first term.
Brian Jean, Minister of Energy and Minerals of Alberta, said more tariffs on oil would have a profound effect on US citizens. "Let's be clear: if we brought that up to 25 [per cent] there would be serious ramifications to the people of the US and the people of Canada," he said during CeraWeek in Houston, Texas.
Meanwhile, Oxford Economics lowered its GDP growth forecast for the US for 2025 by 0.4 percentage points to 2.0 per cent, and made much steeper adjustments to Canada and Mexico, reflecting the assumption of more aggressive US tariffs, the firm said in a report released on Tuesday.
"We assume that tariffs of up to 25 per cent will be imposed on US imports from Canada and Mexico from April 2, but with some exemptions and reduced rates for certain products, including energy. Our conviction on these tariff assumptions isn't strong and risks have shifted away from more aggressive tariffs toward a more balanced position," said Ben May, director of global macro research, and Ryan Sweet, chief of US economics, noting the spillovers to the rest of the world are likely to be limited.
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
The years Ramadan fell in May
ABU DHABI T10: DAY TWO
Bangla Tigers v Deccan Gladiators (3.30pm)
Delhi Bulls v Karnataka Tuskers (5.45pm)
Northern Warriors v Qalandars (8.00pm)
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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
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4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
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Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
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A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
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- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
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Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
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• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
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SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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The years Ramadan fell in May
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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