In this edition:
- Trump hikes tariffs on Canada to 35%, but keeps CUSMA exemption
- Lincoln takes Niagara’s first leap to shrink governance
- Inniskillin celebrates 50th anniversary
- Business leaders want open banking and improved digital infrastructure
- Focus on Internal Trade
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Picture credit: John / Adobe Stock
Trump hikes tariffs on Canada to 35%, but keeps CUSMA exemption
President Donald Trump said the United States will put a 35 per cent tariff on some imports from Canada, escalating the tensions between two countries that have impaired one of the world’s largest trading relationships. The new rate represents an increase from the 25 per cent tariffs Trump imposed in early March under an emergency law.
Because of the CUSMA exemption, the effective tariff rate on U.S. imports of Canadian goods was around 5 per cent, according to estimates published July 30 by the Bank of Canada. That will now rise slightly. Economists at Bank of Nova Scotia estimated recently that the effective tariff rate would be between 6 per cent and 7 per cent.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce condemned the move, echoed in a joint statement by the Ontario and Michigan Chambers of Commerce.
Picture credit: Town of Lincoln
Lincoln takes Niagara’s first leap to shrink governance
There will be two fewer members of Lincoln town council after next year’s municipal election.
Councillors voted 6-3 Wednesday to reduce the number of town wards to three from four, shrinking the size of council to seven members from nine.
Picture credit: Inniskillin
Inniskillin celebrates 50th anniversary
Photo credit: tippapatt / Adobe Stock
Business leaders want open banking and improved digital infrastructure, says KPMG poll
While recent public discourse around nation-building has focused on major infrastructure mega-projects, modernizing Canada’s digital infrastructure is also an emerging priority, with a KPMG poll showing nearly two-thirds of business leaders want Canada’s payments system and open banking fast-tracked to boost productivity and competitiveness.
Focus on Internal Trade
Is Canada prepared to go it alone?
Stephen Marche, Maclean’s
There’s nothing like having a gun to your head to clarify the mind. Since Trump’s inauguration, a new patriotism has emerged in Canada, and nobody can deny its ferocity. In a recent CNN poll, 91 per cent of Canadians were in favour of pulling away from the United States. We all remember the early days after Trump first began threatening the country, how people would turn products from American companies upside down on the shelves so other customers would know to avoid them. But six months into the new reality, a different question is emerging: What will this new Canadian spirit amount to? It’s Canada Day. How much do we mean the flag-waving?
Through the Daily Updates, the GNCC aims to deliver important business news in a timely manner. We disseminate all news and information we feel will be important to businesses. Inclusion in the Daily Update is not an endorsement by the GNCC.
