TORONTO: Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the United States should President-elect Donald Trump follow through on his threat to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products, a senior official said Wednesday.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if the countries don’t stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across southern and northern borders. He said he would impose a 25 percent tax on all products entering the US from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders.
A Canadian government official said Canada is preparing for every eventuality and has started thinking about what items to target with tariffs in retaliation. The official stressed no decision has been made. The person spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly.
When Trump imposed higher tariffs during his first term in office, other countries responded with retaliatory tariffs of their own. Canada, for instance, announced billions of new duties in 2018 against the US in a tit-for-tat response to new taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum.
Many of the US products were chosen for their political rather than economic impact. For example, Canada imports $3 million worth of yogurt from the US annually and most comes from one plant in Wisconsin, home state of then-House Speaker Paul Ryan. That product was hit with a 10 percent duty.
Another product on the list was whiskey, which comes from Tennessee and Kentucky, the latter of which is the home state of then-Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell.
Trump made the threat Monday while railing against an influx of illegal migrants, even though the numbers at Canadian border pale in comparison to the southern border.
The US Border Patrol made 56,530 arrests at the Mexican border in October alone — and 23,721 arrests at the Canadian one between October 2023 and September 2024.
Canadian officials say lumping Canada in with Mexico is unfair but say they are happy to work with the Trump administration to lower the numbers from Canada. The Canadians are also worried about a influx north of migrants if Trump follows through with his plan for mass deportations.
Trump also railed about fentanyl from Mexico and Canada, even though seizures from the Canadian border pale in comparison to the Mexican border. US customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border.
Canadian officials argue their country is not the problem and that tariffs will have severe implications for both countries.
Canada is the top export destination for 36 US states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian ($2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. About 60 percent of US crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85 percent of US electricity imports are from Canada. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the US and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing in for national security.
“Canada is essential to the United States’ domestic energy supply,” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said.
Trump has pledged to cut American energy bills in half within 18 months, something that could be made harder if a 25 percent premium is added to Canadian oil imports. In 2023, Canadian oil accounted for almost two-thirds of total US oil imports and about one-fifth of the US oil supply.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is holding a emergency virtual meeting on Wednesday with the leaders of Canada’s provinces, who want Trudeau to negotiate a bilateral trade deal with the United States that excludes Mexico.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday that her administration is already working up a list of possible retaliatory tariffs “if the situation comes to that.”
Canada is already examining tariffs on certain US items following Trump’s tariff threat
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Canada is already examining tariffs on certain US items following Trump’s tariff threat
India in mourning after over 240 killed in deadliest aviation disaster in decades
- Sole flight survivor Ramesh Viswashkumar a British national of Indian origin, is being treated at a hospital, airline confirms
- London-bound Dreamliner with 242 people on board also killed dozens more when it crashed into a medical college hostel
NEW DELHI, India: Indian authorities were combing the site of one of India’s deadliest aviation disasters on Friday, after an Air India plane crashed in the western city of Ahmedabad less than a minute after takeoff, killing all but one of its passengers.
The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which had 242 people on board, also killed dozens more people when it crashed into a medical college hostel located just outside Ahmedabad airport and burst into flames on Thursday afternoon.
The sole survivor, a British national of Indian origin, is being treated in a hospital, the airline confirmed.
“We are all devastated by the air tragedy in Ahmedabad. The loss of so many lives in such a sudden and heartbreaking manner is beyond words. Condolences to all the bereaved families,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on social media after visiting the crash site in the capital of his home state of Gujarat.
The passengers comprised 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, 7 Portuguese and one Canadian.
The surviving passenger, who was in seat 11A next to an emergency exit in front of the plane’s wing, reportedly managed to jump out. He told Indian media that he had heard a loud noise shortly after flight AI171 took off.
Various footage showed the plane taking off over a residential area and then sinking and disappearing from the screen, before a huge fireball could be seen rising into the sky from beyond the houses.
Those killed on board include a family who was visiting India for Eid, a newlywed who is moving to the UK and Vijay Rupani, former chief minister of Gujarat.
Health authorities are conducting DNA tests to identify bodies, which were mostly charred beyond recognition, as relatives take part and wait for officials to release the remains.
Suresh Khatika, who was waiting at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital where the DNA testing was taking place, said his niece Payal Khatika was among the passengers.
“Payal was going for further studies and she has taken a loan for it. She was really preparing herself for the day when she would go to the UK for studies,” Khatika told Arab News.
“It is really tragic that her dream crashed like this. We are in deep pain, and don’t know how to react.”
Many Indians have also taken to social media to mourn the victims, as their stories circulated widely. Among them is Dr. Pratik Joshi, who was reportedly bringing his wife, Dr. Komi Vyas, and three young children to move to the UK. A picture of the family, believed to be taken on the plane and shared with relatives before takeoff, has garnered millions of views online as messages of condolence poured in.
In addition to the passengers and crew, dozens more people perished as they were caught in the path of the plane crash.
Thakur Ravi, a cook at B.J. Medical College, said his mother and two-year-old daughter, who had been on the side of the building where the plane had crashed, were missing.
“Other helpers and cooks managed to escape but my mother and daughter have been missing since yesterday,” Ravi told Arab News.
“We are frantically hoping against hope to have my family back. It was a horrible incident. It seemed as if the sky had fallen on us.”
Indian Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said a formal investigation headed by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has been launched.
Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood “ready to support them” over the incident. The UK and US air accident investigation agencies also announced they were sending teams to support their Indian counterparts.
India, the world’s third-largest aviation market, has endured several fatal air crashes on its soil, including in 1996, when two planes collided mid-air over New Delhi, killing around 350 people. In 2010, an Air-India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in south-west India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew onboard.
Judge blocks Trump’s election executive order, siding with Democrats who called it overreach
ATLANTA: A federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s attempt to overhaul elections in the US, siding with a group of Democratic state attorneys general who challenged the effort as unconstitutional.
The Republican president’s March 25 executive order sought to compel officials to require documentary proof of citizenship for everyone registering to vote for federal elections, accept only mailed ballots received by Election Day and condition federal election grant funding on states adhering to the new ballot deadline.
The group of attorneys general said the directive “usurps the States’ constitutional power and seeks to amend election law by fiat.” The White House has defended the order as “standing up for free, fair and honest elections” and called proof of citizenship a “commonsense” requirement.
Hong Kong rights group shuts down after years of advocating for workers
- Founded in 1994, organization maintained a database tracking workers’ strikes, protests, workplace accidents and other labor rights incidents in China
HONG KONG: A Hong Kong group that advocated for workers rights for decades announced its shutdown abruptly on Thursday, citing financial difficulties and debt issues.
China Labor Bulletin planned to stop updating its website content and appeared to have deleted Facebook and Instagram social media accounts used by the nonprofit rights organization.
“The company can no longer maintain operations and has decided to dissolve and initiate the relevant procedures,” it said in a statement on an archived web page Friday.
Founded in 1994, organization maintained a database tracking workers’ strikes, protests, workplace accidents and other labor rights incidents in China.
As dozens of civil society groups disbanded or left Hong Kong in the wake of the 2020 Beijing-imposed national security law, China Labor Bulletin continued providing valuable resources for journalists and academics in the southern Chinese city.
Critics say the drastic political changes in Hong Kong indicated the decline of Western-style civil liberties that China promised to keep intact when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. However, Beijing and Hong Kong governments insisted the law was crucial to bring stability to the city following massive anti-government protests in 2019.
China Labor Bulletin’s founder Han Dongfang, a former railway worker who participated in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. He told the Central News Agency of Taiwan that the shutdown was his decision and he would stay in Hong Kong.
Han’s decision appeared sudden to many Hong Kong civil society observers. Three weeks ago, he wrote on social media platform LinkedIn about his work anniversary and his team’s progress.
“Let’s keep our faith up at this abnormal time and continue our important work,” he said.
India in mourning after deadliest aviation disaster in decades
- Sole flight survivor, a British citizen of Indian origin, is being treated in hospital
- Family members provide DNA samples to help identify crash victims
NEW DELHI: Indian authorities were combing the site of one of India’s deadliest aviation disasters on Friday, after an Air India plane crashed in the western city of Ahmedabad less than a minute after takeoff, killing all but one of its passengers.
The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which had 242 people on board, killed dozens more people when it crashed into a medical college hostel just outside Ahmedabad airport and burst into flames on Thursday afternoon.
The sole survivor, a British citizen of Indian origin, is being treated in hospital, the airline confirmed.
“We are all devastated by the air tragedy in Ahmedabad. The loss of so many lives in such a sudden and heartbreaking manner is beyond words. Condolences to all the bereaved families,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on social media after visiting the crash site in the capital of his home state of Gujarat.
The passengers comprised 169 Indian citizens, 53 Britons, 7 Portuguese and a Canadian.
The surviving passenger, who was in seat 11A next to an emergency exit in front of the plane’s wing, reportedly managed to jump out. He told Indian media that he had heard a loud noise shortly after flight AI171 took off.
Various footage showed the plane taking off over a residential area and then sinking and disappearing from the screen, before a huge fireball could be seen rising into the sky from beyond the houses.
Those killed on board include a family visiting India for Eid, a newlywed who was moving to the UK and Vijay Rupani, former chief minister of Gujarat.
Health authorities are conducting DNA tests to identify bodies, most of which were charred beyond recognition.
Suresh Khatika, who was waiting at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital where the DNA testing was taking place, said his niece Payal Khatika was among the passengers.
“Payal was going for further studies and she has taken a loan for it. She was really preparing herself for the day when she would go to the UK for studies,” Khatika told Arab News.
“It is really tragic that her dream crashed like this. We are in deep pain, and don’t know how to react.”
Many Indians have taken to social media to mourn the victims, as their stories circulated widely. Among them is Dr. Pratik Joshi, who was reportedly bringing his wife, Dr. Komi Vyas, and three young children to move to the UK. A picture of the family, believed to be taken on the plane and shared with relatives before takeoff, has garnered millions of views online as messages of condolence poured in.
In addition to the passengers and crew, dozens more people caught in the path of the plane crash perished.
Thakur Ravi, a cook at B.J. Medical College, said his mother and 2-year-old daughter, who were on the side of the building where the plane crashed, were missing.
“Other helpers and cooks managed to escape but my mother and daughter have been missing since yesterday,” Ravi told Arab News.
“We are frantically hoping against hope to have my family back. It was a horrible incident. It seemed as if the sky had fallen on us.”
India’s Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said a formal investigation led by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has been launched.
Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood “ready to support them” over the incident. The UK and US air accident investigation agencies also announced they were sending teams to support their Indian counterparts.
India, the world’s third-largest aviation market, has suffered several fatal air crashes on its soil, including in 1996, when two planes collided in mid-air over New Delhi, killing about 350 people. In 2010, an Air-India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in south-west India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew onboard.
Japan’s foreign minister praises Djibouti’s work on maritime security
TOKYO: Japanese foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya met with Dileita Mohamed Dileita, President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Djibouti, on Friday and praised the “deepening of cooperation between the two countries in the field of maritime security.”
Iwaya stated that Djibouti, located at the southern end of the Red Sea and an important sea lane linking Europe and Asia, is a strategically important partner in the quest for a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP).”
Referring to the good relations between the two countries and his own special attachment toward Japan, President Dileita expressed his appreciation and gratitude for Japan’s development cooperation in various fields and for the Self-Defense Force facility in Djibouti, noting the strategic importance of his country.
The two sides exchanged views on issues that included the regional situation in Africa and in East Asia and agreed to further strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation in regional and international arena, with a view to TICAD 9 in August and Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan.
