Donald Trump refuses to sign G-7 statement, snubs Justin Trudeau

President Trump upended two days of global economic diplomacy late Saturday, refusing to sign a joint statement with America’s allies, threatening to escalate his trade war on the country’s neighbours and deriding Canada’s prime minister as “very dishonest and weak.” In a remarkable pair of acrimony-laced tweets from aboard Air Force One as he flew away from the Group of 7 summit toward a meeting with North Korea’s leader, Trump lashed out at Justin Trudeau. 

He accused the prime minister, who hosted the seven-nation gathering, of making false statements. Literally moments after Trudeau’s government proudly released the joint statement, noting it had been agreed to by all seven countries, Trump blew apart the veneer of cordiality that had prevailed throughout the two days of meetings in a resort town on the banks of the St. Lawrence River. “Based on Justin’s false statements at his news conference, and the fact that Canada is charging massive Tariffs to our US farmers, workers and companies, I have instructed our US Reps not to endorse the Communique as we look at Tariffs on automobiles flooding the US Market!” Trump wrote. A few hours earlier, Trudeau said the seven nations had reached broad agreements on a range of economic and foreign policy goals. But he acknowledged that deep disagreements remained between Trump and the leaders of the other nations, especially on trade.

Facing pushback, Trump defends trade actions, says US will be stronger soon

President Donald Trump faced pushback on Monday from Republican lawmakers, an influential GOP group and foreign leaders over his tough negotiations that are hitting China, Canada and Mexico with tariffs amid fears of a trade war. But the president defended his actions saying the US would soon be in a stronger position with its top trading partners.

Trump wrote in a series of tweets that his trade negotiations with China and a slew of US allies would break down large trade barriers faced by American farmers. He said that China "already charges a tax of 16% on soybeans. Canada has all sorts of trade barriers on our Agricultural products. Not acceptable!" In a conference call later on Monday with grassroots supporters, he said: "We will be in a very strong position very soon. We don't want to be taken advantage of anymore."

Trump aims to impose tariffs on steel, aluminium imports from EU: Report

President Donald Trump intends to impose steep import duties on steel and aluminium imports from Europe starting Friday, after weeks of talks failed to reach a compromise, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Trade officials from Washington and Brussels had continued discussions to find a solution, such as import quotas, that would convince Trump to extend the exemption for the European Union from the 25 per cent tariff on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium.

But The Wall Street Journal cited people familiar with the matter saying a last minute deal appeared unlikely, and the tariff announcement could come as early as Thursday.

Trump imposed the tariffs in March to address global oversupply of the metals, but though it was largely aimed at China it hit US allies as well.

Washington exempted Canada and Mexico from the tariffs while negotiations continue to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement, and South Korea agreed to quotas instead of tariffs.

Trump aims to impose tariffs on steel, aluminium imports from EU: Report

President Donald Trump intends to impose steep import duties on steel and aluminium imports from Europe starting Friday, after weeks of talks failed to reach a compromise, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Trade officials from Washington and Brussels had continued discussions to find a solution, such as import quotas, that would convince Trump to extend the exemption for the European Union from the 25 per cent tariff on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium.

But The Wall Street Journal cited people familiar with the matter saying a last minute deal appeared unlikely, and the tariff announcement could come as early as Thursday.

Trump imposed the tariffs in March to address global oversupply of the metals, but though it was largely aimed at China it hit US allies as well.

Before Donald Trump, George W Bush tried steel tariffs but it didn't work

President Donald Trump finally followed through on his almost year-old threat to restrict imports of foreign steel.
On March 8, the president slapped a 25 percent tariff on the metal, while also putting a 10 percent duty on foreign aluminum. After initially suggesting there’d be no exceptions, Trump promised to be “very flexible” and initially exempted Mexico and Canada from the duties, which are set to go into effect in 15 days.

While Trump cited “national security” as the impetus, he’s been vowing since the campaign to use trade policy to restore jobs to the American manufacturing sector, which has suffered in recent decades. The steel sector, for example, supported as many as 650,000 American workers in the 1950s, yet now employs only about 140,000.

My research focuses on the politics of trade and what prompts political leaders to impose restrictions like tariffs. The last time a president slapped tariffs on steel offers an illuminating lesson – and cautionary tale – for Trump’s new policy.

How Islamic financial markets are safe haven in conventional market crisis

Islamic finance is enjoying a surge in popularity, with 14% annual growth in recent years. And the interest in sharia-compliant stocks and bonds is growing across the non-Muslim as well as Muslim world.

My recent research shows that there is good reason for this growth. In fact, Islamic markets were not rocked by the 2007-08 financial as much as conventional markets and can be considered a new safe haven for investors.

The popularity of Islamic financial instruments among Muslims is not surprising. Islamic law prohibits any forms of interest (riba) or gambling (qimar). Transactions that lack transparency (gharar) are also banned. In finance, this means that the vast majority of assets and popular trading strategies (such as short-selling and speculation) are prohibited according to Islam.

To circumvent this problem Islamic banks issue sharia compliant bonds known as sukuk. Conventional bonds involve a contractual obligation to pay bondholders interest and principle on a certain date. When sukuk bonds are sold to investors the money is used to invest in an asset, of which the bondholders have partial ownership. Payments to sukuk bondholders them comes from whatever after-tax profit is made on the asset. When they reach maturity, the issuer is contractually obliged to buy the bond back at the value it was bought for.
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Mexico says Trump's unsurprising Nafta threats a negotiating tactic

US President Donald Trump's threat to scrap the Nafta trade pact is little more than a negotiating tactic, aimed at his political base, that should neither scare nor surprise Mexico, the country's foreign minister said on Wednesday as the peso weakened.

In a speech in Phoenix on Tuesday night, Trump reiterated his threats to terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement, saying the pact's future looked bleak. Trump has long called the 1994 pact a bad deal that hurt American workers, saying it should be re-negotiated or ended.

Initial talks to re-negotiate Nafta between Mexico, the United States and Canada ended in Washington this weekend with no sign of a breakthrough and further discussions are due in Mexico City in September.

Following Trump's remarks on Tuesday, Mexico's peso weakened more than 1 per cent in early trading on Wednesday before paring losses, as market jitters on the future of Mexican exports to the United States continue to plague the currency.

Videgaray, speaking on local television, sought to brush off the threat, saying Trump's comments were simply a negotiating tactic and Mexico would keep negotiating as well. The comments were not a surprise, nor would they scare Mexico, he added.
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These cities from our neighbourhood are the world's worst for living

Pakistan's Karachi city and Bangladesh's capital city Dhaka have been named among the least liveable cities of the world, says a survey.

According to Global Liveability Report compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Karachi maintains its 134th rank in the listing of 140 cities, only managing to fare better than Port Moresby, Dhaka, Tripoli, Lagos and Damascus.

The survey says that Melbourne is the most liveable city in the world, followed by Austrian capital Vienna and Canada's Vancouver in the second and third place respectively.

However, no Indian city was ranked in the top ten or bottom ten in the most liveable city ranking.

The ranking is based on the qualitative and quantitative factors falling broadly in the categories of stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

The survey only includes cities which people might want to live in or visit. Therefore, it excludes cities like Kabul or Baghdad, where conflict is ongoing.

However, cities like Damascus, which were in the near past relatively unstable, have been included.

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Protectionist measures increase risk of trade war, warns WTO chief

There is a "clear" risk of a trade war happening because of protectionist policies, the World Trade Organisation chief Roberto Azevedo has said.

The WTO's director-general did not implicate any countries by name behind such policies, even though he was asked about the effects US President Donald Trump's "America First" stance could have on the global trading system.

"The risk of a trade war is very clear," Azevedo told reporters yesterday during a visit in Panama.

"Once a country, whichever one, applies unilateral measures, there is a response from others and we could see a domino effect," he said.

"The reality is that, at the end of the process, if we have a trade war everybody without exception will be worse off than when it starts."

Since entering the White House, Trump's administration has talked about the US trade deficit vis-a-vis several countries, notably China and Mexico.
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Ford recals 1,17,000 vehicles as defective seats, belts pose safety threat

Ford Motor Co. Is recalling nearly 1,17,000 vehicles because the bolts in the seat, seat belt or seat belt buckle may fracture.

The recall involves the 2014 F-Series pickup, 2014 E- Series van, 2014-2015 Ford Escape and the 2015 Lincoln MKC SUV. Most of the affected vehicles are in the US, but there are 20,681 in Canada and 1,510 in Mexico.

Ford says if the bolt fractures, the seat or the seat belt's performance could be compromised in a sudden stop or crash.

The company says it's not aware of any accidents or injuries related to the defect.

Customers will be notified and dealers will replace the affected bolts for free.

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Three big problems with Trump's new Nafta plan

The Trump administration has outlined its plans to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). It says the US will seek a “much better” agreement that reduces the trade deficit between the US and its partners, Canada and Mexico. In response, the two countries released brief statements welcoming the proposal. They say they consider a possible renegotiation as a step towards modernising NAFTA to address the new realities and challenges of the 21st century.

Despite these good intentions and purported goodwill, the US objectives for a revised NAFTA are unachievable. Three problems with the US negotiating position reveal the limited understanding of Donald Trump, the US trade representative, Robert Lighthizer (who will lead the negotiations), and their advisers about NAFTA and its side agreements.

1. A mistaken view of job losses

The US case for renegotiating the agreement is based on the claim that NAFTA is to blame for various (and unspecified) “problems for many American workers”. Allegedly, these problems have led to the explosion of US trade deficits since 1994, when the agreement entered into force, and the closure of “thousands of factories”. According to the US trade office, this situation left millions of American workers “stranded” and unable to use the skills in which they had been trained.

As candidate and president, Trump has repeatedly claimed that “disastrous trade deals”, including NAFTA, resulted in the loss of manufacturing jobs in the US. But US manufacturing jobs were not lost to Mexico, they were lost to China and technological change.
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Canada wildfire: Thousands of people can't return home as blazes rage on

Tens of thousands of people who fled wildfires in western Canada were unable to return home as the massive blazes raged on.

Officials said that 155 fires were still burning in British Columbia province, where the flames have already consumed more than 327,000 hectares of forest and uncultivated land.

Of the active blazes, 15 present a "real threat to communities," said British Columbia fire spokesman Kevin Skrepnek.

Although small numbers of people have been able to return to their homes, around 46,000 people remain displaced by the inferno.

Some 1,000 residents of Cache Creek, around 100 kilometres west of Kamloops, were able to return home 11 days after they were first evacuated, but under warning they may have to flee again at short notice.

"Residents need to be reminded that the village of Cache Creek remains on evacuation alert," local authorities said in a statement. "While the Ashcroft fire continues to remain active, residents must be prepared to leave at any time."

Families who returned home were set to receive about Can$ 600 ($475 US) in aid from the Red Cross, said Transport Canada official Robert Turner.

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Trudeau to Trump: Canada is no mouse, more like moose-strong but peaceable

Focusing on the need for shared economic priorities between two countries - Canada and the United States (US), Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made it clear that his nation would not be cowed or "moused" out of representing its own interests.

"Canada is a confident, creative, resourceful and resource-rich nation. We are a wealthy and influential country by world standards. But we are also a country of 35 million people living next door to one roughly 10 times our size and the world's only superpower," CNN reported Trudeau as saying at the US' National Governors Association summer meeting in Providence, Rhode Island on Friday.

"My father, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, once compared this to sleeping next to an elephant," he told the gathering of US state governors. "While you, my American friends, may be an elephant, Canada is no mouse. More like a moose -- strong and peaceable but still massively outweighed."

Trudeau explained that Canada is renewing its meeting in the bilateral relationship, CNN reported.

"This is another truth about good neighbors: sometimes we take each other for granted.

Sometimes the very dependability and ease of a relationship can lead to us paying too little attention, he said. "We in Canada decided we would not allow that to happen to our relationship with the United States of America."
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First nations in Canada are switching from audio cassettes to digital

While not quite obsolete, audio cassettes are losing their appeal as long-term storage solutions of sound recordings. Many First Nations communities across British Columbia, Canada, are in possession of hundreds of cassette tapes filled with hours and hours of audio recordings of elder stories, traditional songs, and other key elements of their culture. Given this shift away from the analog technology, they are concerned that much of this knowledge may be lost if they don't come up with strategies to transfer their contents to digital formats.

A project called Indigitization has stepped in to providing funding and training for these First Nations communities to digitize those recordings as a way to preserve them for future generations. This collaborative project between the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, the First Nations Technology Council, and three First Nations communities — Heiltsuk, Ktunaxa, and ‘Namgis — created an online toolkit with step-by-step instructions for communities interested in undertaking the digitization process.

Among the sections contained in the toolkit include digitization best practices and standards, instructions on adding metadata, as well as additional tips on digitizating photographs and maps.

This grants program makes funding available to First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities to pay for equipment, digitization technical staff, and travel to and from trainings. Five rounds of funding have been completed and a sixth call for proposals recently closed in March 2017. Examples of projects funded by the Indigitization Grant Program include funds awarded to:
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