Business
Canada to drop some of its retaliatory tariffs on the US
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Friday that his country will drop some of its billions of dollars in retaliatory tariffs on US goods, though it will keep levies on autos, steel and aluminium.
It comes a day after he and President Donald Trump spoke over the phone for the first time since the two countries missed a self-imposed deadline to reach a trade agreement.
Canada had placed a 25% levy on about C$30bn (£16bn; $21.7bn) worth of US goods on an array of products, including orange juice and washing machines.
The tax hike was in retaliation to US tariffs on Canada, which as of August are valued at 35% on all goods not compliant with the countries’ existing free trade deal.
Carney said Canada will now match the US by ending its tariffs on goods compliant with the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement (USMCA). He said that would “re-establish free trade for the vast majority” of goods that move between the two countries.
The decision will go into effect on 1 September, Carney said.
In a statement to the BBC’s US news partner CBS, the White House said it welcomes Canada’s move, adding that it is “long overdue” and that the US looks forward to continuing discussions with its northern neighbour about trade and national security.
Trump later told reporters on Friday that he and Carney will speak again over the phone soon.
Canada is one of many countries tariffed by the US as part of Trump’s global trade strategy, but it is one of only two countries – along with China – that have placed retaliatory levies on American goods in response.
Polling shows the majority of Canadians support retaliatory tariffs on the US.
Carney, who was elected in an April general election, campaigned on an aggressive “elbows up” approach to negotiating with Trump, referencing a popular ice hockey term.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre criticised Carney for dropping the counter-tariffs, telling reporters that the prime minister’s “elbows have mysteriously gone missing”.
“It is yet another capitulation and climb down by Mark Carney,” Poilievre said.
Asked by reporters about whether Canada was softening its approach, Carney said it has a better tariff deal with the US than many other countries because of the free trade carve-out.
That puts the actual tariff rate on Canadian goods at about 5.6%, much lower than the average of around 16% for other countries, he said.
“As we work to address outstanding trade issues with the US, it’s important we do everything we can to preserve this unique advantage for Canadian workers and businesses,” he said.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has imposed tariffs or raising them on goods from around the world, and threatened to go higher as he works to negotiate trade deals he sees as favourable to the US.
The US ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, said that Canada was jeopardising trade talks by keeping its counter tariffs in place, telling Canadian outlet Global News last week that “it has pulled the rug out from USMCA”.
Washington is also struggling with rhetoric coming from some Canadian politicians against Trump and the US negotiating team, he said.
“They will attack them personally, not on the policy, but them personally,” Hoekstra said. “Again, that is a Canadian decision. All we do is respond to it.”
Carney said the focus will now turn to accelerating negotiations on autos, steel, aluminium and lumber, and other significant sectors ahead of a scheduled review of the USMCA free trade agreement next year.
The US has placed a 50% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports, except for those from the UK, as well as copper imports, along with tariffs on auto imports.
Canada, for its part, has placed 25% tariffs on American steel, aluminium and autos, which will remain in place for now.
Economists have warned that US tariffs on steel and aluminium are “hugely disruptive” to Canada, as it is a major supplier of both metals to the US. Canadian companies have already reported cutbacks and contract cancellations as a result.
Auto manufacturing could also be vulnerable, given how intertwined all three North American countries are in making cars. Typically a car crosses the borders between the US, Canada and Mexico multiple times as it is assembled and prepared to be sold.
The province of Ontario, the centre of auto industry in Canada, has already reported losing 38,000 jobs in the last three months, the bulk of which were in manufacturing.
Business
Women in banking: SBI aims for 30% female workforce by 2030; steps up inclusion and health initiatives – The Times of India
The State Bank of India (SBI) has set a target to raise the share of women in its workforce to 30 per cent by 2030 as part of a broader push to strengthen gender diversity and inclusivity across all levels of the organisation.SBI Deputy Managing Director (HR) and Chief Development Officer (CDO) Kishore Kumar Poludasu told PTI that women currently account for about 27 per cent of the bank’s total workforce, though the figure rises to nearly 33 per cent among frontline staff.“We will be working towards improving this percentage so that diversity gets further strengthened,” Poludasu said, adding that the bank is taking targeted measures to bridge the gap and meet its medium-term diversity goal.With a staff strength of over 2.4 lakh — among the highest for any organisation in the country — SBI has rolled out several initiatives aimed at creating a workplace where women can thrive professionally while maintaining work-life balance.Among the women-centric measures, the bank offers creche allowances for working mothers, a family connect programme, and dedicated training sessions to help women re-enter the workforce after maternity, sabbatical, or extended sick leave.Poludasu said SBI’s flagship initiative, Empower Her, is designed to identify, mentor, and groom women employees for leadership roles through structured leadership labs and coaching sessions. The programme aims to strengthen the pipeline of women leaders across the organisation.The bank has also introduced wellness initiatives tailored to women’s health needs, including breast and cervical cancer screenings, nutritional allowances for pregnant employees, and a cervical cancer vaccination drive.“These programmes are designed keeping in mind the women and girls who are employed in the bank,” Poludasu said, adding that SBI remains committed to fostering an inclusive, secure, and empowering workplace.Currently, the lender operates over 340 all-women branches across India, and the number is expected to increase in the coming years.SBI, one of the world’s top 50 banks by asset size, has also been recognised among India’s best employers by multiple organisations. Poludasu said the bank continues to drive innovation across processes, technology, and customer experience while ensuring that diversity and inclusion remain central to its transformation journey.
Business
Trade talks: India, EU wrap up 14th round of FTA negotiations; push on to seal deal by December – The Times of India
India and the 27-nation European Union (EU) have concluded the 14th round of negotiations for a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) in Brussels, as both sides look to resolve outstanding issues and move closer to signing the deal by the end of the year, PTI reported citing an official.The five-day round, which began on October 6, focused on narrowing gaps across key areas of trade in goods and services. Indian negotiators were later joined by Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal in the final days to provide additional momentum to the talks.During his visit, Agrawal held discussions with Sabine Weyand, Director General for Trade at the European Commission, as both sides worked to accelerate progress on the long-pending trade pact.Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal recently said he was hopeful that the two sides would be able to sign the agreement soon. Goyal is also expected to travel to Brussels to meet his EU counterpart Maros Sefcovic for a high-level review of the progress made so far.Both India and the EU have set an ambitious target to conclude the negotiations by December, officials familiar with the matter said, PTI reported.Negotiations for a comprehensive trade pact between India and the EU were relaunched in June 2022 after a hiatus of more than eight years. The process had been suspended in 2013 due to significant differences over market access and tariff liberalisation.The EU has sought deeper tariff cuts in sectors such as automobiles and medical devices, alongside reductions in duties on products including wine, spirits, meat, and poultry. It has also pressed for a stronger intellectual property framework as part of the agreement.For India, the proposed pact holds potential to make key export categories such as ready-made garments, pharmaceuticals, steel, petroleum products, and electrical machinery more competitive in the European market.The India-EU trade pact talks span 23 policy chapters covering areas such as trade in goods and services, investment protection, sanitary and phytosanitary standards, technical barriers to trade, rules of origin, customs procedures, competition, trade defence, government procurement, dispute resolution, geographical indications, and sustainable development.India’s bilateral trade in goods with the EU stood at $136.53 billion in 2024–25, comprising exports worth $75.85 billion and imports valued at $60.68 billion — making the bloc India’s largest trading partner for goods.The EU accounts for nearly 17 per cent of India’s total exports, while India represents around 9 per cent of the bloc’s overall exports to global markets. Bilateral trade in services between the two partners was estimated at $51.45 billion in 2023.
Business
Telcos network costs rise: Gap between expenditure and revenue exceeds Rs 10,000 crore; COAI flags rising network investment burden – The Times of India
The gap between telecom operators’ network expenditure and revenue continues to widen, prompting industry body COAI to defend calls for higher mobile tariffs, citing the increasing financial burden of network deployment on service providers.Speaking at the India Mobile Congress, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) Director General, SP Kochhar, told PTI that while the government has provided significant support to telecom operators through policies such as the right of way (RoW), several authorities continue to levy exorbitant charges for laying network elements.“Earlier, the gap until 2024 for infrastructure development and revenue received from tariffs was around Rs 10,000 crore. Now it has started increasing even further. Our cost of rolling out networks should be reduced by a reduction in the price of spectrum, levies etc. The Centre has come out with a very good ROW policy. It is a different matter that many people have not yet fallen in line and are still charging extremely high,” Kochhar said.He also defended the recent cut in data packs for entry-level tariff plans by select operators, stressing that the move was necessary given competitive pressures.Kochhar pointed out that competition among the four telecom operators remains intense, and there has been no significant trend suggesting that consumers are shifting towards low-cost data options.“There is a need to find ways to make high network users pay more for the data. Seventy per cent of the traffic which flows on our networks is by 4 to 5 LTGs (large traffic generators like YouTube, Netflix, Facebook etc). They pay zero. Nobody will blame OTT but they will blame the network. Our demand to the government is that they [LTGs] should contribute to the development of networks,” Kochhar said.He added that the investments made by Indian telecom operators are intended for the benefit of domestic consumers and are not meant to serve as a medium for profit for international players who do not bear any cost.
Trump says US ‘wants to help China, not hurt it’
Women’s World Cup: Healy’s brilliance powers Australia past India
Week 6 inactives: Ja’Marr Chase, Mac Jones both questionable but expected to start
-
Tech6 days agoI’ve Tested Countless Mesh Systems. Here Are the Routers I Recommend
-
Tech1 week agoAmazon Prime Big Deal Days Is Next Week, but We Already Found 40 Early Deals
-
Tech1 week agoAll Hail the Surprisingly Versatile Packing Cube! These Are Our Favorites
-
Tech6 days agoJony Ive Says He Wants His OpenAI Devices to ‘Make Us Happy’
-
Tech1 week agoAI in an ‘industrial bubble’ but will benefit society: Bezos
-
Business7 days agoInvestors are packing up; Pakistan must ask why | The Express Tribune
-
Tech1 week agoAmazon is overhauling its devices to take on Apple in the AI era
-
Tech1 week agoCombat Dry Indoor Winter Air With a New Humidifier