BEIJING: Canada&#39;s Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on a raft of measures from <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/canada-to-import-49000-chinese-evs-at-preferential-tariff-rates-pm-carney" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">trade to tourism</a>&nbsp;on Friday at the first meeting between the countries&#39; leaders in Beijing in eight years.&nbsp;The Canadian premier hailed a &quot;landmark deal&quot; under a &quot;new strategic partnership&quot; with China, turning the page on years of diplomatic spats, retaliatory arrests of each other&#39;s citizens and tariff disputes.&nbsp;Carney has sought to reduce his country&#39;s reliance on the United States, its key economic partner and traditional ally, as President Donald Trump has <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-increasing-tariffs-on-canada-by-10-percent" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">aggressively raised tariffs</a> on Canadian products.&nbsp;&quot;Canada and China have reached a preliminary but landmark trade agreement to remove trade barriers and reduce tariffs,&quot; Carney told a news conference after meeting with Xi.&nbsp;Under the deal, China -- which used to be Canada&#39;s largest market for canola seed -- is expected to reduce tariffs on canola products by March 1 to around 15 percent, down from the current 84 percent.&nbsp;China will also allow Canadian visitors to enter the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/canada-to-import-49000-chinese-evs-at-preferential-tariff-rates-pm-carney" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">country visa-free.</a>&nbsp;In turn, Canada will import 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) under new, preferential tariffs of 6.1 percent.&nbsp;&quot;This is a return to the levels that existed prior to recent trade frictions,&quot; Carney said of the EV deal.&nbsp;Welcoming Carney in the Great Hall of the People, Xi said China-Canada relations reached a turning point at their last meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit in October.&nbsp;&quot;It can be said that our meeting last year opened a new chapter in turning China&ndash;Canada relations toward improvement,&quot; Xi told the Canadian leader.&nbsp;&quot;The healthy and stable development of China&ndash;Canada relations serves the common interests of our two countries,&quot; he said, adding he was &quot;glad&quot; to see discussions over the last few months to restore cooperation.&nbsp;Right trackTies between the two nations withered in 2018 over Canada&#39;s arrest of the daughter of Huawei&#39;s founder on a US warrant, and China&#39;s retaliatory detention of two Canadians on espionage charges.&nbsp;The two countries imposed tariffs on each other&#39;s exports in the years that ensued, with China also accused of interfering in Canada&#39;s elections.&nbsp;But Carney has sought a pivot, and Beijing has also said it is willing to get relations back on &quot;the right track&quot;.&nbsp;The Canadian leader, who on Thursday met with Premier Li Qiang, is also scheduled to hold talks with business leaders to discuss trade.&nbsp;Canada, traditionally a staunch US ally, has been hit especially hard by Trump&#39;s steep tariffs on steel, aluminium, vehicles and lumber.&nbsp;Washington&#39;s moves have prompted Canada to seek business elsewhere.&nbsp;In October, Carney said Canada should double its non-US exports by 2035 to reduce reliance on the United States.&nbsp;But the United States remains far and away its largest market, buying around 75 percent of Canadian goods in 2024, according to Canadian government statistics.&nbsp;While Ottawa has stressed that China is Canada&#39;s second-largest market, it lags far behind, buying less than four percent of Canadian exports in 2024.

China

Americas

Canada and China agreed to a landmark trade and tourism deal in Beijing, easing tariffs, allowing visa-free travel, and reviving ties after years of disputes, as Ottawa seeks to reduce reliance on the United States.

China, Canada reach 'landmark' deal on tariffs, visas

BEIJING: China&#39;s towering annual trade surplus surpassed $1 trillion for the first time last month, data showed Monday, as a sharp drop in shipments to the United States was offset by surging exports to other major markets. Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump reached a tentative truce to their fierce trade war when they met in late October, agreeing a pause to painful measures that included lofty tit-for-tat tariffs. Exports have served as a key economic lifeline for China as trade and relations with the United States and others have fluctuated in recent years. That has helped temper a prolonged debt crisis in the country&rsquo;s vast property sector and sluggish domestic spending, which have weighed on growth and are among the most pressing issues facing Beijing. Exports climbed 5.9% year-on-year in November, reversing the slight decline recorded in October, the General Administration of Customs said.The reading was also above a Bloomberg forecast of four percent growth. The jump came despite a continued downturn in shipments to the United States, which sank 28.6% to $33.8 billion in November, the data showed. &ldquo;Weakness in exports to the United States was more than offset by shipments to other markets,&rdquo; Zichun Huang of Capital Economics wrote in a note. &ldquo;Exports are likely to remain resilient, thanks to trade rerouting and rising price competitiveness as deflation pushes down China&#39;s real effective exchange rate,&rdquo; Huang said. Trade surplus&nbsp;The surge in shipments last month added to the country&#39;s ballooning annual trade surplus for the first 11 months of the year, which the Customs data showed hit $1.08 trillion in November. &ldquo;China&rsquo;s trade surplus this year has already surpassed last year&#39;s level, and we expect it to widen further next year,&rdquo; Huang wrote. But the imbalance has long been a sticking point for major Western trading partners. French President Emmanuel Macron threatened in remarks published Sunday to impose tariffs on China if Beijing fails to reduce its massive trade surplus with the European Union. Macron, who concluded a state visit to China last week, warned in business daily Les Echos that &ldquo;Europeans will be forced to take strong measures in the coming months&rdquo;. In a further sign of China&#39;s weak domestic consumption, the data showed Monday that imports rose 1.9% on-year in November, slower than the three percent increase predicted by Bloomberg. Export growth&nbsp;&ldquo;The rebound of export growth in November helps to mitigate the weak domestic demand,&rdquo; Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, wrote in a note. &ldquo;The economic momentum slowed in the fourth quarter partly driven by the continued weakness in the property sector,&rdquo; he said. Xi and Trump agreed at the October meeting in South Korea to scale back sky-high tariffs on each other&rsquo;s goods and blistering export controls that had sent shockwaves across global industries. &lsquo;Uneasy truce&rsquo;&nbsp;The detente is due to expire late next year, allowing time for officials to reach a permanent deal -- though experts warn such a breakthrough will be challenging. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no guarantee this uneasy truce will last that long,&quot; Lynn Song, ING chief economist for Greater China, said last week. &quot;A lot needs to go right for the agreement to hold for the full year,&quot; he wrote, adding that &quot;it seems prudent to expect a softer external demand backdrop for next year.&quot; China&#39;s leaders -- who are targeting overall growth this year of five percent -- are expected to convene a key meeting this week focused on economic planning.

Business

Exports climbed 5.9% year-on-year in November, reversing the slight decline recorded in October; presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump reached a tentative truce to their fierce trade war when they met in late October.

China’s trade surplus tops $1 trillion despite plunge in US-bound exports

WASHINGTON:&nbsp;US President Donald Trump met Friday with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, with the talks partly focused on the future of a North American free trade deal. The leaders met in Washington on the sidelines of the draw for the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States.&ldquo;The three leaders met for approximately 45 minutes,&rdquo; Carney spokesperson Audrey Champoux said in an email. &ldquo;They&#39;ve agreed to keep working together on CUSMA,&rdquo; she added, using the Canadian acronym for the existing free trade deal between the three countries, which Americans call the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The USMCA deal was struck during Trump&rsquo;s first term. Steep tariffs&nbsp;Trump has slapped steep tariffs on exports from Canada and Mexico that do not fall under the USMCA, which Washington is seeking to renegotiate next year. Friday&rsquo;s talks were the first between Trump and Sheinbaum. Carney has visited the White House twice since Trump&#39;s return to power, but it will be his first encounter with Trump -- except for a brief meeting at a summit in South Korea -- since the US leader suspended trade talks in a bizarre row over an anti-tariff ad. Trump has also threatened further punishment if they fail to curb cross-border migration and drug trafficking -- and irked Sheinbaum by saying he would be &ldquo;OK&rdquo; with air strikes on Mexico to tackle traffickers. She has vowed the strikes will never happen. 51st US state&nbsp;Canada also was outraged by Trump&rsquo;s calls earlier this year for it to become the 51st US state. Carney drew criticism at recent G20 meetings in South Africa when, asked by a reporter when he last spoke to Trump, answered, &ldquo;Who cares?&rdquo; The three countries launched their joint World Cup bid in 2017 during Trump&#39;s first term in the White House. Trump said Friday that the United States had worked closely with Mexico and Canada over the tournament, adding &quot;the coordination and friendship and relationship has been outstanding.&quot;

Trump met with Canadian PM Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum during the 2026 World Cup draw, discussing USMCA renegotiation, tariffs, and migration while affirming cooperation on trade and tournament coordination, despite ongoing diplomatic frictions.

Trump talks trade with Canada, Mexico leaders at World Cup draw

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump says he prevented a war between Pakistan and India by threatening 350% tariffs and halting all trade if the war were to continue. Speaking at the US-Saudi Business Forum in Washington on Wednesday, Trump said he would not allow a nuclear confrontation that could risk &ldquo;killing millions of people, and having nuclear dust floating over Los Angeles.&rdquo; President Trump said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi contacted him and said, &lsquo;We&rsquo;re done,&rsquo;&rdquo; adding that India would not proceed with any military action against Pakistan. &ldquo;[Pakistan] Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called me to thank me for stopping the war. PM Shehbaz Sharif said that you saved the lives of millions of people,&rdquo; Trump said. The president linked the Pakistan-India conflict to using tariffs as a tool to help end &ldquo;five of eight&rdquo; wars during his time in office. He said he relied on trade leverage rather than force to resolve disputes. Pakistan has long maintained its support for peace and has called for independent investigations into conflicts, including the Pahalgam attack in India-occupied Kashmir earlier this year.

US President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the US-Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center in Washington on Nov. 19, 2025. (AFP)

Foreign Affairs

Security

The US president said he would not allow a nuclear confrontation that could risk 'killing millions of people, and having nuclear dust floating over Los Angeles.'

Trump says prevented war between Pakistan, India with 350% tariffs threat

Gaitty Ara Anis

WASHINGTON: Pakistan&#39;s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Thursday said that his country&nbsp;was making a deliberate shift towards export led growth driven by the private sector, aiming to end the reliance on consumption and import-fueled boom-bust cycles. While speaking to a panel at the Atlantic Council &mdash; a DC based think-tank focused on international affairs &mdash; during his visit to the US, the finance minister said that the government had adopted the bold National Tariff Policy (NTP) to enable the plans.&nbsp; Aurangzeb also provided an overview of the country&#39;s economic trajectory, structural reforms, and the immediate challenges posed by climate change, adding that the shift in the policy reflected an &quot;East Asia view&quot; of economic growth, aiming to significantly reduce custom duties, additional custom duties, and regulatory duties over the next few years.&nbsp; The finance minister said that the focus was on making raw materials and intermediate goods cheaper to boost the competitiveness of exporters.&nbsp; He said that while textiles remain the core export sector, IT services were set to play a crucial role.&nbsp; &ldquo;A major upcoming boost is the Reko Diq project, which is expected to inject approximately $2.8 billion in exports in its first year, representing about 10% of the current export base,&rdquo; he said. The finance minister said that the early signs of success included the auto industry starting to finally export.&nbsp; He said that the strategy to enable private-sector growth also involves tackling energy issues, specifically by addressing power sector circular debt and handing over distribution companies to the privatization side. Pakistan reached a Staff Level Agreement with the International Monetary Fund that has completed the second review of its loan program, allowing the country to access $1.2 billion after approval from the fund&#39;s board. The IMF will provide Pakistan $1 billion under its Extended Fund Facility and $200 million under its Resilience and Sustainability Facility, bringing total disbursements under the two arrangements to about $3.3 billion. While talking about managing the macroeconomic stability front &mdash; something the minister talked about on Wednesday during a meeting with the IMF managing director &mdash; the minister noted that Pakistan was on the right direction in this regard.&nbsp; The progress received significant external validation, including the successful completion of the IMF program reviews (EFF and RSF) and, importantly, the alignment and upgrading of Pakistan&#39;s credit ratings by all three major agencies: Fitch, S&amp;P, and Moody&#39;s. The minister agreed that a major element of the stability effort was addressing the nation&rsquo;s largest fiscal burden &mdash; &lsquo;debt servicing.&rsquo;&nbsp; To tackle the single biggest expense for the government, the ministry was employing liability management trades and buying back domestic debt.&nbsp; While responding to a question, the finance minister termed the recent decline in the policy rate a help in reducing the overall volume of debt service.&nbsp; He added that the government is preparing to initiate politically sensitive discussions around the National Finance Commission (NFC) award to reform the revenue-sharing arrangement between the Federation and the provinces.&nbsp; The current setup leaves the Federation with little fiscal liberty after debt servicing, and the minister stressed that it needed to be addressed for the system to remain sustainable. &ldquo;The path to long-term sustainability is anchored in aggressive tax reform. The ministry&rsquo;s commitment is clear, to raise the tax-to-revenue ratio from the previous year&rsquo;s 10.2% to 11% by the end of the current fiscal year, and ultimately to 13% under the IMF program,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp; On how to broaden the tax base in Pakistan, he said that it would be achieved through a two-pronged strategy of broadening and deepening the tax base.&nbsp; Broadening efforts included legislating an agriculture income tax at the provincial level and moving to bring the retail, wholesale, and real estate sectors into the net.&nbsp; Deepening relies heavily on technology, utilizing data analytics and artificial intelligence for digital monitoring and invoicing to curb tax leakages in key sectors like cement, sugar, tobacco, and beverages. The minister termed climate change as one of the two existential threats facing Pakistan &mdash; alongside population growth. Following this year&#39;s flooding, the government opted to use its resources and existing fiscal space for rescue and relief given that the intensity and frequency of devastating floods were on the rise.&nbsp; Due to damage, particularly in the rice and cotton crops, country&rsquo;s GDP growth projection will be shaved down from over 4% but is still expected to land north of 3% for the year. Finance Minister&nbsp;vows deeper economic partnership Saudi ArabiaEarlier in the day, the finance minister reaffirmed Pakistan&#39;s commitment to fostering a deeper economic partnership with Saudi Arabia. During a meeting with Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Aljadaan on the sidelines of the IMF&ndash;World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington DC, Aurangzeb sought Saudi support for infrastructure development projects with both sides reviewing the growing trade and investment relations. According to Radio Pakistan, he apprised his Saudi counterpart of the ongoing privatization process of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and key airports, underscoring the government&rsquo;s resolve to attract strategic investments through transparency and efficiency. The two ministers agreed that institutions such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) could play a vital role in mobilizing and de-risking private sector investments in Pakistan. During a meeting with CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation in Washington DC, Aurangzeb highlighted significant investment opportunities with Pakistan&#39;s oil and gas, mines and minerals, agriculture, IT and pharmaceutical sectors. Finance Minister underscored the consensus at the leadership level to enhance trade and investment ties, welcoming DFC&#39;s interest in facilitating private sector-led funding for projects in Pakistan.

Economy

Aiming to end country’s historical reliance on consumption, import-fueled boom-bust cycles.

Pakistan finance minister says focus on export led growth

ISLAMABAD: White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said Monday that India is &ldquo;coming to the table&rdquo; for upcoming trade talks as the U.S. presses New Delhi over high tariffs and its purchases of Russian oil.&nbsp;In a CNBC interview, Navarro highlighted a recent conciliatory gesture from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, describing a &ldquo;very constructive&rdquo; tweet exchange with former President Donald Trump. He also criticized India&rsquo;s market barriers, calling the country &ldquo;the maharajah of tariffs.&rdquo;&nbsp;The comments follow the U.S. decision earlier this month to impose an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, raising total duties to as much as 50%. This move targets India&rsquo;s continued purchases of Russian crude oil, which Washington views as undermining sanctions on Moscow.&nbsp;Navarro sharply criticized India&rsquo;s energy relationship with Russia, accusing Indian refiners of quickly partnering with Russian refineries after the Ukraine invasion and profiting &ldquo;like bandits.&rdquo; This aligns with the U.S. administration&rsquo;s goal to reduce Russian oil revenues.&nbsp;India has defended its position, stating it does not force other countries to buy Russian oil it imports.&nbsp;Trade negotiators from both countries are scheduled to meet in New Delhi on Tuesday, with India&rsquo;s chief negotiator confirming a fast-tracked agenda. U.S. officials will make a one-day visit, according to Reuters.

 Peter Navarro says India is “coming to the table” for trade talks amid U.S. pressure over tariffs and Russian oil purchases. Negotiations begin Tuesday in New Delhi.

Articles tagged with "Tariffs"

China, Canada reach 'landmark' deal on tariffs, visas

China’s trade surplus tops $1 trillion despite plunge in US-bound exports

Trump talks trade with Canada, Mexico leaders at World Cup draw

Trump says prevented war between Pakistan, India with 350% tariffs threat

Pakistan finance minister says focus on export led growth

India ‘coming to table’ ahead of U.S. trade talks: White House adviser