WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Friday that he will hike US tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union next week, charging that the bloc is not complying with an earlier trade deal. The pact, which was struck last summer, had capped the US tariff on EU autos and parts at 15 percent, which is lower than the 25-percent duty that Trump imposed on many other trading partners. These sector-specific duties were not affected by a Supreme Court ruling earlier in the year that struck down a swath of Trump&#39;s global levies. But the US leader said Friday: &quot;Based on the fact the European Union is not complying with our fully agreed to Trade Deal, next week I will be increasing Tariffs charged to the European Union for Cars and Trucks coming into the United States.&quot; &quot;The Tariff will be increased to 25%,&quot; he wrote on his Truth Social platform. Trump did not say how believed the EU is failing to live up the trade deal or give a further reason for the planned hike. But the announcement came a day after his renewed criticism of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Trump told Merz to focus on ending the Ukraine war instead of &quot;interfering&quot; on Iran. Germany would likely be hit hard by a sharp tariff on cars and parts, as it is responsible for a significant amount of EU auto exports. In late March, EU lawmakers gave their green light to the bloc&#39;s tariff deal with Trump, but with conditions. While many EU lawmakers agreed to cut EU tariffs on some US imports, as a first step towards implementing the 2025 deal, they also sought additional safeguards. While the European Parliament has given its conditional approval to the EU-US trade pact, before the deal is implemented by the bloc, it still needs to be negotiated with EU states. In April, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic was in Washington to meet with counterparts including US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and trade envoy Jamieson Greer. At the time, he said that the EU was also seeking more progress in easing the effects of still-steep US steel tariffs, adding that talks were going in a positive direction. The United States is the second largest market for new EU vehicle exports, after the United Kingdom, according to a 2025 fact sheet by the European Automobile Manufacturers&#39; Association. Over a fifth of EU vehicle exports went to the United States. Germany alone exported some 450,000 vehicles to the United States in 2024, according to the VDA industry group. But that figure has since slipped.

Taxation

Business

Donald Trump says the United States will raise tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union to 25 percent, citing non-compliance with a trade deal.

Trump says will raise US tariffs on EU cars, trucks to 25%

BEIJING: Beijing said on Monday it is in talks with Washington over a visit by US President Donald Trump expected this month. Trump has suggested Washington may delay the planned summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping if Beijing does not assist in reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has effectively closed the waterway, critical to oil transportation, in retaliation for the US and Israeli war against Tehran. &#39;Maintaining communication&#39; Beijing&#39;s foreign ministry said on Monday that Beijing and Washington &quot;are maintaining communication regarding President Trump&#39;s visit to China&quot;. &quot;Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China-US relations,&quot; spokesman Lin Jian told a press conference. He did not address Trump&#39;s recent pressure on NATO allies and China to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The &quot;tense situation&quot; in the strait has &quot;disrupted international trade routes for goods and energy&quot;, Lin said when asked about Trump&#39;s comments. Global oil prices&nbsp; Global oil prices have surged by 40 to 50% since the war began, with the waterway choked off and Iran&#39;s attacks on energy and shipping industry targets in its Gulf neighbors. China is a net importer of oil and one of several major Asian economies that depend on the strait for energy. The Middle East was the source of 57% of China&#39;s direct seaborne crude imports in 2025, according to analytics firm Kpler. Washington has said Trump will visit China from March 31 to April 2, although Beijing has yet to confirm those dates in line with its usual practice.

Asia

Trump has suggested Washington may delay the planned summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping if Beijing does not assist in reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

China says 'maintaining communication' with US over Trump visit

BEIJING:&nbsp;Beijing said on Monday it has &quot;lodged representations&quot; and urged Washington to &quot;correct its erroneous ways&quot; after the US launched new trade probes last week, with negotiators from both countries meeting in Paris. Washington&#39;s trade investigations target 60 economies, including <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/chinese-us-delegations-meet-for-trade-talks-in-paris-state-media" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">China</a> and will look into &quot;failures to take action on forced labor&quot; and whether these burden or restrict US commerce. Those investigations came a day after a separate set of US probes centered on excess industrial capacity that target 16 trading partners, including China, which Beijing&#39;s foreign ministry criticized as &quot;political manipulation&quot;. &lsquo;Erroneous ways&rsquo;&nbsp;&quot;We urge the US side to immediately correct its erroneous ways, meet China halfway... and resolve issues through dialogue and negotiations,&quot; Beijing&#39;s commerce ministry said in a statement. The latest round of investigations &quot;is extremely unilateral, arbitrary and discriminatory&quot;, it said, accusing Washington of &quot;attempting to construct trade barriers&quot;. Trade officials from both countries met in Paris on Sunday for talks that Washington has said would last for two days. &lsquo;Lodged representations&rsquo;China has &quot;lodged representations&quot; with the US over the newest forced labor trade probes, the Chinese commerce ministry said. Human rights groups and United Nations experts have voiced alarm over allegations of forced labor affecting minority groups in China&#39;s western Xinjiang region, which Beijing has dismissed as &quot;fabricated&quot;. The two sets of trade probes will likely take months, but could justify new tariffs after the US Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump&#39;s sweeping tariffs in February. Washington has said Trump will visit China from March 31 to April 2, although Beijing has yet to confirm those dates. Trump told the Financial Times in an interview that the summit could be postponed because of the Middle East war.

Trade officials from both countries met in Paris on Sunday for talks that Washington has said would last for two days.

China urges US to 'immediately correct erroneous' trade practices

WASHINGTON:&nbsp;US President Donald Trump on Sunday asserted he had the authority to impose duties despite the US Supreme Court last month striking down his global tariffs. &quot;I have the absolute right to charge TARIFFS in another form, and have already started to do so,&quot; he said in a long post on his Truth Social network.&nbsp; Trump imposed a 10% tariff on US imports via executive order shortly after the Supreme Court ruling. In another post Sunday night on Truth Social, he excoriated federal judge James Boasberg for quashing subpoenas issued as part of a probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over costs linked to the bank&#39;s headquarters renovations. &quot;What Boasberg has done on the &#39;Too Late&#39; Powell case, and many others, has little to do with the Law, and everything to do with Politics,&quot; Trump said. He has repeatedly insulted Powell over the central bank&#39;s policies on setting the economy&#39;s key interest rate. Trump has been vocal about his preferences for lower interest rates, criticizing Powell and attempting to unseat Fed governor Lisa Cook over mortgage fraud allegations. In January, the US Supreme Court appeared skeptical of Trump&#39;s attempts to fire Cook, with a majority of judges expressing doubts that the administration had shown sufficient cause to remove her. &quot;This completely inept and embarrassing Court was not what the Supreme Court of the United States was set up by our wonderful Founders to be,&quot; Trump said in his social media post.&nbsp; &quot;They are hurting our Country, and will continue to do so.&quot; &quot;All I can do, as President, is call them out for their bad behavior! This statement about the United States Supreme Court will cause me nothing but problems in the future, but I feel it is my obligation to speak the TRUTH.&quot;

Americas

'I have the absolute right to charge TARIFFS in another form, and have already started to do so,' he said in a post on his Truth Social network.

Trump says he has 'absolute right' to charge tariffs in another form

BRUSSELS: The EU&#39;s trade chief said Tuesday his US counterparts had told him Washington stands by a key trade deal with the bloc, following an adverse Supreme Court decision on President Donald Trump&#39;s tariffs.&nbsp;After the Supreme Court ruled last week that Trump lacks authority to impose levies under a 1977 law, the US leader responded with fresh tariffs of 10% on imported goods -- which Trump has vowed to hike further to 15%.&nbsp;That raised complex questions about what the new duties mean for the EU deal clinched last year with Trump, which imposed 15% tariffs on most EU goods.&nbsp;&quot;I have been in constant touch with my counterparts, and they both reassured me they stand by the deal with the European Union,&quot; Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic told EU lawmakers.&nbsp;The top trade negotiator also touched on another sensitive topic in transatlantic ties: Trump&#39;s 50% duties on steel and aluminium imports, which the EU has been pushing to bring down.&nbsp;The president expanded levies on the metals in August to include several hundred products that contain steel or aluminium.&nbsp;Sefcovic said he discussed how to address the issue with his US counterparts.&nbsp;&quot;I hope we can find solutions in this matter very soon,&quot; he told the European Parliament&#39;s trade committee.&nbsp;The bloc&#39;s parliament put the EU-US deal on ice Monday as it sought more clarity on the fallout from the Supreme Court ruling, only a day before the committee was due to give its green light.&nbsp;Sefcovic said he understood the body&#39;s decision, but added: &quot;It is imperative we keep the process moving forward in implementing our commitments.&quot;&nbsp;EU member states&#39; representatives in Brussels heard from the EU executive on Monday, and a European diplomat said everyone agreed &quot;a deal is a deal&quot;.&nbsp;The EU executive told senior diplomats that if imports face a blanket 10% levy, pre-existing duties could mean some products are taxed at a higher rate than the trade deal&#39;s 15%.&nbsp;Another concern is that Trump&#39;s new flat levy could apply indifferently to the EU and to countries that made fewer trade concessions to Washington -- and were therefore previously taxed at a much higher rate.&nbsp;&quot;The EU now loses a comparative advantage vis-a-vis other countries, which was what made the deal palatable in the first place,&quot; the diplomat told AFP.

Europe

The EU says US officials reaffirm commitment to last year’s trade deal despite a Supreme Court ruling limiting tariff powers.

US told EU it 'stands' by tariff deal: trade chief

HONG KONG:&nbsp;Asian stocks mostly rose and the dollar fell Monday after the US Supreme Court struck down a large part of President Donald Trump&#39;s tariffs policy that had sent shockwaves through the global economy last year. The rally was led by tech firms, which have been at the forefront of regional gains this year as traders turn away from Wall Street to seek out cheaper investments amid concerns about extended valuations. Trump&#39;s trade agenda was dealt a hefty blow Friday when the country&#39;s top court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act used by the White House to impose sweeping levies in April &quot;does not authorize the president to impose tariffs&quot;. Global tariff&nbsp;The president immediately vowed to impose a global tariff of 10% under a separate authority, before raising it to 15% on Saturday. However, the development fanned a fresh round of uncertainty, with calls growing for the government to repay cash taken under the scheme and analysts warning officials would likely pursue other ways of imposing his tolls. &ldquo;The first observation to make is that IEEPA tariffs may be dead, but Trump&#39;s trade regime isn&#39;t,&rdquo; wrote Rodrigo Catril at National Australia Bank. &quot;The administration has several avenues it can pursue, these are likely to be litigated over several years, but there is no sign President Trump is planning to back down. &quot;Another conclusion is that the tariff landscape is now more uncertain than before, uncertainty is not good news for any economy or market. &quot;Unless commonsense prevails, we could be entering a circular process where new tariffs are announced, then potentially overturned, only for new tariffs to be announced, and we do the dance again.&quot; EU-US deal &nbsp;The decision also raised questions about trade deals Washington has signed. European leaders had been due to approve the EU-US deal on Tuesday but the head of the European Parliament&#39;s trade committee said he would call Monday for putting &quot;legislative work on hold until we have a proper legal assessment and clear commitments from the US side&quot;. And Bloomberg reported that Indian trade officials will postpone a trip to the United States aimed at finalizing their interim agreement. Still, Asian investors welcomed the news, which is seen benefiting China and India, with tech firms the best performers. Hong Kong rose more than two percent, with ecommerce titans Alibaba and JD.com surging more than three percent, while Seoul hit another record high thanks to big advances for chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Singapore, Wellington, Taipei and Manila also rose, though Sydney dipped. Tokyo and Shanghai were closed for holidays. The strong start to the week followed gains on Wall Street, where the tariff ruling overshadowed data showing the US economy grew much slower than expected in the fourth quarter of 2025, when it was hit by the extended government shutdown. The uncertainty also weighed on the dollar, which was well down against the yen, pound and euro. Oil prices&nbsp;And oil prices dropped more than one percent amid hopes for an Iran nuclear deal. That has tempered last week&#39;s concerns about a possible US strike on the country after Trump warned &quot;bad things happen&quot;, as he deployed warships, fighter jets and other military hardware to the Middle East. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Key figures at around 0220 GMT&nbsp;</h2>Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.5% at 27,066.21 Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday Tokyo - Nikkei 225: Closed for a holiday Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1823 from $1.1788&nbsp;on Friday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3517 from $1.3487 Euro/pound: UP at 87.47 pence from 87.37 pence Dollar/yen: DOWN at 154.15 yen from 155.02 yen West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.3% at $65.63 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.3% at $70.86 per barrel New York - Dow: UP 0.5% at 49,625.97 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6% at 10,686.89 (close)

The strong start to the week followed gains on Wall Street, where the tariff ruling overshadowed data showing the US economy grew much slower than expected in the fourth quarter of 2025, when it was hit by the extended government shutdown.

Asian stocks rally after Trump's Supreme Court tariffs blow

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: The Indian National Congress on Saturday criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi over a recent US executive order that removed an additional 25% tariff on certain Indian imports. Congress spokesperson Dr Shama Mohamed, in a post on X, said the order, signed by US President Donald Trump, allows the United States to reimpose the tariff if India resumes importing Russian oil, directly or indirectly.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-3" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-3&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2019981308030853155&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fdashboard%2F&sessionId=393ffcf903aaafb51ab8d42de17b83db68fc8b42&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 758px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="2019981308030853155"></iframe></div></div>&ldquo;The executive order signed by President Trump to remove the extra 25 percent tariff imposed due to Russian oil imports states that the tariff could be reinstated if India resumes such imports,&rdquo; she wrote. Dr Mohamed accused the Prime Minister of yielding to pressure from the US president. &ldquo;PM @narendramodi has succumbed to the pressure of President Trump. Who is America to decide whether we should buy oil from Russia, a country that has been our all-season friend!&rdquo; she added. The Congress criticism refers to Section 4 of the order, which gives the US President the authority to recommend reinstating the 25% duty on Indian goods if India resumes imports of Russian oil. In a separate post, Dr Mohamed also highlighted India&rsquo;s trade balances:&nbsp;&ldquo;With our biggest trading partners UAE, Russia &amp; China, we have a trade deficit. The only major trading partner with whom we have a trade surplus is the US. After the new trade deal, even with the US we will have a trade deficit! What a fall for India&rsquo;s economy!&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-4" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-4&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2020013789857607848&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fdashboard%2F&sessionId=393ffcf903aaafb51ab8d42de17b83db68fc8b42&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 369px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="2020013789857607848"></iframe></div></div> <div class="fr-embed"></div>

India

Says PM Modi has ‘succumbed to the pressure of President Trump and compromised our sovereignty. Who is America to decide whether we should buy oil from Russia or not, a country that has been our all season friend!’

Congress criticizes Modi over US tariff conditionality on Russian oil

BEIJING:&nbsp;China said on Monday that a preliminary trade deal with Canada &ldquo;does not target any third parties&rdquo; after the United States threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Canadian products if the agreement were finalized. Under the deal, announced this month, Beijing is expected to reduce tariffs on Canadian canola imports and grant Canadians visa-free travel to China. But over the weekend, the United States --&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-threatens-canada-with-100-tariff-if-it-completes-china-trade-deal" style="color:#0073e6;">Canada&#39;s traditional ally</a>&nbsp;-- threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Canadian products if the deal were to go ahead, saying it would allow China to &ldquo;dump goods&rdquo;. China&#39;s foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Monday that the trade deal was not aimed at Washington. &lsquo;New type of strategic partnership&rsquo;&quot;China and Canada have established a new type of strategic partnership... it does not target any third party,&quot; China&#39;s foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular press conference. &quot;China advocates that nations should approach state-to-state relations with a win-win rather than zero-sum mindset, and through cooperation rather than confrontation,&quot; he added. The deal was announced during Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney&#39;s visit to Beijing this month, as he seeks to distance himself from a volatile United States under President Donald Trump. Trade war&nbsp;Canada and the United States have been caught in a trade war since the Trump administration imposed import duties on its northern neighbor. On Sunday,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-axes-canadas-board-of-peace-invitation" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Trump</a>wrote on social media that negotiations between Ottawa and Beijing amounted to China &quot;successfully and completely taking over the once Great Country of Canada&quot;. Following the president&#39;s comments, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told US media that &quot;we can&#39;t let Canada become an opening that the Chinese pour their cheap goods into the US&quot;.

China's foreign ministry spokesman says China advocates that nations should approach state-to-state relations with a win-win rather than zero-sum mindset, and through cooperation rather than confrontation.

China says Canada deal not aimed at US after Trump tariff threat

HONG KONG:&nbsp;Gold and silver hit record highs on Monday, while most equity markets fell after Donald Trump revived trade war fears by threatening several European nations with tariffs over their opposition to the United States buying Greenland. The US president has fanned already-rising geopolitical tensions this month by insisting that Washington would take control of the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-threatens-europe-with-tariffs-over-greenland-as-protesters-rally" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">North Atlantic island</a>, citing national security needs. And on Saturday, after talks failed to resolve &quot;fundamental disagreement&quot; over the Danish autonomous territory, he announced he would hit eight countries with fresh levies over their refusal to submit to his demands. He said he would impose 10% tariffs on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland from February 1 -- rising to 25% from June 1 -- if they did not agree to the takeover. Tariffs threats&nbsp;The announcement drew an immediate response, with a joint statement from the countries saying: &quot;Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.&quot; The move also threatened a trade deal signed between the United States and European Union last year, with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul telling ARD television: &quot;I don&#39;t believe that this agreement is possible in the current situation.&quot; &lsquo;Anti-coercion instrument&rsquo;Meanwhile, aides to French President Emmanuel Macron said he would ask the EU to activate a never-before-used &quot;anti-coercion instrument&quot; against Washington if Trump makes good on his threat. This measure allows for curbing imports of goods and services into the EU, a market of 27 countries with a combined population of 450 million. Bloomberg reported member states were discussing the possibility of retaliatory levies on &euro;93 billion ($108 billion) of US goods. Trade war&nbsp;The prospect of a trade war between the global economic heavyweights shook markets, with <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/gold-soars-past-4500-as-safehaven-demand-hits-record-levels" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">safe-haven</a> assets extending gains that had come on the back of Trump&#39;s threats against Iran last week and the US ouster of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/gold-price-hits-record-high-of-438376-on-us-rate-cut-bets" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gold</a>, a key go-to in times of turmoil, hit a peak of $4,690.59, while silver struck $94.12. On equity markets, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, and Wellington retreated, though there were gains in Seoul and Taipei.&nbsp;European and US futures sank. &lsquo;Next signpost&rsquo;The dollar also retreated against its peers, with the euro, sterling, and yen all higher. &quot;The next signpost is whether this moves from rhetoric to policy, and that is why the concrete dates matter,&quot; wrote Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo Markets. &quot;On the European side, the decision path matters as much as the headline, because there is a difference between merely mentioning the anti-coercion instrument as a signal and formally pursuing it as action. &quot;Even if the immediate tariff threat gets negotiated down, the structural risk is that fragmentation keeps rising, with more politicized trade, more conditional supply chains, and higher policy risk for companies and investors.&quot; There was little major reaction to data showing China&#39;s economy expanded five percent last year, in line with its target.&nbsp; However, growth in the final three months slowed sharply from the previous quarter. Investors in Seoul and Taipei brushed off a warning from US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that South Korean chipmakers and Taiwan firms not investing in the United States could be hit with 100% tariffs unless they boost output in the country. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Key figures at around 0230 GMT </h2>Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.0% at 53,412.88 (break) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.7% at 26,670.01 Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1% at 4,099.23 Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1628 from $1.1604 on Friday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3397 from $1.3382 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 157.54 yen from 158.07 yen Euro/pound: UP at 86.79 pence from 86.69 pence West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1% at $59.52 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $64.15 per barrel New York - Dow: DOWN 0.2% at 49,359.33 (close) London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 10,235.29 (close)

Gold, a key go-to in times of turmoil, hit a peak of $4,690.59, while silver struck $94.12; on equity markets, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore and Wellington retreated; there were gains in Seoul and Taipei.

Gold, silver hit records and stocks fall as Trump fans trade fears

MONTREAL: Prime Minister Mark Carney will begin a state visit to China on Tuesday, the first in eight years for a Canadian leader, with the aim of discussing trade and rebuilding ties after years of diplomatic tensions. Chinese President Xi Jinping invited Carney last October during a meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which Carney described as a &ldquo;turning point&rdquo; in the two nations&rsquo; strained relationship. The Jan. 13-17 trip seeks to &ldquo;strengthen cooperation in the areas of trade, energy, agriculture and international security,&rdquo; a Carney spokeswoman told AFP. &lsquo;Huge step forward&rsquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a huge step forward,&rdquo; said Gordon Houlden, a former Canadian diplomat and director of the University of Alberta&#39;s China Institute. Houlden told AFP that if &ldquo;some of the commercial problems that are affecting our exports had a political origin, then solving the political origin may, or should, have some positive effect on the trade.&rdquo; The last Canadian leader to visit China was Justin Trudeau in December 2017. Ties withered in 2018 after the arrest of a senior executive from Chinese tech giant Huawei on a US warrant in Vancouver and China&rsquo;s retaliatory detention of two Canadians on espionage charges. China has also been accused of interfering in Canadian elections in recent years. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Second-largest trade partner</h2>Carney will meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and business leaders to advance trade negotiations, focusing on efforts to attract new investors and secure strategic partnerships. In the face of protectionism and attacks from US President Donald Trump, he will also seek to develop new markets to lessen Canada&rsquo;s economic dependence on its neighbor to the south. China is currently Canada&#39;s second-largest trade partner, with bilateral trade reaching $118.7 billion Canadian dollars ($85.3 billion) in 2024. &ldquo;This visit is important because China is obviously an inescapable superpower,&rdquo; Guy Saint-Jacques, Canada&rsquo;s ambassador to China from 2012-2016, told AFP.<h2 style="line-height: 2;"> </h2><h2 id="isPasted" style="line-height: 2;">&lsquo;The elephant in the room&rsquo;&nbsp;</h2>He said a deal on Chinese energy supplies and electric vehicles was a possible outcome from the talks. But &ldquo;the elephant in the room,&rdquo; he mentioned, is the thorny issue of tariffs. Since the summer of 2024, Ottawa and Beijing have clashed on trade, with Canada imposing tariffs on electric vehicles and Chinese steel, while Beijing has retaliated with levies on agricultural products, including canola. Economic objectives vs security priorities&nbsp;&ldquo;Whatever agreements Canada has with China will be scrutinized in Washington and might have implications&rdquo; for three-way talks with Washington and Mexico on a free trade agreement, set to be renegotiated this year, said Vina Nadjibulla, vice president of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. Carney&#39;s challenge is &ldquo;going to be to advance economic objectives while not sacrificing our national security and economic security priorities,&rdquo; she added. After his trip to Beijing, Carney is scheduled to travel to Qatar for a bilateral visit and then head to Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos.

The Jan. 13-17 trip seeks to ‘strengthen cooperation in the areas of trade, energy, agriculture and international security,’ a Carney spokeswoman told AFP; bilateral trade reached $118.7 billion Canadian dollars ($85.3 billion) in 2024.

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