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Malaysian Paper

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Trump threatens 100% tariffs on Canada

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Canada that if it concludes a trade deal with China, he will impose a 100% tariff on all goods coming over the border. Relations between the United States and its northern neighbour have been rocky since Trump returned to the White House a year ago, with spats over trade and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney decrying a “rupture” in the US-led global order. During a visit to Beijing earlier this month, Carney hailed a “new strategic partnership” with China o US president warns of ‘serious consequences ‘ if China deal realised US

quarters of Canadian exports. Key Canadian sectors like auto, aluminum and steel have been hit hard by Trump’s global sectoral tariffs, but the levies’ impacts have been muted by the president’s broad adherence to an existing North American free trade agreement. Negotiations on revising that deal are set for early this year, and Trump has repeatedly insisted the United States does not need access to any Canadian products – which would have sweeping consequences for its northern neighbour. Matthew Holmes, executive vice-president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that he hoped the two governments would “come to a better understanding quickly that can alleviate further concerns for businesses”. The two nations, along with Mexico, are set to host the World Cup later this year. – AFP

Trump fired back at Carney a day later in his own speech, and then withdrew an invitation for the Canadian prime minister to join his “Board of Peace” – his self-styled body for resolving global conflict. Initially designed to oversee the situation in postwar Gaza, the body appears now to have a far wider scope, sparking concerns that Trump wants to create a rival to the United Nations. “Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements,” Trump said. Carney shot back on Thursday: “Canada doesn’t live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian.” He nevertheless acknowledged the “remarkable partnership” between the two nations. Canada heavily relies on trade with the United States, the destination for more than three

Trump last week posted an image on social media of a map with Canada – as well as Greenland and Venezuela – covered by the American flag. Canada’s minister responsible for trade with the United States, Dominic LeBlanc, pushed back against Trump’s latest threat. “There is no pursuit of a free trade deal with China. What was achieved was resolution on several important tariff issues,” he wrote on X. The two leaders have sharpened their rhetorical knives in recent days, beginning with Carney’s speech on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he earned a standing ovation for his frank assessment of a “rupture” in the US-led global order. His comment was widely viewed as a reference to Trump’s disruptive influence on international affairs, although Carney did not mention the US leader by name.

that resulted in a “preliminary but landmark trade agreement” to reduce tariffs – but Trump warned of serious consequences should that deal be realized. If Carney “thinks he is going to make Canada a ‘Drop Off Port’ for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life,” he said. “If Canada makes a deal with China, it will immediately be hit with a 100% tariff against all Canadian goods and products coming into the USA.” Trump insulted Carney by calling him “Governor” – a swipe referring to the American president’s repeated insistence that Canada should be the 51st US state.

Wall Street intends to stay open round the clock WASHINGTON: The closing and opening bells of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) may become a ringing ritual of yesteryear, as the market moves towards nonstop trading. Last week, the Intercontinental Exchange announced it is

developing a platform for 24/7 operations that offers “instant settlement”. The around-the-clock operations would rely on digital tokens mirroring the shares of listed companies, the NYSE’s parent company said in a statement. Nasdaq, another New York-based trading exchange, could follow suit as early as this year. The move is pending approval by federal regulators at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and would amount to a minor revolution for the way money moves in US stock markets. In the early days of the exchange, investors had to be physically present in markets on Wall Street to “stand and yell at each other and wave pieces of paper, and then they would have to write down what everybody bought and sold”, Sam Burns, chief strategist at Mill Street Research, told AFP. That meant “having trading go on all day every day would sort of be impossible to keep up with”, Burns said. Digitised transactions can change all that. Off-hours trading has already been on the rise since 2019, exploding since 2024 when the daily average topped US$61 billion, according to a NYSE report in early 2025. But the appeal remains limited, according to Steve Hanke, a professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University. “Historically, there is little evidence that supports the idea that the benefits of 24-hour trading outweigh the costs,” he said, adding that there “are few market-moving events that occur outside of normal

EquipmentShare.com co-CEOs Jabbok Schlacks and Willy Schlacks ring the opening bell on the Nasdaq stock exchange during the construction tech firm’s IPO at the Nasdaq Market site in Times Square in New York City. – REUTERSPIC

nights or weekends,” Burns said. “It is unlikely that the change would move traditional investors from banker’s hours because the impacts of any change are likely to be limited,” Burns added. “Most institutional investors that trade the real money aren’t really interested in working or trading on the weekends, and the fact (is) that banks are mostly still closed on the weekends.” – AFP

to the US Treasury’s most recent available figures. And fans of cryptocurrency trading may jump into stocks, said Burns, the Mill Street Research strategist. “A lot of retail investors nowadays, particularly younger ones, seem to like the idea of being able to trade stocks all the time the way they do cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, whether it’s

the US market remains the largest in the world, but competition is growing. Last year, many European indexes generated returns that outpaced their US counterparts. With extended hours, Wall Street may be able to attract smaller investors and those outside the Americas. Nearly 18% of US shares belonged to non-US holders in 2024, according

business hours in New York City”. “Night trading proved to be a waste of time,” he said. Hanke said the real advantage in the NYSE’s announcement lies in the time needed to finalise a trade – a process that usually occurs the next day in most stock markets. “Narrowing the settlement window may prove to be a significant competitive advantage.” As host to immense market caps,