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Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem takes part in a news conference in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada April 16, 2025.

REUTERS/Blair Gable

Hard Numbers: BoC warily holds rates, Canada lobbies China for tariff relief, Trump gives borderlands to the Army, Global growth forecasts fall, Major League Baseball struggles to attract Black talent

2.75: Canada’s central bank held its key interest rate steady at 2.75% this week, ending a streak of seven consecutive cuts. Despite concerns about a slowing Canadian economy, and a lower-than-expected inflation reading earlier this week, the regulator opted not to cut rates due to massive uncertainty about the extent and impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

100 and 25: Canadian industries are busy lobbying one of the world’s largest economies for tariff relief — but, in this case, it’s not the US but China. The world’s number two economy last month slapped a 100% tariff on Canadian canola products and a 25% levy on pork and seafood. The move, which could cost some Canadian meat-processors more than $100 million this year, was made in retaliation for Ottawa’s tariffs on Chinese EVs.

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- YouTube

Trump tariff is starting a US-China trade war

Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week on World In :60.

Are the US and China rushing into a trade war?

Absolutely. I mean, if the Americans are actually going to impose tariffs of over 100% on Chinese exports of goods, it's essentially a trade embargo. That is a decoupling, and it's an unmanaged decoupling of US-China direct trade. Still an awful lot of goods from China to get to the United States through third countries. It's not clear all those will be cut off as the US negotiates with a lot of those countries. So people in America will still be buying Chinese goods, but inflation's going to go up. There's no question. And this is going to end up hurting the Chinese even more than it hurts the United States.

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U.S. President Donald Trump attends a press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (not pictured) at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 27, 2025.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Trump’s tariffs back on, until they’re not

US President Donald Trump announced Thursday thata 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian goods will take effect on March 4, reversing comments made one day earlier that suggesteda delay until April.

Why the change? Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnicksaid last month that if the two countries made progress on border security, there could be room for negotiation. But Trump claims drugs are still “pouring into our country”and added, “We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the USA.” He also blamed China for the flow of fentanyl and announced that he would add an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods on the same date.

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- YouTube

The case for Trump's tariffs

What will President-Elect Donald Trump’s election win mean for the US economy? After years of inflation and stagnating wage growth, millions of voters elected Trump off the back of his promise to usher in a “golden age of America.” Trump has vowed to raise tariffs, slash business regulation, and deport millions of undocumented immigrants, policies he says will put Americans first. But what will that mean practically for workers and consumers? On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer is joined by Oren Cass, the founder and chief economist of the conservative think tank American Compass, who thinks Trump’s tariff plan will be a step in the right direction. Many economists argue that Trump's tariff plans will raise consumer prices and spark a global trade war, but Cass argues they're a necessary correction that will incentivize domestic manufacturing, reduce the deficit, and counter China’s unfair trade practices.

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- YouTube

How Trump's tariffs could help (or hurt) the US economy

For almost as long as Donald Trump has been in the public eye, his economic worldview has been remarkably consistent: unfair trade deals and globalization have pumped millions into foreign economies while hurting US workers and businesses. That message resonated with voters who feel left behind by the global economy. Trump’s solution? Also very consistent: tariffs. Big ones. On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down Donald Trump’s tariff plan and what it could mean for US consumers. On the campaign trail, Trump called for a minimum 10% tariff on all imports and at least 60% on goods from China. Recently, he threatened additional tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China over immigration and drugs. Trump says tariffs will protect US jobs and boost manufacturing, but economists warn they’ll spark a global trade war and send prices soaring. Will voters endure short-term pain for long-term gain?

GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).

New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).

Ari Winkleman

The Graphic Truth: US-China: Cold War or Cold Cash?

Whether the US and China are in fact slouching towards a new “Cold War” or not, one thing is certain: commerce between them is still hotter than ever.
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