Trump says he’s cutting off trade talks with Canada

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The announcement arrived hours after new figures released by Statistics Canada showed the economy contracted marginally in April as the trade war sparked the biggest decline in the manufacturing sector since 2021.

The economy is still performing better than the worst of two potential scenarios outlined by the Bank of Canada in April, although analysts viewed trade talk progress as essential to the hopes of averting a further contraction in the second half of the year.

The Canadian government is set to begin collecting the first payments of the digital services tax, equivalent to 3% of the digital services revenue that a firm makes from Canadian users above $20 million each year, on Monday. Other countries including the UK have implemented a similar measure.

Trump and Canadian prime minister Mark Carney indicated earlier this month that they hoped to reach a trade deal by July 21, strengthening hopes that the trade war launched by the US president shortly after taking office in January could be nearing an end. 

That tariff raised fears that the Canadian economy could be on course for a sharp correction, with economists highlighting the prospect of mass layoffs as a result of US charges on Canadian imports.