US and Canada restart talks

The ice is melting between the US and Canada. Canada's decision to halt plans to begin collecting a "Digital Services Tax" today, which targeted US technology firms, has been welcomed in Washington. White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett announced that following Canada's move, Washington will "immediately" resume trade negotiations with the Ottawa administration.

Speaking to Fox News, Hassett responded to a question about whether negotiations would resume by saying, "They absolutely will," and noted that US President Donald Trump had asked Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to remove this tax at the G7 summit. Director Kevin Hassett stated, "This was an issue they were looking into, and now they have agreed. This definitely means we can return to the negotiating table."

"WE THANK CANADA"

US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, in a statement made via his social media account following the suspension of the tax decision, said, "We thank Canada for removing the Digital Services Tax, which was intended to suppress American innovation and would have posed an obstacle to any trade agreement with the US."

"AIMS TO REACH AN AGREEMENT BY JULY 21"

In a statement made yesterday by the Canadian Ministry of Finance, it was announced that the tax collection, which was planned to begin today, would be halted. The statement said, "The Digital Services Tax was announced in 2020 to address the issue of many large technology companies operating in Canada not paying taxes on the revenue they generate from Canadians. Canada's preference has always been a multilateral agreement on digital services taxation."

The ministry had reported that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Trump would resume trade negotiations and aim to reach an agreement by July 21.