Ottawa, June 28
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called the negotiations with the United States "complex" when he responded to the announcement of US President Donald Trump to terminate all trade talks with Canada with potential new tariffs.
"We'll continue to conduct these complex negotiations in the best interest of Canadians," Carney said to local media. "It's a negotiation."
Trump announced Friday that the United States would terminate all trade talks with Canada due to Canada's digital services tax on US tech companies, Xinhua news agency reported.
Canada's digital services tax on American technology companies is a direct and blatant attack on the United States, said Trump in a post on social media.
Set to take effect on June 30, the digital services tax would have US companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, Uber and Airbnb pay a three percent levy on revenue from Canadian users.
Canada and the United States have been in negotiations to get Trump to lift the tariffs on Canadian goods, which have already led to major economic shrinking.
Canada's real gross domestic product edged down 0.1 per cent in April, according to Statistics Canada.
Transportation equipment manufacturing subsector was the largest contributor to the decline, coinciding with lower exports of passenger cars and light trucks as some motor vehicle manufacturers scaled back production amid uncertainty related to tariffs imposed on motor vehicle exports to the United States.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Interesting to see how digital taxes are becoming a global flashpoint. India also implemented equalization levy on foreign tech companies. Maybe we should learn from Canada's experience before expanding ours further?
Trump is unpredictable as always! But Canada shouldn't bow down. These big tech companies make billions from our data, least they can do is pay fair taxes. Same applies for India - Google/Amazon must pay their share!
As someone working in IT sector, I think India should watch this carefully. Our industry depends heavily on US clients. Any trade war between Western nations could impact our outsourcing business too. Better to diversify!
Canada's GDP shrinking shows how dependent they are on US trade. India must learn - we need stronger domestic markets rather than relying on exports to few countries. Make in India should be priority!
While I support taxing big tech, Canada's approach seems too aggressive. India implemented equalization levy gradually. Trade negotiations require give-and-take, not sudden moves that anger trading partners.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.