By Canadian Press

Job numbers and aluminum tariff hits Canada: In The News for Aug. 7

Aug 7, 2020 | 1:17 AM

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of Aug. 7.

What we are watching in Canada …

Statistics Canada will report this morning how the country’s labour market performed in July as more parts of the economy were allowed to reopen.

Canada clawed back 289,600 jobs in May as restrictions eased and gained 953,000 more in June.

The pace of gains was expected to continue in July, but at a slower clip than the bounce back in June.

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The average economist estimate from financial markets data firm Refinitiv is for a gain of 400,000 jobs in July and an unemployment rate of 11 per cent.

The unemployment rate in June was 12.3 per cent — a decline from May’s record high of 13.7 per cent.

The country has recouped less than half of the approximately three million jobs lost in March and April.

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Also this …

An international trade expert says Canada can expect more U.S. moves like the imposition of aluminum import tariffs as protectionism gains popularity in the United States ahead of the November presidential election.

Jack Mintz, president’s fellow in the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary, says President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden are both promoting “U.S.-first” policies as they try to enlist voter support.

Trump announced in Ohio on Thursday he intends to reimpose 10 per cent tariffs on aluminum imported from Canada, saying that United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has advised him the step was necessary to defend the U.S. aluminum industry.

Mintz said Canada has the option to retaliate with its own tariffs, adding that while that option is politically attractive, such moves may wind up hurting this country as much as they do the United States.

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ICYMI (in case you missed it) …

Frenzy over the Edmonton Oilers online 50/50 draw may continue today as the hockey team’s community foundation holds another game-day raffle for its Alberta fans.

On Wednesday, the raffle “shattered an all-time record” and had to close early after it reached the server provider’s maximum allowable ticket sales.

Officials say the provider has increased capacity by 2 1/2 times for today’s draw, which opens at 9 a.m. and is set to run until 10:30 p.m.

Game 4 of the Oilers-Blackhawks series starts at 4:45 p.m.

The jackpot for Game 3 of the series on Wednesday grew to more than $5.4 million, with the lucky winner set to take home about $2.7 million.

The other half of the funds raised from the raffles go to the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation, which supports organizations focused on vulnerable populations in downtown Edmonton and youth sports throughout northern Alberta.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered a sweeping but unspecified ban on dealings with the Chinese owners of consumer apps TikTok and WeChat, although it remains unclear if he has the legal authority to actually ban the apps from the U.S.

The twin executive orders — one for each app — take effect in 45 days. They call on the Commerce Secretary to define the banned dealings by that time. While the wording of the orders is vague, some experts said it appears intended to bar the popular apps from the Apple and Google app stores, which could effectively remove them from distribution in the U.S.

“This is an unprecedented use of presidential authority,” Eurasia Group analyst Paul Triolo said in an email. At a minimum, he said, the orders appear to “constitute a ban on the ability of U.S. app stores run by Apple and Google to include either mobile app after 45 days.”

Triolo said the orders may face legal challenges and warned that Beijing is likely to “react harshly, at least rhetorically.” Trump’s orders cited legal authority from the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the National Emergencies Act.

The Trump administration has railed against the threat from China, and both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have also raised concerns about TikTok, including censorship, misinformation campaigns, the safety of user data and children’s privacy. But the administration has provided no specific evidence that TikTok has made U.S. users’ data available to the Chinese government. Instead, officials point to the hypothetical threat that lies in the Chinese government’s ability to demand co-operation from Chinese companies.

Earlier in the week, Trump threatened a deadline of Sept. 15 to “close down” TikTok unless Microsoft or another company acquires it. On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced an expansion of the U.S. crackdown on Chinese technology to include barring Chinese apps from U.S. app stores, citing alleged security threats and calling out TikTok and WeChat by name.

TikTok and Microsoft had no immediate replies to queries. Tencent declined to comment.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

India hit another grim milestone in the coronavirus pandemic on Friday, crossing 2 million cases of infection and more than 41,000 deaths.

India’s health ministry also reported recoveries as a share of total cases are also growing. India has the third-highest caseload in the world after the United States and Brazil. It has the fifth-most deaths and its fatality rate of about 2% is far lower than the other hardest-hit countries. The rate in the U.S. is 3.3%, and in Brazil, it’s 3.4%, Johns Hopkins University figures showed.

The health ministry said Friday 62,538 cases were reported in the past 24 hours, raising the nation’s total to 2,027,074. Also, 886 people died, for a total of 41,585.

The caseload in the world’s second-most populous country has quickly expanded since the government began lifting a months-long lockdown hoping to jumpstart a moribund economy. The Indian government is projecting negative economic growth in 2020.

As life cautiously returned to the streets of the capital of New Delhi and financial hub Mumbai, which appear to have passed their peaks, state and local governments elsewhere in India were reimposing lockdowns after sharp spikes in growth.

India had launched two of the world’s dozen and a half prospective vaccines into human trials, with vaccine-maker Zydus Cadila announcing it had completed phase one trials of its DNA-based vaccine on Thursday.

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Also this…

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine tested negative for COVID-19 on Thursday after testing positive earlier in the day before he was to meet with President Donald Trump, according to a statement from his office.

His wife, Fran DeWine, also tested negative, as did staff members. They underwent a different type of test in Columbus; one considered to be more accurate than the rapid-result test which showed DeWine to be positive for COVID-19 just ahead of a planned meeting with Trump in Cleveland.

DeWine, an early advocate among Republicans of wearing masks and other pandemic precautions, said he took a test arranged by the White House in Cleveland as part of standard protocol before he was to meet Trump at an airport. He had planned to join the president on a visit to the Whirlpool Corp. plant in northwest Ohio.

Instead, he received the news he was positive, called his wife, Fran DeWine, and returned to central Ohio where he took the other test that showed him to be negative.

“A big surprise to me and certainly a big surprise to our family,” DeWine said at a late afternoon news conference broadcast from his porch on his farm in Cedarville in southwestern Ohio, where he planned to quarantine for 14 days.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 7, 2020.

The Canadian Press