The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/01/31 at 19:00 EST

Episode Date: February 1, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/01/31 at 19:00 EST

Every language is a note in the symphony of our heritage. Together, they create a harmony that cannot be silenced. Discover your voice on the new APTN Languages TV channel. From CBC News, the world is our, I'm Karen Hauerloch. American tariffs against Canadian goods are expected to take effect Saturday. Anything going into the U.S. will have a 25% levy added to it.

But President Donald Trump appears to be giving one product a reprieve. I'm probably going to reduce the tariff a little bit on that. We think we're going to bring it down to 10% on the oil. That oil tariff is set to kick in by February 18. Trump admits the new charges on imported goods from Canada, Mexico, and China will create some disruption But he sees the tariffs as a way to make money for the US and he's looking ahead to other Canadian exports

We're going to put a lot of tariffs on steel We already have tariffs on steel and we've saved our steel industry But that was relatively small compared to what it'll be but we're going to be putting tariffs on steel and aluminum and ultimately copper Trump previously hit Canadian steel and aluminum with tariffs in 2018. They were lifted a year later. Canada is working on its response to Trump's tariffs, which may include retaliatory tariffs. Several cabinet ministers have also been meeting with American officials in Washington, hoping they will advocate for Canada with President Trump.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Jolie says that work will continue. And I think that the reaction towards our border plan or the reaction regarding just the fact that there is a trade surplus when it comes to goods between Canada and US, if you don't take into account the question of energy. And when we present these arguments, people are reacting extremely positively.

Jolie says the government has not yet seen any specifics from the White House on what tariffs will be imposed. As you heard earlier, Donald Trump is suggesting the tariff on Canadian oil and gas will be lower, but even so, analysts say a 10% tariff means Alberta's energy industry will still face challenging times. Dave Will has more. More details are expected on Saturday, but for now, the president's comments in the Oval Office today are all we have to go on.

While Trump says 25% tariffs are coming for most Canadian exports, he says oil will get a bit of a break. I'm probably going to reduce the tariff a little bit on that. I think we're going to bring it down to 10% on the oil. Richard Masson of the UFC's School of Public Policy says consumers on both sides of the border will feel the pinch at the pumps, and he says it will unravel a system that is currently the most efficient for both countries where both parties benefit. It's been by tens of thousands of individual business decisions over decades

that we got to hear many, many billions of dollars of investment. Nobody forced the U.S. to buy our oil. They did it because they wanted it. They've become quite dependent on it. This is all adding chaos into a system that doesn't need it. Canadian crude exports to the U.S. reached a record high last summer, climbing to 4.3 million barrels per day. Dave Will, CBC News, Calgary.

BC Premier David Eby says his province will support Team Canada's response to the U.S. tariffs. Eby was speaking while attending a Lunar New Year event in Vancouver. They're not justified. They will hurt families on both sides of the border. And we will respond in kind. It will not be an advantage to the United States to have these tariffs. And I hope that Mr. Trump takes a moment and reflects on how we can work together instead

of dividing our two countries that have worked so well together for so many generations. Eby says he met earlier today with his new Provincial Economic Protection Committee, which includes representatives from business, labor, and indigenous communities. Fears of a tariff war with the U.S. are having an effect on the Canadian dollar. It dipped below 69 cents U.S. today. The loonie is at its lowest level against the American dollar since the early days of the pandemic.

A doctor in New York has been indicted by a grand jury in Louisiana for prescribing abortion medication online. Louisiana has a near total abortion ban. Dr. Margaret Carpenter is part of an advocacy group supporting telemedicine for abortions. The indictment appears to be the first instance of criminal charges against a doctor for sending abortion pills to another state since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. And that is your World This Hour.

For CBC News, I'm Karen Howellock.