The World This Hour - The World This Hour for 2025/04/03 at 01:00 EDT

Episode Date: April 3, 2025

The World This Hour for 2025/04/03 at 01:00 EDT

The world we live in isn't perfect. This is all wrong. I say put mental health first. But it doesn't get any better on its own. I stand before you as a concerned citizen. That's why we talk to activists about how they do what they do and what inspires them to keep going. Because we're all about change.

Listen to stories that give us all hope on all about change wherever you get your podcasts. From CBC News, the world is sour. I'm Neil Kumar. US President Donald Trump has announced so-called reciprocal tariffs on roughly 60 countries, along with a 10% baseline levy on all US trading partners. But Canada and Mexico are exempt from the new global rates. Chris Reyes has the details. This is one of the most important days in my opinion in American history. Speaking from the White House Rose Garden, President Donald Trump announced sweeping

tariffs against a long list of countries, but spared Canada and Mexico. The two countries were absent on a chart held up by Trump to show the new tariff rate for each country. Trump called the tariffs reciprocal and explained how they were calculated. We will charge them approximately half of what they are and have been charging us. After the event, the White House released a statement explaining that goods compliant with the free trade deal between the U.S., Canada and Mexico are exempt from reciprocal tariffs, but a 25 percent tariff linked to border security will remain in place. Meanwhile, other countries will still be hit with a 10 percent baseline tariff against

all imports into the U.S. and 25 percent on all foreign-made vehicles coming into the country. Chris Reyes, CBC News, New York. Prime Minister Mark Carney has met with this U.S.-Canada committee. He says that while Canada may have avoided reciprocal tariffs, the threat to Canada's economy remains. The fentanyl tariffs still remain in place, as do the tariffs for steel and aluminum. The tariffs on automobiles will enter into force, and the U.S. has signaled that there will be additional tariffs in so-called strategic sectors. There is going to be an impact on the U.S. economy, which will build with time, in our

judgment. It will be negative on the U.S. economy. That will have an impact on us. But the series of measures will directly affect millions of Canadians. Carney will speak with the premiers at a meeting on Thursday morning. More details are expected then. Other federal leaders are on the campaign trail, outlining their plans to Trump-proof the Canadian economy.

Conservative leader Pierre Poliev says his government would speed up the talks on the new North American free trade deal and create a special fund to help workers affected by tariffs. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh says Ottawa's priority needs to be the well-being of workers, not big corporations. Janice McGregor has more. We will not back down, we will not give up, and we will win this fight. Union members from the building trades joined Jagmeet Singh in Winnipeg today as he laid out the NDP's plan to protect Canadian workers in this trade war.

When it comes to how we as a nation deal with the United States, I'm on Team Canada. I want us to win. I think we need to show united front and we stand together. When it comes to our internal response, our domestic response, that's where I'm going to be critical of the other parties. New Democrats want to see more meaningful improvements to the employment insurance system. Their platform also proposes a massive infrastructure building campaign using Canadian materials and Canadian workers. Singh's also matching Donald Trump's protectionism with some

of his own, calling for a no trade clause in any future deals to protect essential industries like hydro, critical minerals, and the culture sector. Janice McGregor, CBC News, Winnipeg. Several Republican senators joined the Democrats to pass a resolution that would block Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer is slamming what he calls Donald Trump's senseless trade war. He wants to take the money that he gains from tariffs to give tax cuts to billionaires. And when told that American families would pay a whole lot more out of their pockets, you know what he said? I don't care. Four Republicans, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and both Kentucky senators,

the former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and and Rand Paul defied Trump's pressure campaign in support of the measure in a vote of 51 to 48. And that is Your World is Sour. Remember, you can listen to us wherever you get your podcasts, updated every hour, seven days a week. For CBC News, I'm Neil Kumar.