World Report - March 12 Wednesday's top stories in 10 minutes

Episode Date: March 12, 2025

Canada announced counter tariffs in response to the steel and aluminum tariffs imposed overnight by US President Donald Trump.Pro-independence party wins Greenland election.Efforts to re-negotiate a water-sharing deal between Canada and US have stalled, raising concerns the Trump administration wants more control over the Columbia River.

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This is a CBC Podcast. This is World Report. Good morning. I'm Helen Man. The message on Parliament Hill right now? Canada will not accept new tariffs lying down. This is going to be a day-to-day fight. This is more than just about supply chains and big industry.

This is about people. It has been extremely heartening to see Canadians rally to this cause in defense of Canada. US President Donald Trump's 25% tariff on steel and aluminum came into effect at midnight. Now Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Jolie, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, and Finance Minister Dominique Leblanc are spelling out Canada's response. Olivia Stevanovic is in our Parliamentary Bureau with details. Olivia, how is Canada hitting back? Well, Helen, the federal government is introducing new dollar-for-dollar counter tariffs against the US. They're set to take effect after the stroke of midnight 25% retaliatory tariffs against 29.8

billion dollars worth of US goods. That includes steel products worth $12.6 billion, aluminum products worth $3 billion, and more than $14 billion worth of other American imports. This includes computers, sports equipment, and cast iron products. Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc described the move as regrettable, but said Canada had no other option. The U.S US administration is once again inserting disruption and disorder into an incredibly successful trading partnership and raising the costs of everyday goods for Canadians and American households alike. Now this new retaliation is in addition to 30 billion dollars worth of counter tariffs that Ottawa previously announced and there could be more. LeBlanc says the Trump administration is also targeting steel and aluminum content in Canadian products so the government may announce further measures against the U.S.

Now, these measures come ahead of a high stakes meeting tomorrow in Washington. What should we expect from that? Well, this will involve LeBlanc, industry minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who are set to meet with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick tomorrow, a talk that's meant to bring the temperature down. Ford said yesterday that they will renegotiate the Canada-United States-Mexico agreement, but the ministers today say that's not the case. Their focus is on getting rid of these tariffs. An issue Foreign Affairs Minister

Melanie Jolie says she plans to raise during meetings with her G7 counterparts starting later today in Charlevoix, Quebec. Olivia Stefanovic in Ottawa. Thank you. You're welcome. The European Union is also facing new steel and aluminum tariffs from the United States and it is mounting a response. Counter tariffs on 26 billion euros worth of U.S. goods. EU Commission President Ursula van der Leyen says that is proportionate. We firmly believe that in a world fraught with geoeconomic and political uncertainties. It is not in our common interest to burden our economies with such tariffs. Europe's counter tariffs begin April 1st.

The Bank of Canada is once again cutting its key lending rate. Governor Tiff Macklem. Today we lowered our policy interest rate by 25 basis points to two and three quarters percent. The Central Bank has dropped its policy interest rate by 25 basis points to two and three quarters percent. The central bank has dropped its policy interest rate by another 25 basis points. Economists had predicted the cut given the ongoing Canada-U.S. trade war. The CBC's Jenna Benchitritt has the latest. It's the first cut of the trade war.

The central bank lowered its interest rate by 25 basis points today. The economy started the year strong with inflation on target and GDP robust. But all the uncertainty caused by on-again, off-again tariffs has spooked businesses from investment and hiring and slowed consumer spending. It's against this backdrop that the bank cut rates, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem wrote in his remarks. Macklem previously warned there was little the central bank could do to shield the Canadian economy from the financial

impact of a long-term trade conflict. But he said on Wednesday the bank could use interest rates to manage a potential surge in inflation. Jenna Benchitrat, CBC News, Toronto. Canadian tariff frustrations are getting aired in Texas. Business reporter Kyle Backs is at the Global Energy Conference in Houston with more. On stage in the heart of Texas, there's no delay in Canadian politicians being pressed about the trade war. Where to start? Tariffs. Right.

A brief moment of levity. The trade war is leaving Alberta Energy Minister Brian Jean disgruntled. You know what? I don't think friends do that to friends. The tariffs against Canada keep changing and escalating. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe. I can understand that you might be upset with the current situation, but you can't be angry and smart at the same time. And we need to be smart. The Canadian politicians are in the Lone Star State at a global energy conference Looking to promote their provinces and attract investments in an interview federal natural resources minister Jonathan Wilkinson Says the government is retaliating for a reason people of Canada actually expected their government is going to step up and respond They're not going to you know expect their government simply to be a patsy.

He met face-to-face with his counterpart, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. Wright used to lead an oil company that did some work in Alberta. I think it was a useful conversation and I'm hopeful that he will be a voice for trying to find ways to de-escalate and eventually get these tariffs removed. For now, the tariffs against Canadian oil and natural gas are largely gone, said Wilkinson, a rare bright spot in the trade war. Kyle Backs, CBC News, Houston. B.C.'s Energy Minister says the Columbia River Treaty renegotiations have stalled under

the new Trump administration. The agreement regulates everything from flood control and power generation to water supply and salmon restoration in BC, Washington, and Oregon. As Yvette Brand reports, the delay is stirring fears the US might want more control over water. Vicious anti-Canadian attacks have been made on us on all these issues, and they do cause concern.

Energy Minister Adrian Dix says the stalled renegotiation is a troubling snag in efforts to modernize the 61-year-old cross-border agreement. A new agreement that offered Canada a better deal was reached but not finalized before Donald Trump took office. Barry Penner is a lawyer and a former BC environment minister. It stalled out and now unfortunately it seems to be caught up in some of this more general hostility being expressed by the Trump White House towards Canada. Back in September, Trump's talk of a Canadian faucet of water sparked fears about his plans.

And they have a essentially a very large faucet. Now his calls for Canadians to join the U.S. as the 51st state further concerns about U.S. designs on Canadian resources. And our interests every single day, and no amount of bluster is going to change that. But Dick says calls to charge the U.S. more for power won't work. I don't think the effective strategy when people are threatening your country, threatening your sovereignty, is to punch yourself in the face. Premier David Eby has urged Dicks to look for effective ways to discourage U.S. threats. Eva Brenn, CBC News, Vancouver. A pro-independence party has won Greenland's general election.

The Central Right Demokratie Party took about 30 percent of the vote, but the party is advocating a take-it-slow approach to independence. Greenland is an autonomous region of Denmark, but President Trump says it is vital to independence. Greenland is an autonomous region of Denmark but President Trump says it is vital to US security and he plans to control it. Dominique Velaitis has more. Supporters of Greenland's opposition Demokratiet Party celebrating last night's victory. Anna Wagenheim is one of the party's MPs. Our main focus will be the politics we've been elected for. Then we will have to talk to the other parties where they stand.

The Demokratiet Party will now have to form a governing coalition with other parties. We need freedom for national security and even international security. And we're working with everybody involved to try and get it. US President Donald Trump's repeated threats to take over Greenland cast a long shadow over this election and amplified the discussion around the island's desire for greater autonomy from Denmark. But with the winning Demokratiet Party and its likely coalition partners favoring a slow approach to independence while pledging Greenland is not for sale, Trump's plan to acquire the

world's largest island might have to be put on ice for years. Dominic Velaitis for CBC News, Riga, Latvia. NASA's newest space telescope is about to start mapping the entire sky. 3, 2, 1, mission. Sphearx and Puch on their way to map out our universe like never before and revolutionize space weather forecasting. The Sphearx Observatory was launched last night from California. It will survey the sky every six months from an orbit over Earth's poles. Infrared instruments are expected to provide a sweeping wide-angle view of hundreds of

millions of galaxies and their shared cosmic glow. And that is the latest national and international news from World Report. I'm Helen Man, this is CBC News.