Your World Tonight - Electronics exempt from U.S.-China tariffs, Post-secondary students reconsider U.S. education, Scottish bog becomes a world heritage site, and more.

Episode Date: April 12, 2025

Smartphones, computers and other electronics have now been exempted from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on China. You'll hear how that could bring some relief to American consumers.Also: Thousands of Canadian students head to the U.S. every year to attend university. But recent tensions between the two countries have some students thinking twice about moving south of the border.And: We'll take you to northeast Scotland, where a peat-bog has been named a UNESCO world heritage site. People there are hoping the new status will help undo some environmental impacts that drove people to leave the region hundreds of years ago.Plus: U.S. and Iran hold nuclear talks, Disability advocates demand more from federal leaders, Italy sends asylum seekers to Albania, and more.

When they predict we'll fall, we rise to the challenge. When they say we're not a country, we stand on guard. This land taught us to be brave and caring, to protect our values, to leave no one behind. Canada is on the line, and it's time to vote as though our country depends on it, because like never before, it does. I'm Jonathan Pedneau, co-leader of the Green Party of Canada.

This election, each vote makes a difference. Authorized by the Registeredleader of the Green Party of Canada. This election, each vote makes a difference. Authorized by the registered agent of the Green Party of Canada. This is a CBC podcast. Hello, I'm Anand Ram. This is your World Tonight. I think he is feeling the heat. He saw the incredible blowback in the markets. He realized he could be triggering a worldwide global recession. Signs of cracks in Trump's great wall of tariffs against China, with big exemptions

for the devices and technology we all use every day. Also on the podcast, high-level meetings between the US and Iran, the first in years, will tell you how that went. Plus… These things are a concern for sure. So if given a chance, I would like to put my fund maybe in a Canadian university. Post-secondary thoughts how the friction between the US and Canada could be keeping students here. Smartphones, computers, and other electronics have now been exempted from US President Donald Trump's tariffs on China.

As Trump's 145% tariffs on Chinese imports could have a major impact on American tech giants like Apple. Most iPhones, for example, are produced in China. It's another twist in the trade negotiations between these two superpowers. The CBC's Sam Sampson is following the latest developments. So Sam, this is an about face on the Trump administration's earlier policies and yet another reversal.

Yes. So earlier this week, Trump said there would be a 90-day pause on those global tariffs he announced earlier this month. You know, you've seen it. The poster board listing which country gets tariffed by how much. But for China he kept a 145% tariff on imported goods to the United States, which was taking a toll on US tech companies like Apple and Microsoft in the markets because while they are American companies, most of their production happens in China. And don't forget, you know, China is also the world's biggest player for the development and production of critical minerals. Those are elements needed to create those electronics. So there's a lot happening here. So late yesterday we hear

that Trump's administration will exempt those electronics from tariffs. So here's Ian Lee, he's an associate professor at Carleton University's Sprott School of Business, on why he thinks Trump's administration made this change. I think he is feeling the heat. He saw the incredible blowback in the markets. I'm not talking the political blowback, I'm talking the economic blowback. Prices go up, he's seeing the currency depreciate, so he's seeing a lot of negative consequences and so that's why I think he pushed back the tariffs on the rest of the world because he realized he could be triggering a worldwide global recession and that's not the way to get his party re-elected in the off-year

election. It really was a bad week in the markets going up and down, and we won't see the impact that these exemptions will have until the global trade reopens on Monday. So those are the worldwide markets coming to stores that you and I shop at. What does this mean for consumers? Well, for Americans and in some cases, Canadians, this means that an expected price jump for things like computers and phones might not happen after all, which is huge since there would have been a major tax to deal with. So for example, according to the Washington Post, there would have been about a $700 import

tax on each $1,000 iPhone imported from China based on the 145% tariff. So essentially you might be paying $700 more for a phone and that could have been passed on to buyers. And we are hearing from the White House on this. What are they saying? How are they framing this? Well, the justification is that these exemptions are meant to give tech giants more time to bring production over from China to the United States, which essentially would

cut out China from this profitable business. The White House also added that the United States cannot rely on China, it says, to make these critical technologies and that these companies are, quote, hustling to bring their production to the state's ASAP at the direction of the president. All right. Thank you, Sam. The CBC's Sam Sampson in Edmonton. The federal election campaign has reached the three-week mark and with the televised leaders debates just days away, Liberal leader Mark Carney and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh kept a low profile on the campaign trail Saturday. Carney held no public events but detailed his Canada Strong Pass, which promises discounts to Canadian families visiting parks and other attractions

this summer. Conservative leader Pierre Pauliev, meanwhile, spoke about supporting veterans at an event in his riding. Marina von Stackelberg reports. What I hear from veterans is they want services for themselves and their families. They want direct services. Conservative leader Pierre Pauliev campaigning in the suburban Ottawa riding he currently holds. Conservative leader Pierre Poliev campaigning in the suburban Ottawa riding he currently holds just down the road from the riding liberal leader Mark Carney hopes to win. Poliev says the liberals have only made it harder for former military members to get

the support they need. What they're saying is actually they need less bureaucracy so that they can actually get their benefits and get on with their lives. Poliev says a conservative government would make sure veterans qualify for benefits before they leave the military. He says disability applications will be automatically approved if they aren't processed within 16 weeks. He promises any income veterans earn in new careers won't result in clawbacks to their pensions. Poliev has also promised to increase hiring at Veterans Affairs. This is notable. The last time the Conservatives were in power, Prime

Minister Stephen Harper made major cuts to that department. Several regional service offices were closed down. Since then, the Trudeau Liberals have failed to deal with a backlog in cases and they've come under fire from wounded veterans for failing to bring in proper support for disabled soldiers. Marina von Stackelberg, CBC News, Ottawa. It's not only wounded veterans who are looking for more federal supports. There are millions of Canadians living with disabilities and they want the federal parties to start addressing their concerns on the campaign trail. From high rates of poverty and joblessness to barriers that keep them

from participating in society. Ali Chyasson has that story. The implementation of the Accessible Canada Act has been paltry, sluggish and ineffective. Chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance, David Lepofsky says at $200 a month, the Canada disability benefit payments aren't even enough to get by, let alone get someone out of poverty. People with disabilities deserve better. As a retired lawyer who is blind, Lepofsky has been advocating for more adequate disability support for decades, including speaking at Parliament.

We weren't able to get a bill passed that was as strong as needed. And just last week he hosted a debate to hear what the different parties were promising in this election. Candidates from the Liberal, NDP and Green parties attended, no one from the Conservatives did. A number of them said, you know, the most I can do is advocate to my party that if we're elected, we should do something about this. It's estimated that more than 8 million people in Canada have a disability and counting, as Lepofsky points out.

Anybody can get a disability and anybody can end up in poverty. We need to be able to live and thrive in our communities, no matter who we are. To account for retrofitting living spaces, to make up for a lack of accessible housing, transit and social safety net just generally for people living with disabilities, Brad Evoy, a disability advocate from the Disability Justice Network of Ontario, who lives with cerebral palsy says

the federal top-up should be closer to A thousand to two thousand dollars a month, at least. The NDP has committed to doubling the Canada disability benefit, so four hundred dollars monthly. Yvoy says he would like the next federal government to ensure that provinces don't claw the money back, which is the case in Alberta. Basically what would happen is that the CDB would be counted as income by the province and therefore the benefits that they provide

would be reduced. Actually, there's been very little discussion of disability in this election thus far. Catherine Scott of the Canadian Centre for Policy and Alternatives says, of course disability support shouldn't just come in the form of a monthly check for a couple hundred dollars. She says issues like housing and pharma care should be looked at with an accessibility lens. Many pay huge costs attached to pharmaceuticals, assistive devices so that that's a key issue that needs to have greater attention as well. Hopefully we'll see costed proposals in the last couple of weeks of the election. I think all Canadians deserve that. The 8 million

plus Canadians living with a disability will be watching the candidates closely and no doubt using their votes to send a clear message. Ali Chasson, CBC News, Toronto. Later on the podcast, you've heard how Donald Trump's trade war will harm the auto sector and weaken the steel industry, but you probably didn't realize it's coming for your pasta carbonara as well. We'll tell you why the makers of a popular and pungent Italian cheese are worried. That's later on Your World Tonight. As Canadian students think about what they want to do after high school, more than a few want to trade in the maple leaf for a bit of ivy. Thousands of Canadians look south of the border to get a university education.

And the tension between the two countries is having some thinking twice. But as Philip Lee Shanuck reports, many others say the lure of opportunities is just too strong. There are just so many more schools. Toronto high school student Madeline Brown was one of hundreds at a U.S. college expo event. Like many here, the 16-year-old wants to continue her studies south of the border. I'm a hockey player and I know it for girls hockey especially. There's a lot more opportunities in America. It's easier to find that fit.

She says political tensions between Canada and the US over tariffs and US President Donald Trump's statements about annexing Canada don't really factor into her decision. Obviously I'm concerned about the situation between Canada and America but I think it's just a small blip in a long history of good relationships and hopefully future good relationships too. It's been great turnout. Education is going to outlast politics for sure. U.S. College Expo founder Joanna Severino says many Canadians who attend the event

are looking for athletic scholarships and this year the interest remains strong. There are over 4,000 options in the United States for student athletes. We're actually the number two in terms of recruits for NCAA athletes. Sixteen-year-old Suryansh Jung came to see what U.S. colleges have to offer. We're exploring our opportunities like Canada and like Ontario. We're trying to see everywhere, you know? But his mother, Tina Kumar, hears about international students at U.S. colleges having their visas cancelled and worries. Yeah, these things are a concern for sure. So if given a chance I would like to put my fund maybe in a Canadian university.

Beyond political tension, Scott Forbes, a recruiter for the University of Michigan, says there are also financial considerations. He says the decision to go to a U.S. school could mean graduating with lots of student debt. For a Canadian to go to the University of Michigan, it's 80,000 U.S. school could mean graduating with lots of student debt. For a Canadian to go to the University of Michigan, it's 80,000 U.S. Then you add on the difference in currency, you're looking at about $100,000 a year to go there. The difference in cost is why some U.S. students consider Canadian universities. Carrie Seminelli from Boston says her daughter, Meredith, has her heart set on attending McGill. I'm nervous as a parent to have her living on her own in Montreal,

but compared to like housing rates in Boston, she could actually afford to live on her own in Montreal. And she says she's worried about the Trump administration using the threat of funding cuts to curtail academic freedom. The government has withheld or is threatening to withhold billions from schools including the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Cornell, Northwestern and Harvard universities. Philip LeChanock, CBC News, Toronto.

Israeli defense forces have taken over a corridor in southern Gaza, cutting off the city of Rafa from the rest of the Strip. It's the latest in a series of operations by Israel to seize territory along the Gaza border to create a security zone since the breakdown of a ceasefire deal with Hamas. That has forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to evacuate towards the coastline. Defense Minister Israel Katz says the military will soon expand its offensive even further across most of the territory. Evacuation orders have been sent out in parts of northern and central Gaza. Now, as Israel does battle with Iran's proxies like Hamas, Israel's biggest ally, the United

States, is negotiating with Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program. It's the highest level meeting between the two adversaries in years. The first round of talks concluded Saturday, and more will be held next week. Chris Reyes has the details. Iran and Omani officials made a public appearance ahead of talks with the U.S. in Muscat, the capital of Oman. It's the first meeting between the two countries since the Obama administration, with Omani diplomats acting as hosts and mediators.

Iran's foreign minister said this about their interaction with the Americans. It was just a small conversation, said Minister Abbas Arakchi, an exchange of greetings and then we left the venue. The meeting lasted just over two hours, with Omani officials shuttling between two rooms. The American delegation was headed by President Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Woodcoff. Sajan Gouhel is with the Asia Pacific Foundation. He lays out what the U.S. has been demanding of Iran. It seems that the U.S. is potentially offering some relief of economic sanctions on Iran that could be lifted,

but they also want there to be the the Iranian regime to address the civil nuclear program and also to prevent Iran from enriching its uranium and the US also wants there to be a resumption of IAEA inspectors. So these are the challenges. That much President Trump has said and repeated again on Friday. I want them not to have a nuclear weapon. I want Iran to be a wonderful, great, happy country, but they can't have a nuclear weapon.

And we're negotiating with them on Saturday. We have a big meeting with them. In a post on X, Oman's foreign minister said, the talks happened in a friendly atmosphere, conducive to bridging viewpoints and ultimately achieving regional and global peace, security and stability. The White House also called the talks very positive and constructive. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ejmael Bagai said his country is giving diplomacy a real chance in order to advance the nuclear issues

and lift U.S. sanctions. Iran has always denied that it is developing nuclear weapons while Americans and its allies have raised concerns about it. President Trump has repeatedly warned that he will use military action against Iran if necessary. Both sides have agreed to meet again next week. Chris Reyes, CBC News, New York. Italy has quietly sent more than 40 rejected asylum seekers to a detention center in Albania. It's part of a revamped scheme to deter migration to Italy that was blocked by the country's

judicial system. But as Megan Williams reports, the government's workaround is drawing fresh legal scrutiny. An Italian official shows a group of journalists around one of two freshly built detention centres, made as part of a deal struck by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni with Albania's head Eri Rama. That was last October, when the camps were all set to take in their first migrants. Italy's plan was to use the prison-like compounds as extra-territorial processing centers for people from so-called safe countries, migrants trying to make it to Italy, but who would

instead be brought to Albania, then sent back home. A way for Italy to reduce migrant numbers quickly, speed up deportations, and deter more people from trying to come. But from the get-go, the scheme hit a humiliating setback for Maloney. Just hours after the first small group of migrants arrived, an Italian court ordered them to be sent to Italy, setting an EU law, and put the scheme, which cost hundreds of millions, on hold.

That is, until Friday, when 40 migrants stepped off the Italian ship in Albania, hands bound in front of them. The men weren't asylum seekers rescued in international waters, but from Italian detention centers where they'd been held after their asylum requests were rejected. Last month, Italy's right-wing government avoided admitting failure and leaving the structures empty by passing a decree to turn them into offshore repatriation hubs. Italian Democratic Party member and EU Parliamentarian Cecilia Strada opposes the plan, saying it's legally confused. She and other

opposition members also expressed outrage that the people were handcuffed and escorted by police and riot gear as they walked off the ship. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantodosi insists handcuffing the people is standard practice. But Albania human rights groups are concerned too. People are not even choosing to come to Albania, they are choosing to go to Italy, says head of the Albanian respublica NGO Dorian Matrija. There is also another fear

that there might be other camps as well in the future because this is just opening the door. Italy in the meantime is waiting for a ruling from the EU's court of justice Italy, in the meantime, is waiting for a ruling from the EU's Court of Justice, hoping the decision will allow it to resume its original plan of sending rescued migrants directly to Albania. Megan Williams, CBC News, Rome. The British government says it will use emergency powers to take control of the country's last major steelworks. MPs were called back from an Easter break to debate the legislation in a rare sitting.

British Steel employs about 2,700 workers in the northern English town of Scunthorpe. Its Chinese owners say the plant is no longer financially viable. Britain's business secretary says the next step will likely be to nationalize the company. President Donald Trump's so-called reciprocal tariffs may be paused for now, business secretary says the next step will likely be to nationalize the company. President Donald Trump's so-called reciprocal tariffs may be paused for now, but the trade war hasn't ended. Tariffs of 10 percent remain in place on most U.S. trading partners. For the Italian island of Sardinia, even these smaller tariffs are likely to hit hard.

Dairy farmers there are bracing for impact and warning their industry and their island's economy could face collapse. John Last has more on that story. Everywhere you go in Sardinia, from its craggy mountains to its sunny coasts, you're likely to run into these guys. Sardinia is home to more than three million sheep, twice as many as there are people. And for centuries, their milk and cheese has formed the backbone of the local culture and economy. Elsewhere in the world, though, it's

been hard to find buyers for the distinctive and super salty cheese, except in one place, the United States. Today, as much as a third of Sardinia's Pecorino Romano is destined for the US.S. market. Though perhaps not for long. The European Union's been very bad to us. Since taking office, Europe has been a major target of U.S. President Donald Trump's growing trade war. And even though he recently put a 90-day pause on so-called reciprocal tariffs of 20 percent,

Sardinia's cheese is still subject to a new 10% import tax. For small cheese makers like Paciou, it's the latest in a series of blows to their industry. First the pandemic, then rising energy costs from the Ukraine war, and now Trump have eaten into already thin margins. And it's not only small producers who are worried. A couple of hours drive up Sardinia's eastern coast, I find Carlo Mergia at the milking facility for the Silvio Boi Dairy Company among his 2,400 sheep. He had plans to expand his facility to accommodate 10 times as many, making him Sardinia's single largest

producer of sheep's milk. But most of that milk would be destined for big cheese companies that make Pecorino Romano for U.S. export. That means Trump's terrorists could put those plans at risk. A well-managed farm like this could operate between 20 and 30 percent. So if you have tariffs that involve your business for 25, like Trump is saying, it could be very disruptive for all of us. At least Pichau and Mergia are not alone. Italy has some unique vulnerabilities to these tariffs.

Jürgen Fleck is a senior director with the Europe Center at the Atlantic Council, a foreign policy think tank. Over the last decade, he says, Italy has exposed itself to U.S. trade action by aggressively expanding its export trade to America. It is the third largest trading partner in Europe for the United States. Ten percent of all Italian exports go to the United States. 10% of all Italian exports go to the United States." Even like tariffs, he says, could seriously disrupt Italy's prized artisanal food industry, not to mention their export of cars, machine parts and pharmaceuticals to America. It's no surprise, then, that trade will be top of the agenda for Italian Prime Minister Georgia Maloney on a visit to Washington later this month. For Murgia and many others in Italy, their future may depend on a successful outcome to that conversation.

There are not so many other solutions. For CBC News, I'm John Last in Cali, Italy. A huge peat bog in northeast Scotland has become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The flow country of Sutherland and Caithness was home to many of Canada's founding immigrants, Peat bog in northeast Scotland has become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The flow country of Sutherland and Caithness was home to many of Canada's founding immigrants, and its new status is down to the work of a world-leading Canadian professor. She's hoping the new status will help undo some environmental impacts that drove people to emigrate.

Richard Baines reports. Svagnum moss is one of the key bog builders. Roxanne Anderson is a peat scientist. We have sedges like the cotton grass and we also have heather. They're all really, really well adapted to these conditions. Originally from Quebec, she came to Scotland to study in 2009. I had this really strange feeling that I had found my place in the world, that I'd found a home away from home and that feeling never left me.

Now she's Professor Roxanne Anderson of the University of the Highlands and Islands on the edge of the Flo country and drove the successful bid for World Heritage status. Despite that status the flows are badly damaged in places. That began with the infamous Sutherland clearances of the 19th century when the Gaelic speaking farmers were thrown out by aristocratic landlords to make way for sheep ranches. This is what an emigrants kist might have been like after they'd been removed as a result of the Highland Clearances. Historian Fiona Mackenzie runs a local museum.

What would they have taken with them to start a new life? A Bible, which would have been very important. Butterpats and a potato masher. The kettle here. It tells the story of the cleared people. There's a concept in Gaelic called Duchas. It describes the complex relationship between culture, environment and people. They wouldn't have viewed the land as being something that they own. They very

much saw themselves as custodians of that land. That was all lost when the people left, many of course heading to Canada. The Highland Clearances brought along a really big change in land ownership with very big estates over which one single land use could be imposed much easier, made it possible to have very very large areas with forestry or very very large areas with drainage. Drains and trees both dry the peat out, destroying it and releasing millions of tons of carbon. Now World Heritage Status is encouraging the undoing of this damage with specialist machinery, bringing back people and prosperity. My name is Gary McKay, I work for John McKay Limited. World Heritage Status should have a positive impact on our business.

There's still quite an area to be done and some of these sites that on the fringes of the World Heritage Site it might make them want to come up to the same standards. It can bring highly skilled jobs, new families, people coming back to the area in the Pitland that could really deliver for the people of the communities around Caithas and Sutherland. Undoing the damage to this land then will also start to undo the damage to people inflicted here. Richard Baines for CBC News in Scotland's Flow Country.

And finally tonight it has all the drama, high stakes and nail biting anguish of an Olympic event, but it's kids in Newfoundland and they're spelling words. Next word on my list is reiterate. Reiterate? It's worth saying again, these kids are the best from across 20 schools in Newfoundland. Encyclopedia E and C. Their young brains stuffed with words, their necks craning down or up on that microphone.

And their relieved smiles when they get to sit back down. If you've never seen one of these, it's equal parts heartbreaking. EGIS. E-I-G- and nerve-wracking. Come on buddy, you got this. E-N-D-O-U-S? Correct. Oh and the best part is hearing kids say words you don't expect them to even know. Necrosis. Eviscerate.

Predilection. Ultimately though, it's a marathon, not a sprint. And soon the bell's tolled for speller after speller, leaving the final two battling back and forth on iridescent, cockatoo, fiesta, and the final word? Plesora. P-L-E-T-H-O-R-A. What's the word? Correct.

The winner was Mason Gill and after knocking out the competition, you can cut the third grader some slack for his two word victory speech. Oh my. I guess you could say he's indefatigable. Mason can now head to Ottawa to compete nationally later this summer. This has been Your World Tonight. I'm Anand Ram, G-O-O-D-N-I-G-H-T. I had to do it, right? For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.