{"text":[[{"start":9.2,"text":"Prime Minister Mark Carney has launched a C$5bn (US$3.6bn) fund to support tariff-hit industries and ordered the public sector to “Buy Canadian” as part of sweeping measures to combat Donald Trump’s trade war."}],[{"start":24.85,"text":"“We will build more with Canadian steel, Canadian lumber, Canadian technology, (with) Canadian workers,” Carney said in Mississauga, Ontario, on Friday."}],[{"start":35.900000000000006,"text":"The prime minister announced the “bold new approach” in response to the US pressure on Canada’s lumber, car, steel and aluminium sectors that has hit the economy."}],[{"start":47.45,"text":"The US president last month imposed 35 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods excluded from the US Mexico and Canada free trade agreement. Trump also put duties of up to 50 per cent on steel and aluminium and renewed anti-dumping levies on softwood lumber."}],[{"start":69.18,"text":"Carney said: “Our new industrial strategy will help transform our economy from being overly reliant on the United States to one that is more resilient to global shocks.”"}],[{"start":79.68,"text":"While more than 85 per cent of Canada-US trade remains tariff free, Carney announced a “strategic response fund” to protect businesses in industries such as steel, cars, aluminium and lumber."}],[{"start":95.28,"text":"The public sector would be set up as an “anchor” to use local businesses for tenders rather than the US or foreign sources, he said."}],[{"start":104.42,"text":"“We need to use government procurement using Canadian taxpayer dollars to spur Canadian businesses for longer term prosperity.”"}],[{"start":112.6,"text":"François Desmarais, vice-president of trade and industrial affairs for the Canadian Steel Producers Association, said local producers can “replace more than 80 per cent of the imported steel consumed domestically”."}],[{"start":127.44,"text":"Canada’s economy shrank 1.6 per cent on an annualised basis in the second quarter, as Trump’s tariffs hit exports to the US, Statistics Canada reported last week."}],[{"start":138.57,"text":"The agency on Friday reported the unemployment rate was 7.1 per cent — the highest level since 2016, excluding during the pandemic."}],[{"start":149.41,"text":"In an attempt to support the local automobile industry, Carney on Friday announced a review of the government’s electric vehicle mandate, which sets out mandatory sales targets for zero-emission cars."}],[{"start":163.2,"text":"The 2026 goal for 20 per cent of light-duty vehicle sales in Canada to be electric would no longer apply, he said."}],[{"start":172.39999999999998,"text":"Brian Kingston, president of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, said the move was an “important first step” to scrapping the mandate altogether."}],[{"start":183.67999999999998,"text":"“A full repeal of the regulation is the most effective way to provide immediate relief to the industry and keep it competitive,” he posted on X."}],[{"start":194.20999999999998,"text":"Since taking office in April, Carney has removed retaliatory measures against the US and cut Canada’s digital service tax to ease tensions with Washington after months of unfruitful negotiations."}],[{"start":209.26,"text":"Canada’s trading relationship with the US is worth roughly C$1.3tn annually, with most of the country’s exports going to its southern neighbour. It is Washington’s second-largest trading partner."}],[{"start":223.29,"text":"One of Carney’s central pledges during this year’s election campaign was to make Canada “the strongest economy in the G7” with a push to diversify away from an over-reliance on the US."}],[{"start":244.19,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftmailbox.cn/album/a_1757286484_1828.mp3"}