Canada

Canada has opened the door to Chinese electric cars. The US warns: “they are going to regret it”

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Canada has reopened the doors of electric vehicles from China, giving a radical turn to its trade policy. Last Friday, Prime Minister Mark Carney reduced tariffs by 100% to 6.1%, which could take the Canadian automobile market to a new horizon. Below these lines we tell you what this may imply. Change. The move comes a year after Canada impose massive tariffs to Chinese electric vehicles, following in the footsteps of the United States under the Biden administration. The argument, as describe from the BBC, was that they considered China to be carrying out ‘a policy of deliberate overproduction’. Now, with relations between Canada and the United States on somewhat delicate ground under the Trump administration, the Canadian government has chosen to diversify its trade alliances. “We take the world as it is, not as we would like it to be,” counted Carney. Quantities. The initial agreement allows the entry of up to 49,000 electric vehicles annually from China with the reduced tariff of 6.1%. This figure represents approximately 3% of the total Canadian market, which is around two million vehicles per year, according to account the Driving medium. According to the prime minister, the quota could increase to 70,000 vehicles within five years. Furthermore, the agreement stipulates that, in that period, more than 50% of these vehicles must be affordable models with an import price of less than 35,000 Canadian dollars (about 21,569 euros at the exchange rate). Date. Although there is no exact confirmed date, several media predict its arrival in the coming weeks. Addisu Lashitew, associate professor at the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University, counted to the CBC that Chinese manufacturers have the capacity to accelerate production and ship quickly. BYD, the largest Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicles, even operates its own cargo ships, which could shorten shipping times even further. Brands that will arrive first. Curiously, the first brands to benefit from this opening will not necessarily be the purely Chinese ones. Tesla is in a prime position to take advantage of the deal immediately, according to they count from Reuters. Elon Musk’s company had already equipped its Shanghai plant in 2023 to manufacture a specific version of the Model Y destined for Canada, exporting more than 44,000 vehicles that year before the 100% tariffs came into effect. Other brands with a previous presence include Volvo and Polestar, both owned by the Chinese group Geely. For purely Chinese brands like BYD or Nio, the process will be somewhat slower, as they will have to establish dealer networks, service chains and spare parts markets from scratch. Disparate political reaction. The Premier of Saskatchewan (province of Canada), Scott Moe, celebrated the agreement as “very good news,” especially since China has committed to reducing tariffs on Canadian agricultural products such as rapeseed. However, Ontario Premier Doug Ford critical harshly criticized the move, calling Chinese electric vehicles “subsidized spy cars” and warning that the deal would “damage our economy and lead to job losses.” To put it in context, Ontario is the province where the Canadian automobile industry is concentrated. The US response. United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer qualified the agreement “problematic” and warned that Canada might regret it. However, President Trump declared that it was “a good thing” and that “if you can get a deal with China, you should do it.” The reflection of Japan. In 1981, Canada reached a similar agreement with Japan, allocating unit quotas instead of prices. The result was that Japanese manufacturers simply moved up the range: Civics became Accords, Corollas became Camrys. In two or three years, the average price of an imported Japanese car went from $8,000 to $14,000, as remember Greig Mordue, director of the Master of Engineering and Public Policy program at McMaster University, told Driving. However, that agreement also led to Honda and Toyota establishing production plants in Canada, today becoming the two largest vehicle manufacturers in the country. In fact, according to revealed A senior Canadian official told the CBC, the government wants to explore the idea of ​​​​creating joint ventures and investments with Chinese companies in the next three years to build a Canadian electric vehicle with Chinese know-how. More competition. Lashitew emphasize that the entry of cheaper Chinese vehicles will force other manufacturers to lower their prices, which would make electric vehicles more accessible to consumers and help Canada move toward its emissions reduction goals. “With electric vehicles still 30% to 50% more expensive than comparable gasoline cars, reducing trade barriers would significantly ease the affordability constraint,” he noted. Cover image | aboodi vesakaran and Xataka In Xataka | Cars are so absurdly expensive that FIAT already has a plan to solve it: limit them to 117km/h

When nuclear energy orbited the Earth. The day a Soviet satellite with a reactor fell in Canada and unleashed a crisis

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In the late 1970s, the idea that a nuclear reactor could fall from space ceased to be science fiction and became a real problem on the table of several governments. A Soviet satellite with a reactor on board It had lost control and was heading towards the Earth’s atmosphere, without anyone being able to specify where its remains would end up or what consequences the impact would have. In the midst of the Cold War, secrecy and urgency marked decisions. From there, questions arose that remain uncomfortable today: what was a nuclear reactor doing in orbit, why that risk was accepted, and what happens when technology escapes the script. As CBC points outOn January 24, 1978, the Soviet satellite Kosmos-954 re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere after weeks of tracking by American radars. No one knew with certainty where he would fall or in what state his remains would reach the ground. Eventually, fragments of the device were scattered over a vast region of northern Canada, from the Northwest Territories to areas that are now part of Nunavut and northern Alberta and Saskatchewan. What began as an orbital control problem suddenly became an international emergency with scientific, diplomatic and health implications. The day the Cold War left radioactive remains over Canada Kosmos-954 was neither a scientific satellite nor an isolated experimental mission, but one more piece of a Soviet military system designed to monitor the oceans. It was part of the US-A series, designed to locate large ships, especially American aircraft carriers, using radar. To power this system, which is very demanding in terms of energy consumption, the Soviet Union resorted to a compact nuclear reactor, a solution that allowed operate for long periods without depending on solar panels. That technical choice explains why the satellite had fissile material on board and why its loss generated so much concern. The technological heart of Kosmos-954 was a BES-5 reactor, known as “Buk”, developed specifically for Soviet military satellites. This type of reactor used uranium-235 and was designed to power the US-A system radar for the life of the satellite. The BBC estimates that 31 devices were launched with BES-5 for this family of satellites, and places the use of reactors in space until the end of the 1980s, with launches that continued until 1988. That history was not a clean line, according to the BBC: there were previous failures and accidents, including serious problems in one of the first flights in 1970 and the fall of another reactor into the Pacific Ocean after a launcher failure in 1973, in addition to the plan security plan contemplated moving the core into a waste orbit to prevent its return to Earth. Arctic Operational Histories explains that The signs that something was wrong came weeks before re-entry. Tracking systems detected that Kosmos-954 was progressively losing altitude, an anomaly that indicated a serious failure in its orbital control. The United States began to follow its trajectory with special attentionaware that the satellite had a nuclear reactor on board. The big unknown was not only when it would fall, but whether the Soviet security system would manage to separate the core and send it to a safe orbit before the device entered the atmosphere. When it was confirmed that the debris had fallen on Canadian territory, the problem took on a completely new dimension. Authorities knew the fragments were scattered over a vast, largely remote, snow-covered region, making any quick assessment difficult. The first measurements detected radiation in some points, although without a clear map of the contamination. Faced with this uncertainty, Canada had to quickly decide how to protect the population and how to locate potentially hazardous materials in an extreme environment. To confront an unprecedented situation, Canada turned to international cooperation. Operation Morning Light mobilized Canadian and American military personnel, scientists and technicians, many of them from units specialized in nuclear emergencies. From improvised bases in the north, flights equipped with sensors capable of detecting radiation from the air were organized. Each anomalous signal led to more detailed inspections, in a race against time marked by extreme cold and lack of infrastructure. As the search continued, it became clear that the contamination was more complex than expected. Not only visible fragments of the satellite appeared, but also much smaller radioactive particles, difficult to detect and remove. This forced the teams to take extreme precautions expand tracking areas. At the same time, delicate communication work began with the northern communities, who wanted to know what real risks existed for health, water and the fauna on which they depended. As the weeks passed, the operation narrowed its objectives. The official Morning Light phase lasted 84 days, although CBC describes the search effort as extending through most of 1978 and the search covering an area of ​​124,000 square kilometers. In this process, 66 kilograms of remains were recovered and Canada considered the immediate threat to the population and the environment contained. The economic cost was raised and Ottawa claimed 6.1 million dollars from the Soviet Union, which in 1981 agreed to pay half, opening an unusual diplomatic process for an incident of this type. The case of Kosmos-954 was not closed with the removal of the remains from the ground. In the months since, the incident reached international forums and fueled an uncomfortable debate about the use of nuclear power in space. Several countries demanded greater security guarantees and more transparency in programs that, until then, had been developed under strong secrecy. The episode served to reinforce the idea that space accidents do not understand borders and that their consequences could directly affect third countries. Images | Arctic Operational Histories In Xataka | Mars is left with one less line of coverage: NASA loses contact with its key orbital repeater

In Galicia, shellfish harvesters are capturing clams and then returning them to the sea. There is a reason and it is in Canada

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The normal thing when shellfish harvesters collect clams is that this product then ends up in the fish markets and goes from these to the fishmongers, supermarkets and finally to the tables. That’s normal. Over the last few weeks in the brotherhoods of Vilanova and Rianxo, in the Rías Baixas, things have been something different: The bivalves arrived at the market, but from there they returned to the sea, a frustrating round trip for professionals that reveals a lot about the market. To understand it you have to cross the Atlantic. What has happened? The news spread a few days ago the newspaper Vigo Lighthouse. Over the last few weeks, some brotherhoods in the Arousa estuary have been forced to withdraw lots of clams from the auctions to return the catches to the sea. It happened on at least one occasion in Rianxo and two others in Vilanova, where the professionals also decided to give up two days of work. In reality, there is little mystery about it: the merchandise was quoted at prices so low that it did not even cover the minimum cost. In order not to undersell it, the shellfish collectors choose to withdraw the lots from the auctions and return the bivalves to the estuary. Was it quoted that low? It seems so. Óscar Fernández, president of the group of shellfish harvesters of Vilanova, remember that at the end of 2024 the group decided to update its prices to prevent its professionals from continuing to lose purchasing power. To be more precise, what was agreed is that the minimum rate for japonica clams would rise by two euros/kilo, going from seven to nine, and the fine clam would remain at 30 euros/kilo, ten more than before. Any quote that fell below that minimum would be discarded. Or in other words, the seafood would be removed from the market to be returned to the sea, which is exactly what they have done in Arousa. “The decision was made a year ago, but until now there had been no need to remove lots of clams from the fish market,” Fernández told Lighthouse. Among the discarded merchandise there was so much japonica clam as fine. Not only that. Faced with the prospect that the rates would not exceed the minimum, in Vilanova they chose to give up two days of work. Better that than underselling. Can it go further? That seafood moves in ‘discrete’ figures at this time of year is nothing exceptional. Summer is behind us and there are still several weeks until Christmas, so the sector is accustomed to November not being exactly a buoyant month. This fall, however, is out of the ordinary. The Galician Fishing platform sample that the average price (market) in Arousa so far this year is €15.05/kilo. They are 50 cents less than the average for 2024 and are far from the 16.38 that were reached in 2023. The figures (yes) must be handled with caution. To begin with, because they show annual averages, so those of the last two years include December. If we look at the monthly data, in October the kilo was quoted at €13.1, its lowest level since March. In November the average has risen again to 17.54. Another key is that the indicators include slimy clams, bicudasfine, blonde and Japanese. However, professionals in the area do not hide their misgivings. “When Noia opened we noticed a big drop in prices. This week they rose a little, but they are still below those of 2024,” comments Fernandez. And what are the causes? More important than prices are the factors that influence them. And the sector clearly points out two: the effect of Noia opening and the arrival of foreign products. “Seafood is coming in from other places,” says Miguel Ángel Iglesias, Rianxo’s senior boss, who warns that the problem is not so much the pressure it exerts on the native merchandise but rather certain questionable practices. “There are people who sell it as if it were from here.” Hence, a greater effort by the Xunta is missing to avoid fraud and mislabelling. “There is a consumer who is willing to pay a little more for our product and we have to prevent them from taking clams from other sources because the labeling is ambiguous,” Iglesias claims in statements to Lighthouse. Just like other branches In the primary sector, shellfish harvesters demand that the authorities demand the same standards for imported products as local products, with the same “sanitary guarantees” and transparent traceability. In the union, of course, not everyone seems to be having the same bad time: in Vilaxoán they have also noticed a drop in the price of, for example, the japonica clam, but in Cambados they have seen a rise in prices in recent days. Is it something new? Not quite. Before the production crisis suffered by the shellfish banks of Galicia, part of the industry has chosen to look for gender abroadin countries like Canada, Italy, Portugal or Morocco. I explained it a few months ago The Voice of Galicia in a comprehensive analysis in which he recalls that, although the competition from the Dutch, Portuguese or Irish bivalve comes from afar, it seems to have intensified since 2023, when (on the eve of Christmas and after strong erasures) the Galician shellfish harvesters found themselves with a challenging scenario: an increase in clam and cockle mortality. Where does the merchandise come from? Now professionals work in a market that has been forced to look for alternatives to cover the demand for seafood, which, in practice, means that the local genus must compete with bivalves from Bulgaria, Ireland, Sweden, Morocco, Portugal, Holland or Canada. “It comes from many places,” recognized in summer to The Voice Trini Lois, a good connoisseur of the Arousa fish markets. “Galicia is the only place where shellfish harvesting did not rebound. In Portugal it was at a low point, but they once again have high production and are selling.” Regarding … Read more

Generic medications have been trying to site Ozempic for years. And now they have found a shortcut in Canada

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Something strange has happened with the patent that protects Ozempic In Canada. By mistake or by strategic decision, Novo Nordisk, the company responsible for developing the semaglutida, the compound on which the popular drug is based has been without paying the maintenance rates of this patent. An error of millions. The surprise jumped a few days ago. The chemist and expert disseminator in Pharmaceutical Industry Derek Lowe indicated Through an article in Science that the Danish pharmaceutical 370 dollars Canadians annual) that protects the compound on which drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy are based. According to the Canada patent databasethe status of this patent is that of “expired and beyond the reversal period.” According to the Canadian Law, companies have a 12 -month grace period for claims and payment of late payments (another 150 Canadian dollars today). A period that would have already exceeded. Rubbing his hands. History began to reveal itself earlier this month. In an interview With the media specialized in pharmaceutical industry, Richard Saynor, CEO of Sandoz, talked about launching a generic medicine based on the peptide similar to glucagon 1 (LPG-1), the hormone to which the semaglutida to make its antidiabetic and slimming effect. As Lowe explains in his piece, the competition in the generic market can become “extremely beast.” Companies dedicated to this type of drugs seek as much as possible the patents, looking for failures that can invalidate them and thus be able to enter new markets. And today there are few markets as tempting as that of agonists of the GLP-1 hormone receptors such as Ozempic, Wegovy or Rybelsus. This family of drugs, oriented in its origin to treat diabetes, has achieved immense success for its slimming effect, triggering a whole revolution not only pharmaceutical, but also economic. A permeable border. An important detail mentioned by Saynor in its interview is that Canada is the second major semaglutidal market (after the United States). This would not be, speculate, because Canadians are great consumers of the drug, but is probably a consequence of the cross -border business. “There is clearly a dynamic, as with insulin, with business through the border,” Explains the director of Sandoz. “It will be interesting how this evolves,” he says. Evil of many … The expiration of the patent in Canada would not only affect Novo Nordisk but also could suppose a hard blow to its main competitor in the diabetes treatments and weight loss, the American Eli Lilly. The entrance into the market of a generic competitor would imply that the manufacturing company of Zepbound and Mounjaro. These drugs are based on the tirzepatida, a compound that acts as an analogue of the LPG-1 and also of another hormone called polypeptide gastric inhibitor or GIP. A mistake? An error? We began pointing out that patents are a fundamental pillar of the pharmaceutical industry which makes the doubt prevailing: why? It is difficult to know if everything is due to a simple error or a calculated strategy. “I never knew why this is sure that someone lost their job, but it doesn’t matter,” Saynor held in his interview. If it were a mistake, it would not be a mere mistake. According to Lowe explainsthe company showed in writing there by 2017 its reluctance to the payment of the maintenance rate of the Canadian patent of the Semaglutida. He boom Ozempic would not be given until years later, because perhaps the company was not able to anticipate success and considered the price of maintaining a patent in the North American country. In Xataka | In search of “natural ozempic”: what science knows about diets that simulate the effect of miracle medications Image | Rene Baker / Chemist4u

The US has decided that the Gulf of Mexico is called the “Gulf of America.” Canada has avenged the “Canadian coffee”

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In a stage of tensions between countries, everything is political. To coffee. The Donald Trump’s arrival at the White House To fulfill his second term he is being a tsunami. He has put The chips industry abovehas arrived with Tariffs under your arm For Mexico and Canada, it has the Celectric eight at the point of sightas well as renewable energiesand plan to be harder with China. These actions, among others, have aroused a feeling of Boicot to American productsand it is so deep that neither coffee is fought. But not a brand or something, but an elaboration: Canada wants to steal American coffee. And Mexico also points. The American is not American. The history of American coffee is most curious. We have seen this preparation dozens of times in cinema and television. Also in coffee shops in half the world to discover that it is a cuffed coffee (in broad strokes, it has its “art” to know the proportions) and we might think that it is an American ‘invention’. But no: it turns out that it is European. Italian, to be more exact. In the United States they have the habit of filling the cup to the top with coffee alone. Filter coffee is very rooted in the country, but in the Europe of the Second World Warcoffee drank differently. It seems that, during the campaign in Italy, Americans who wanted coffee to enjoy the drink or Stay alert They couldn’t stand the espresso Italian (the roasted grains of more do not help) and the baristas prepared A combination of your palate taste: a espresso to which they added hot water to reduce it. Coffee voltage. That combination was baptized as ‘American’ and, in the end, the participation of Americans in their creation was simply that the most intense coffee was not for their taste. But well, it is still a preparation that is really settled, but as we say, to a scrambled river, everything is political and, in Canada, the ‘American’ is no longer so well seen. Recently, and due to political tensions between both countriessome coffee shops have made the decision to change the name ‘American’ for ‘Canadiano’. The elaboration is the same and, in summary accounts, among the American soldiers who fought in Italy there were also Canadians, so they will estimate that they have the same right to keep coffee. Marketing or rebellion? But it is not so much for ‘cultural’ appropriation, for defining it in some way, as to use it. Against what? Because against those tariffs driven by Trump (which are running with a Canadian response, on the other hand). It was the Kicking Horse Coffee cafeteria the first that started this movement that has penetrated between the press specialized in coffee and that has reached media such as CBC News. But, at the same time that there are those who see in this a way to reaffirm the Canadian identity, there are also critics that estimate that it is an orchestrated marketing strategy to sell more coffee among those who have that patriotic fire. And yes, Kicking Horse Coffee has been calling ‘Canadian’ for 16 years to elaboration, but as they explain In their networksnow they make it official and seek that the rest of Canadian coffee shops do the same. Some He has already taken the witness. “For 16 years, Kicking Horse Coffee has been called Canadiano to the Americans. Now, we make this official and ask the coffee shops throughout the country to join. Call it ‘Canadiano’” Mexico wonders things. In whatever, the idea has reached a Mexico that will be used to the change of name of the Gulf of Mexico for that of Gulf of America (America not for the continent, but for that American idea that they are America). In the Latin American country there are already those who are exploring The idea of ​​renowing American coffee as ‘Mexican coffee’ or ‘coffee of pot’. Now, Mexico already has a ‘pot of pot’. It is a typical way of preparing coffee in the country that consists of preparing it in a clay pot as if it were an infusion. It is more typical in rural areas than in large cities, but the issue is not so much the name and … politics. Boycott. We will see if it covers that campaign to replace the American with the Canadian (who, to propose, each country could now put the name he wants), but what is evident is that Trump’s arrival is causing movements worldwide. We have already commented that in Europe and Canada there are movements that ask for the boycott To American products, in networks there are lists European software and hardware to stop depending on the American and have even seen Virulent reactions to products like Tesla cars. Next to cars burning, the Canadian looks like a joke. In Xataka | The intricate technology behind a coffee capsule: how Nespresso has tried to create an “ecosystem” to Apple

The longest land border in the world made by the human being is a gigantic firewall between the US and Canada

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One of the most controversial borders of the last weeks is, curiously, one in which there are no war conflicts: the one that separates Canada from the United States. It is a peculiar border, with numerous rural points without surveillance and whose straight line looks like a gigantic firewall visible from spaceliterally dividing what he finds in his path. And, although it seems that something like this is a vote of confidence among good neighbors, the latest events show that even the world’s least monitored border can become tensions scenario. The longest in the world. It extends along the whopping of 8,891 kilometers and, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris Of 1783, there were the first steps to define limits in the territory of future United States and British Columbia. It was the moment in which the United States War of Independence was put an end, but the final demarcation of the border would take more than a century to arrive, and would do so in the form of a gigantic firewall. Literally: There is no need to throw imagination: that central line extends thousands and thousands of kilometers The ‘firewall’. The upper image represents a tiny border segment, in one of the rural areas. It is taken from Google Maps Because it is a border of the most visual (and I encourage you to throw a rare sailing through the app discovering curious cases). If a river or a mountain range does not physically separate the territory, Canadians and American are distanced by a gigantic firewall who, in much of the border, is still a straight line that divides forest, rural and even cities. The entire central part of the border and even the Pacific responds to that design based on parallel 49 After the Treaties of Paris and Jaythere were still fringes that would not be resolved until decades later, but one of the decisive moments arrived at the London Convention of 1818. In it, the 49 parallel was established as the border between the two countries, from the Lake Forests to the Rocky Mountains. In 1846, the Oregon treaty The witness collected, continuing the decision that the 49 parallel marked the border from the roco mountains to the Pacific, except a Vancubert that remained in the northern domains. The firewall and a road portion that gets into Canada … and returns to the US Even so, there were borders that were still clear, such as Alaska, so arbitration was created specifically designed for that border. In 1908 the border was consolidated in the International Limits Commission. It was then that the decision was made to physically demarcate the division, creating an immense firewall or strip that definitely marked the limits of each country. The border is full of these markers that delimit the state to which each area belongs Together, but not scrambled. Imagine that you are playing a video game and you want to define a division without you care where the lines fall. Well, a similar case is the one that is lived in some locations that have part of the territory in the United States and part in Canada. It is not that there are curious cases such as Mexico City (which on one side of the street are in the State of Mexico and, in the other, in Mexico City), but that there are buildings with a division that marks that its plant is in two different countries. An example is the Library of Derby Line, Vermont, or Stanstead, Quebec (depends on the side of the border on which you are). On the floor of the reading room there is a black line that marks the country where you are, being one of the most curious cases, but not the only one. In Vermont and Quebec there are houses that catch in the middle of the border, cases such as the Halfway house, which was a tavern/hotel built in 1820 before that part of the border was established and other examples of land with part in the United States and another part in Canada. The house in the US, the tools house in Canada Golf cart parked in the US, Hoyos in Canada Half of the house pays taxes on one side, the other in the other. It is a joke, but there are few constructions that share country Point Roberts. But there are not only lands split in half: also areas that belong to one of the two countries and those that are only land link through the opposite nation. Maybe Alaska is the most famous – also the largest – and, although connected by the Arctic and the Pacific through ship, if you want to go by land you can only through Canada. Point Roberts is one of the curious examples. It is located in the state of Washington and is the ‘piquito’ of a peninsula only accessible by land through Canada. It is one of those cases in which you cross a street and pass from the Canadian city Delta to the American Point Roberts. Point Roberts Something similar occurs with Elm Point, a small uninhabited cape surrounded by lake except by the north, being Canadian territory and the only way to access by land. There are many more examples like this, such as the island of Province whose southern end belongs to the United States and where we can see another example of that firewall we were talking about before. Elm Point Elm Point closely Machias Seal. But of course, so many situations of a territory cut by the border gives rise to some tensions, and the best example of this is that of the Machias Seal Island. It is an island in the Gulf of Maine that is administered by Canada, but which the United States claims as theirs. No one lives, but there is a lighthouse built in 1832 in which Canada maintains Coast Guard personnel. And the reason for this interest on the … Read more

Elon Musk is a citizen of Canada since 1989. Now 230,000 Canadians have claimed to remove it

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As Trump Special Advisor Elon Musk is part of a government that it seems to threaten Canadian sovereignty, especially after Trump repeatedly hinted that Canada should become The 51st State of the United States. Canadians have responded with the bureaucratic tools they have, and now it is time to decide the government, bound by the law itself. Hundreds of thousands of signatures. Elon Musk’s Canadian citizenship, awarded in 1989 Thanks to his mother, Maye Muskoriginally from Saskatchewan, is located in the center of a growing political controversy in Canada. The reason? More than 200,000 citizens have signed A parliamentary request requesting that citizens be revoked due to its proximity to Donald Trump and their alleged involvement in activities contrary to the national interests of Canada. The requestpresented on February 20 at the Chamber of the Commons in Canada by the writer Qualia Reed and sponsored by the parliamentarian Charlie Angus, of the new Democratic Party (NDP), He has won traction Very fast. His main argument: that Musk, acting as a Trump advisor, has backed a foreign government that threatens Canadian sovereignty. In particular, they point out the aggressive rhetoric of the president, who has threatened Impose severe tariffs to Canadian products and has even suggested that more than unlikely Annexation of Canada as the 51 state of the nation. Reasons of the petition and reactions. As we said, the discontent of the signatories lies in Musk’s attitude Faced with American politics, as well as in its total support for Trump and its economic policies. Musk has promoted, for example, initiatives to reduce federal spending in the United States under the new administration, which has led to Mass cuts in agencies such as the Department of Venaries’ Affairs, the Department of Defense and the National Parks Service. The conflict between Musk and Trudeau. There is more, of course. Its use of social network X, acquired in 2022, has been key in the controversy. Musk mocked the Canadian Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau, after his announcement of resignation as the leader of the Liberal Party, praising instead of the conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, in what was seen as an interference in Canadian politics. Besides, Trump’s threats Towards Canada have intensified public outrage. In a recent speech, the president referred again to Trudeau as a simple “governor”, minimizing the independence of the country. The conflict climbed when Trump and his press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said the nation should become partly in the United Statesto which Trudeau responded bluntly In X: “There is no possibility in the hell that Canada becomes part of the United States. Workers and communities in both countries benefit from being the largest commercial and mutual security partners.” The economic factor and commercial tensions. Beyond the political debate, Trump’s position and Musk towards Canada has also generated concern in the economic field. Trump has threatened impose 25% tariffs to Canadian imports, a measure that would have had significant consequences for the country’s economy. Be that as it may, these tariffs have been delayed until March 4, after Trump declared that the Canada government had taken measures to combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking in cooperation with the United States. Is it possible to revoke citizens? It is the big question. According to the Canadian law, citizenship It can be revoked In cases of fraud, false information in the application for immigration or threat to national security, but there are no precedents of a revocation for political reasons or ideological alignments. It is also allowed Voluntary renunciation of citizenssomething that Musk has not indicated that he would consider. That said, the petition has overcome the threshold of 500 signatures required to be formally presented to Parliament. After its presentation, it will be the government who decides if it progresses or rejects it. Meanwhile, the House of Commons will resume sessions on March 24, although a possible call for general elections before that date could also affect the progress of the petition. An unknown scenario. Despite the magnitude of the petition, experts agree that the possibility of revoking the citizenship of Musk It is low. Irene Bloemraad, immigration and citizenship specialist at British Columbia University, explained to Washington Post That “although the petition reaches millions of signatures, the government cannot simply revoke the citizenship of a person.” Also, Gideon Christian, Professor of Law at the University of Calgary, He stressed that Any attempt at revocation should “follow the legal procedures established for all Canadian citizens.” In the distant scenario on which the revocation was approved and executed, Musk would have to wait 10 years to request the Canadian citizenship again. The businessman would continue to keep his American and South African citizenships, of course, but losing his Canadian passport could affect his investments and commercial relations in the country. Image | Duncan.hull, Open Grid Sche In Xataka | Mark Zuckerberg wanted to get on Elon Musk’s wake to improve his image: public opinion continues to hate him the same In Xataka | Tesla has sued customers and journalists for criticizing their cars in China: the surprising thing is that you are winning those judgments

This strategic and tiny island has been disputed for 200 years. And the US and Canada still are not clear to whom it belongs to

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The recent one Donald Trump’s insistence on Annexar Canada as the 51st state He has given for reflections in the American political sphere. While the idea does not seem taken seriously in Washington and the Canadian government has made it clear that it has no interest in joining the United States, The New York Times performed an electoral code analysis of such a scenario revealing an unexpected consequence: the incorporation of Canada would guarantee a political advantage for the Democratic Party in future elections. Be that as it may, the only certain thing in this whole story is the eternal dispute over an islet between both nations. An island and its importance. WE TALK ABOUT MACHIAS SEAL ISLANDa small islet of 18 hectares located at the point of confluence between the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of Maine, which represents the last territorial dispute between Canada and the United States. Although its rock size and geography are little or rather liable, its strategic value and the wealth of its waters They have maintained the latent conflict for more than two centuries. A lighthouse as a symbol of sovereignty. The history of the dispute goes back to the war of 1812when both the United States and Great Britain claimed the island and its surrounding waters due to their location on an important navigation route. In 1832, Great Britain built a lighthouse on the island To consolidate its control, and since then, Canada has maintained a permanent presence in the place through Farros that, in addition to its maritime signaling work, act as symbolic guardians of Canadian sovereignty. In this regard, Russell and Anthony Ross, Farros brothers, turn every 28 days to keep the lighthouse in operation. Isolated on the island, their work goes beyond surveillance: they receive visitors who arrive in summer and, in winter, they support the extreme climate of the Atlantic without the possibility of returning to the continent until its allocation ends. For them, the island is more than a territory in dispute: it is their temporary home and a symbol of a tradition that few still keep alive. Frailecillos on the island A sanctuary for wildlife. Despite its uncertain geopolitical status, Machias Seal Island is recognized as a sanctuary of sea birds. The reason? Thousands of Atlantic Frailecillos, Common Mergles, Arctic Charranes and Common Alcas nest there every summer, making it a reference point for scientists and bird observers. In fact, the Canadian Wild Life Service protects access to the island, allowing only the arrival of two daily tourist boats, One from Maine and Another from New Brunswickwith a limited quota of visitors. Scientists like Tony Diamonddirector of Atlantic Laboratory for Avian Research, have studied these colonies since 1995, highlighting the importance of the island’s ecosystem as a thermometer of the state of the ocean. Tourism under surveillance. To avoid major evils, the experience of tourists is rigorously controlled. So much so, that to avoid damage to nests, They must remain in wood cattleway and use small observation structures camouflaged in the landscape. Although getting to the island is not easy, most of Visitors consider the effort to be worth itsince it is one of the few places where you can see these frailecillos in their natural environment without disturbances. The dispute: Waters of the gray zone. Beyond the small islet, the true conflict between Canada and the United States is not on earth, but rather in the sea. The waters around Machias Seal Island They are known as the “Gray Zone”an area of ​​approximately 700 square kilometers where both countries claim fishing rights. Moreover, in the last decades, The growing lobster demand has turned the area into a crucial economic resource. The price of crustacean has tripled, reaching values ​​of up to 4 Canadian dollars for 400 grams, which has promoted the prosperity of fishing communities Like Grand Manan, in Canada. Live in the conflict. For many fishermen, The gray zone represents a constant income opportunityand although there are no formal agreements, they have developed a coexistence system based on mutual respect. Of course, not everything is harmony. As the lobster demand has continued to increase, The pressure on marine resources is increasing. Sector veterans warn that The overfishing could exhaust the lobster populationfollowing the same collapse pattern that affected the herring industry, background fish and scallops in the past. Uncertain future. Be that as it may, and despite the territorial dispute, so far Canada and the United States have avoided an open conflict about Machias Seal Island and the gray areamaintaining that fragile balance between the symbolic presence of Canada on the island and the joint fishing exploitation in its waters. Yet, The recent political and commercial tensions between the two countries They have generated uncertainty about the future of this enclave. In that sense, Trump’s latest statements have not helped. The inhabitants of the island, whether beareros, scientists or fishermen, continue with their lives at the same time that international policy follows its course. While the frailecillos continue to nest in the cliffs and lobster ships they slaughter in the gray area, the islet is maintained as a tiny point on the map, although not any one: one with a geopolitical, economic and ecological influence much larger than its size suggests. .Imagen | Melissa McMasters, Melissa McMasters In Xataka | The longest dispute is a 500 -year -old mystery. Spain still knows if tiny lands belong to Tenerife In Xataka | China has been claiming as its islands from Japan 130 years. So he has made a decision: surround them with buoys

The products that will suffer an increase in price with the 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada

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This Monday, during a signing ceremony in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump ratified the decision to impose a widespread 25% tariff on imports from its trading neighbors Mexico and Canada. Although the president stated that this would be established from day one of his mandate, The new rates will come into effect from February 1although Trump seeks to increase national production, this measure could weigh on the pockets of Americans. According to federal data, Last year more than 30% of imports came from these trading partnersTherefore, some sectors will be affected and Americans will have to foot part of the tariff bills as the possibility of an increase in goods is imminent. Of the products and services that will suffer an increase in price with the 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada are: Food and alcoholic beverages Data from the United States Department of Agriculture indicates that during 2024 $46,000 million dollars in agricultural products will be imported from Mexico. It is expected that with the new tariffs the costs of Constellation Brands, which imports beers from the Modelo and Corona brands could increase by 16%. Automobiles and auto parts The automotive sector could also be affected, data from the Department of Commerce highlights that in 2024 alone, The import of vehicles and spare parts from Mexico reached a value of $87,000 and $64,000 million dollars respectivelyWith the increase in taxes, this sector will increase its prices in the coming months. Gas In the case of Canada, with the imposition of the new tariff rates, the cost of gas could increase. According to data from the United States Energy Information Administration, last year The country imported approximately $97 billion of oil and gas from Canada. Keep reading:

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