Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2018)
6A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 2018 Trump takes aim at Canada as world protests his tariffs By PAUL WISEMAN and KEN THOMAS Associated Press WASHINGTON — Already under fire for his combative trade policies, President Donald Trump today intensified pres- sure on Canada, demanding that America’s neighbor and close ally “open their markets and take down trade barriers.” Trump’s tweet came a day after he ignited global con- demnation by imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and two other key U.S. allies — the Euro- pean Union and Mexico. The United States had sought use the tariff threat as cudgel to win conces- sions from Canada and Mex- ico in talks to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. But the NAFTA talks sputtered anyway, and the Trump administration imposed the tariffs at midnight Thursday. The president took to Twit- ter today to accuse Canada of treating U.S. “farmers very poorly for a long period of time.” And he repeated his inaccurate claim that Canada runs a trade surplus with the United States. In fact, U.S. Commerce Department num- bers show, the United States recorded a trade surplus with Canada for each of the past three years. Trump’s antagonistic trade policies — and specifically the steel and aluminum tariffs — drew international denun- ciation. French President Emmanuel Macron said today that he told Trump in a phone call that the new U.S. tariffs on European, Mexican and Cana- dian goods were illegal and a “mistake.” And Macron pledged the retaliation would be “firm” and “proportionate” and in line with World Trade Organi- zation rules. Germany’s Volkswagen, Europe’s largest automaker, warned that the decision could start a trade war that no side would win. The European Union and China said they will deepen AP Photo/Martin Meissner Steel coils are stored at the Thyssenkrupp steel factory in Duisburg, Germany. ties on trade and investment as a result. “This is stupid — it’s counterproductive,” Francis Maude, a former British trade minister, told the BBC. “Any government that embarks on a protectionist path inflicts the most damage on itself.” Trump’s move makes good on his campaign vows to crack down on trading partners that he claims exploit poorly nego- tiated trade agreements to run up big trade surpluses with the United States. The tariffs his administra- tion has imposed — 25 per- cent on imported steel, 10 percent on aluminum from Canada, Mexico and the Euro- pean Union — threaten to drive up prices for American consumers and companies and heighten uncertainty for busi- nesses and investors around the globe. Mexico complained that the tariffs will “distort inter- national trade” and said it will penalize U.S. imports includ- ing pork, apples, grapes, cheeses and flat steel. In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the tariffs were “totally unacceptable,” and Canada announced plans to slap tariffs on $12.8 billion worth of U.S. products, rang- ing from steel to yogurt and toilet paper. “Canada is a secure supplier of aluminum and steel to the U.S. defense industry, putting aluminum in American planes and steel in American tanks,” Trudeau said. “That Canada could be considered a national security threat to the United States is inconceivable.” Trump had originally imposed the tariffs in March, saying a reliance on imported metals threatened national security. But he exempted Can- ada, Mexico and the European Union to buy time for negotia- tions — a reprieve that expired at midnight Thursday. Other countries, including Japan, America’s closest ally in Asia, are already paying the tariffs. “This is protectionism, pure and simple,” said Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the Euro- pean Commission. The EU earlier threat- ened to counterpunch by tar- geting U.S. products, includ- ing Kentucky bourbon, blue jeans and motorcycles. David O’Sullivan, the EU’s ambas- sador in Washington, said the retaliation will probably be announced in late June. Trump had campaigned for president on a promise to crack down on trading partners that he said exploited poorly nego- tiated trade agreements to run up big trade surpluses with the U.S. The U.S. tariffs coincide with — and could complicate — the Trump administration’s separate fight over Beijing’s strong-arm tactics to overtake U.S. technological supremacy. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wil- bur Ross is leaving Friday for Beijing for talks aimed at pre- venting a trade war with China. The world’s two biggest economies have threatened to impose tariffs on up to $200 billion worth of each other’s products. WORLD IN BRIEF Associated Press 5 dead, nearly 200 sickened in romaine lettuce outbreak NEW YORK — Four more deaths have been linked to a national food poisoning outbreak blamed on tainted lettuce, bringing the total to five. Health officials have tied the E. coli outbreak to romaine lettuce grown in Yuma, Arizona. The growing season there ended six weeks ago, and it’s unlikely any tainted lettuce is still in stores or people’s homes, given its short shelf life. But there can be a lag in reporting, and reports of ill- nesses have continued to come in. In an update today on the nation’s largest E. coli outbreak in a decade, health officials said 25 more cases have been added, raising the total number of illnesses to 197 in 35 states. At least 89 people were hospitalized. Previously one death had been reported, in California. Today, health officials said they had learned of four more — one in Arkansas, one in New York, and two in Minnesota. The first illnesses occurred in March, and the most recent began on May 12, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many of the new cases were people who became ill two to three weeks ago, when con- taminated lettuce was still being sold. Some said they did not eat romaine lettuce but were in close contact with someone who got sick after eating it. Most E. coli bacteria are not harmful, but some produce toxins that can cause severe ill- ness. People who get sick from toxin-producing E. coli come down with symptoms about three to four days after swallowing the germ, with many suffering bloody diarrhea, severe stomach cramps and vomiting. Most people recover within a week, but some illnesses can last longer and be more severe. North Koreans to meet Trump; deliver letter from leader NEW YORK — A top aide to Kim Jong Un was en route to Washington today to hand a letter from the North Korean leader to Pres- ident Donald Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said after reporting “good progress” in talks between the two sides to revive an on-again, off-again nuclear summit. “I am confident we are moving in the right direction,” Pompeo told reporters at a news con- ference in New York after meeting Thursday with former North Korean military intelligence chief Kim Yong Chol. “Our two countries face a pivotal moment in our relationship, and it would be nothing short of tragic to let this opportunity go to waste.” He would not say that the summit is a defi- nite go for Singapore on June 12 and could not say if that decision would be made after Trump reads Kim Jong Un’s letter. However, his com- ments were the most positive from any U.S. offi- cial since Trump abruptly canceled the meeting last week after belligerent statements from the North. The two countries, eying the first sum- mit between the U.S. and the North after six decades of hostility, have also been holding negotiations in Singapore and the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas. Kim Yong Chol left his hotel in New York City today for the trip to Washington in a con- voy of SUVs. He is the highest-ranking North Korean official to visit the U.S. in 18 years, and his trip to the White House will be a highly sym- bolic sign of easing tensions after fears of war escalated amid North Korean nuclear and mis- sile tests last year. North Korea’s flurry of diplomatic activ- ity following an increase in nuclear weapons and missile tests in 2017 suggests that Kim is eager for sanctions relief to build his economy and for the international legitimacy a summit with Trump would provide. But there are linger- ing doubts on whether he will ever fully relin- quish his nuclear arsenal, which he may see as his only guarantee of survival in a region sur- rounded by enemies. Manhunt: Suspect captured in slaying of Tennessee deputy DICKSON, Tenn. — After a two-day man- hunt, a trooper came across the suspect in the slaying of a sheriff’s deputy not far from the scene of the crime, authorities said today. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation tweeted photos of a handcuffed Steven Joshua Wiggins, grimacing as he was placed into the back seat of a law enforcement vehicle this morning. His clothes were muddy and his jeans were ripped open. Dickson County sheriff’s Sgt. Daniel Baker was killed after responding to a call about a suspicious car on Wednesday, the state police agency said. Baker couldn’t be contacted for some time, but the deputy’s car was eventually tracked by GPS to a wooded area 2 or 3 miles away. The deputy was found dead inside of it. The TBI said a video recording enabled them to identify the 31-year-old Wiggins as the suspect. Federal, state and local authorities searched for Wiggins over two days, checking into hundreds of tips. Wiggins had been already wanted on charges that he assaulted a woman and stole her car when he was pulled over Wednesday, accord- ing to a report from the Kingston Springs Police Department. That woman was in the car with Wiggins when he pulled the trigger, and is now jailed on a murder charge in Baker’s death, according to court documents. The report says 38-year-old Erika Cas- tro-Miles told police early Tuesday that Wiggins had slapped her in the face and pulled out some Want a fresh look for summer? Call your local, neighborhood experts! Call now for your free In-Home consultation! % 25 OFF Select Signature Series* We’re Budget Blinds, and we’re North America’s #1 provider of custom window coverings. We do it all for you; design, measure and install — because we think everyone, at every budget, deserves style, service, and the peace-of-mind of the best warranty in the business. Blinds • Shutters • Shades Drapes • Home Automation Oregon Coast 503-738-5242 • Lincoln City 541-994-9954 SW Washington 503-738-5242 • www.budgetblinds.com *Applies to selected window treatments from Budget Blinds. Restrictions may apply, ask for details. Valid for a limited time, not valid with any other offers, discounts, or coupons. Offer good at initial time of estimate only. At participating franchises only. ©2018 Budget Blinds, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Budget Blinds is a trademark of Budget Blinds, LLC and a Home Franchise Concepts Brand. Each franchise independently owned and operated. of her hair, then put a gun to her head and threat- ened to kill her if she called police. She said he then grabbed her keys and took her car without her permission. Trump: Pardoned conservative author’s conviction was ‘fishy’ WASHINGTON — An Obama adminis- tration critic pardoned by Donald Trump said today that the president told him he was being cleared because the campaign finance charges filed against him were “fishy.” Trump pardoned Dinesh D’Souza, a conser- vative author and filmmaker, on Thursday and announced he’s thinking about clemency for Martha Stewart and former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, among “lots” of other people. D’Souza said he was surprised when he got a call at his office from the president. “The president said ‘Dinesh, you’ve been a great voice for freedom. I got to tell you man-to- man you’ve been screwed,’” D’Souza told “Fox & Friends” in an interview. Conservatives rallied around D’Souza, say- ing he had been singled out in a politically moti- vated prosecution by President Barack Obama’s Justice Department. D’Souza was sentenced to five years’ probation in 2014 after pleading guilty to violating federal election law by mak- ing illegal contributions to a U.S. Senate cam- paign in the names of others. D’Souza claimed his conviction was polit- ically motivated because Obama was angry over a movie he had made about him. D’Souza, who spent eight months in a halfway house in San Diego, said he was grateful he is no longer labeled a felon and can vote again. Watchdog groups criticized D’Souza’s par- don, saying it signaled contempt for the rule of law. “Donald Trump has sent a message to his friends and cronies that if you break laws to pro- tect him or attack our democracy, he’s got your back,” said David Donnelly, president and CEO of Every Voice. Both Blagojevich and Stewart had connec- tions to Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice” real- ity television show: Blagojevich was a contes- tant in 2010 and Stewart hosted the 2005 spinoff series, “The Apprentice: Martha Stewart.” Join our auna Family! Now Hiring Ashley E., Accountant Wauna Family Member since 2015 WHY WAUNA? a Great Pay and Incentives a Support YOUR Community a Paid Time Off to Volunteer a Paid Insurance Premiums a Vested Retirement Plan a Career Development And MORE! Equal Opportunity to include Disability & Veterans. Pre-employment drug test and background check required. Wauna Credit Union waunafcu.org S 800-773-3236
