- A new trade deal between the UK and Canada
- The US has passed the critical threshold in Covid-19
- Lagarde: Financial stimulus package needs to be implemented immediately
A New Trade Deal Between the UK and Canada
According to Bloomberg’s news, the two countries came very close to signing a new trade agreement, that would provide an alternative to the agreement with the EU. This would be an alternative deal to replace the existing deal UK had through European Union membership.
The signatures will take effect at the beginning of next year, when the UK will leave the EU.
It was stated that the agreement is expected to be announced within a few days.
Canada would have to pay customs duty in commodity trade with the UK as of January 1, if the agreement, which is considered important for the UK for the new period, was not signed.
British trade minister Greg Hands talked about the topic in the following way: “It is an incredibly important agreement for us, Canada is an important strategic partner. ’’
Last week, Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau said the deal was a “really easy one” and was hopeful it would be agreed before January.
An agreement is very important for both sides — the UK is Canada’s fifth biggest trading partner after the US, China, Mexico and Japan.
The US Has Passed the Critical Threshold in Covid-19
In the USA, which has become the epicenter of the pandemic, the number of people who died due to the Covid-19 virus has exceeded 250,000, according to the latest news. This situation brought to mind that Trump blocked the process to transfer the office. Biden, who won the elections, said, “If Trump does not admit that he has lost and initiate the handover process, more people will die.”
A critical threshold has been passed in the USA, which has become the country with the highest number of cases and the most deaths due to Covid-19 in the world.
According to the current data of Johns Hopkins University, 250,180 people have died in the USA since the day the epidemic has started.
In the USA, where more than 11 million people have coronaviruses since the day the epidemic has started, more than 100,000 Covid-19 cases have been happening every day for the last 2 weeks.
Local governments across the US have begun to impose some restrictions. While controls were tightened in regions where the health system is under heavy pressure such as California, Washington, Minnesota, and Maryland, social distance rules were introduced in Oregon and New Mexico. Masks have also been made mandatory in North Dakota.
Lagarde: Financial Stimulus Package Needs to be Implemented Immediately
ECB President Christine Lagarde stated that the fiscal stimulus package should be implemented without delay.
In her speech at the European Parliament, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde urged countries not to leave their financial aid measures to the last minute.
“We responded strongly and quickly to the first wave that hit the eurozone economy. We will respond to the current stage of the crisis with the same approach and determination. ” – Lagarde said.
She added that the ECB is focused on stopping the current economic slump from worsening and that it always assumed a medical solution would be available in 2021. “I’m not sure that it’s going to be a major game-changer for our forecasts,” she told Francine Lacqua.
Lagarde said preventing the economic crisis turning into a financial one is a key concern now.
“We need to stay really clear of that because that would be an aggravating factor,” she said. “I think 2021 will certainly be a difficult first half of the year, and we won’t have caught up with where we were pre-pandemic before the end of the year.”
Lagarde stressed that European policy makers need to continue helping the economy and act as a bridge until progress in vaccination is made, while the Emergency Asset Procurement Program (PEPP) and guided long-term financial operations will continue to be used as the main instruments.
