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China June exports unexpectedly rise as economies reopen, imports up – TheChronicleHerald.ca

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By Stella Qiu and Gabriel Crossley

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s exports unexpectedly rose in June as overseas economies reopened after lockdowns, while imports grew for the first time this year, reinforcing views the recovery from the pandemic is gaining traction in the world’s second-largest economy.

Exports in June edged up 0.5% from a year earlier, customs data showed on Tuesday, beating analysts’ expectations for a 1.5% drop and compared with 3.3% decline in May.

Imports also rose 2.7%, confounding market expectations for a 10% drop. They had fallen 16.7% the previous month.

“The reopening of major western economies and elevated overseas demand for PPEs (personal protective equipment) and masks supported Chinese exports in June,” said Boyang Xue, a China analyst at Ducker Frontier.

“In addition, production disruptions in China’s trade competitors also helped to shift some orders to Chinese exporters.”

China’s economy is gradually emerging from a sharp 6.8% contraction in the first quarter, but the recovery remains fragile as global demand falters from social curbs and still rising coronavirus cases. Chinese consumption is also subdued amid job losses and concerns about a resurgence in infections.

The country’s export performance however has not been as severely affected by the global slowdown as some analysts had feared, though weak overseas orders may weigh on its manufacturers in the coming quarters.

External risks such as worsening U.S.-China relations, shrinking global demand and disruptions in supply chains are likely to pressure China’s trade outlook in the long term, Institute of Advanced Research at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics said in a report on Saturday.

“In the second half, export and import growth are highly likely to extend declines seen in the first half.”

But Xue looked to positives in Tuesday’s trade figures as a sign the economy had turned a corner.

“The significant improvement in China’s imports is an indication of the country’s accelerating economic recovery, which has been mainly driven by substantial increases in investments in sectors such as real estate and infrastructure.”

Iron ore imports jumped in June, the trade data showed, fuelled by rising shipments from miners and robust demand in China. Crude oil imports also hit a record.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he was not thinking about negotiating a “Phase 2” trade deal with China as relations between Washington and Beijing have been “severely damaged” due to the coronavirus pandemic and other issues.

China’s trade surplus with the United States widened to $29.41 billion in June from $27.89 billion in May.

The country’s trade surplus for June stood at $46.42 billion, compared with an expected $58.6 billion surplus forecast in the poll and a surplus of $62.93 billion in May.

(Reporting by Gabriel Crossley and Stella Qiu; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

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Minimum wage to hire higher-paid temporary foreign workers set to increase

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OTTAWA – The federal government is expected to boost the minimum hourly wage that must be paid to temporary foreign workers in the high-wage stream as a way to encourage employers to hire more Canadian staff.

Under the current program’s high-wage labour market impact assessment (LMIA) stream, an employer must pay at least the median income in their province to qualify for a permit. A government official, who The Canadian Press is not naming because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the change, said Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault will announce Tuesday that the threshold will increase to 20 per cent above the provincial median hourly wage.

The change is scheduled to come into force on Nov. 8.

As with previous changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker program, the government’s goal is to encourage employers to hire more Canadian workers. The Liberal government has faced criticism for increasing the number of temporary residents allowed into Canada, which many have linked to housing shortages and a higher cost of living.

The program has also come under fire for allegations of mistreatment of workers.

A LMIA is required for an employer to hire a temporary foreign worker, and is used to demonstrate there aren’t enough Canadian workers to fill the positions they are filling.

In Ontario, the median hourly wage is $28.39 for the high-wage bracket, so once the change takes effect an employer will need to pay at least $34.07 per hour.

The government official estimates this change will affect up to 34,000 workers under the LMIA high-wage stream. Existing work permits will not be affected, but the official said the planned change will affect their renewals.

According to public data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 183,820 temporary foreign worker permits became effective in 2023. That was up from 98,025 in 2019 — an 88 per cent increase.

The upcoming change is the latest in a series of moves to tighten eligibility rules in order to limit temporary residents, including international students and foreign workers. Those changes include imposing caps on the percentage of low-wage foreign workers in some sectors and ending permits in metropolitan areas with high unemployment rates.

Temporary foreign workers in the agriculture sector are not affected by past rule changes.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

— With files from Nojoud Al Mallees

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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PBO projects deficit exceeded Liberals’ $40B pledge, economy to rebound in 2025

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OTTAWA – The parliamentary budget officer says the federal government likely failed to keep its deficit below its promised $40 billion cap in the last fiscal year.

However the PBO also projects in its latest economic and fiscal outlook today that weak economic growth this year will begin to rebound in 2025.

The budget watchdog estimates in its report that the federal government posted a $46.8 billion deficit for the 2023-24 fiscal year.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland pledged a year ago to keep the deficit capped at $40 billion and in her spring budget said the deficit for 2023-24 stayed in line with that promise.

The final tally of the last year’s deficit will be confirmed when the government publishes its annual public accounts report this fall.

The PBO says economic growth will remain tepid this year but will rebound in 2025 as the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts stimulate spending and business investment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Statistics Canada says levels of food insecurity rose in 2022

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OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says the level of food insecurity increased in 2022 as inflation hit peak levels.

In a report using data from the Canadian community health survey, the agency says 15.6 per cent of households experienced some level of food insecurity in 2022 after being relatively stable from 2017 to 2021.

The reading was up from 9.6 per cent in 2017 and 11.6 per cent in 2018.

Statistics Canada says the prevalence of household food insecurity was slightly lower and stable during the pandemic years as it fell to 8.5 per cent in the fall of 2020 and 9.1 per cent in 2021.

In addition to an increase in the prevalence of food insecurity in 2022, the agency says there was an increase in the severity as more households reported moderate or severe food insecurity.

It also noted an increase in the number of Canadians living in moderately or severely food insecure households was also seen in the Canadian income survey data collected in the first half of 2023.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct 16, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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