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CUSMA Not Renewed: What the Trade Deal Impasse Means for Your Wallet

  July 2, 2026 | Trade & Economy The mandatory six-year review of Canada's most important trade agreement came and went this week — and it did not go the way Ottawa hoped. On July 1, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer confirmed that the United States will not renew the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) in its current form, sending the deal into a more uncertain, year-by-year footing right as Canadians are already navigating tariffs, a soft labour market, and a technical recession. Here is what actually happened, why it matters, and what it could mean for your budget in the months ahead. The short version CUSMA isn't dead. It remains legally in force until 2036. But instead of locking in a fresh 16-year term, the deal now shifts into annual reviews, with existing tariffs on steel, aluminum, autos and softwood lumber unresolved for now. What happened on July 1 CUSMA was built with a mandatory joint review every six years. If Canada, the U.S. and Mexico had a...

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Hunter Biden's Legal Troubles and Presidential Pardon

 

Hunter Biden, the son of U.S. President Joe Biden, faced legal issues related to firearms and tax convictions. In June 2024, he was convicted of lying on a federal form when purchasing a gun in 2018, falsely stating that he was not a drug user. Additionally, he pleaded guilty to failing to pay at least $1.4 million in federal taxes for the years 2016 to 2019. These charges stemmed from a period in his life when he struggled with drug and alcohol abuse before becoming sober in 2019.

Despite previously pledging not to use his presidential authority to grant clemency to his son, President Joe Biden issued a full and unconditional pardon for Hunter Biden on December 1, 2024. This pardon not only covered the gun and tax offenses but also any other federal offenses Hunter Biden may have committed from January 1, 2014, through December 1, 2024. President Biden justified his decision by stating that raw politics had infected the legal process, leading to a miscarriage of justice.

A presidential pardon is an expression of forgiveness granted by the President of the United States for federal criminal offenses. The power to pardon is derived from Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution, which allows the president to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. A pardon forgives federal criminal offenses and exempts the individual from punishment, but it does not signify innocence.



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