On The Money: Canada to slap tariffs on US goods this weekend | Trump touts tax law on 6-month anniversary | Kudlow says rising deficit is falling, hopes Fed delays rate hikes

Happy Friday and welcome back to On The Money, where we hope that you stay cool and hydrated during the coming heat wave (and help others do the same)! I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.

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Write us with tips, suggestions and news: slane@digital-stage.thehill.com, vneedham@digital-stage.thehill.com, njagoda@digital-stage.thehill.com and nelis@digital-stage.thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @SylvanLane, @VickofTheHill, @NJagoda and @NivElis.

 

THE BIG DEAL–Canada to slap tariffs on US goods this weekend: Canada will move forward this weekend with retaliatory tariffs on billions of U.S. goods in response to President Trump’s duties steel and aluminum imports.

Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s foreign minister, said Friday that Ottawa will slap tariffs on $12.6 billion of U.S. exports starting on Sunday.

“We will not escalate, and we will not back down,” Freeland said.

Freeland said she spoke six times this week to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer about the impending tariffs that will hit a wide range of U.S. products. She said she expects “common sense will prevail.” The Hill’s Vicki Needham tells us why here.

 

LEADING THE DAY

Trump celebrates tax law’s six-month anniversary: Friday celebrated the six-month anniversary of his tax-cut law, as the IRS rolled out a new tax-filing form the size of a postcard.

“Six months ago, we unleashed an economic miracle by signing the biggest tax cuts and reforms,” Trump said at an event in the East Room of the White House.

{mosads}

He added that he was celebrating “six months of new jobs, bigger paychecks and keeping more of your hard earned money where it belongs, in your pocket or wherever else you want to spend it.”

Trump touted various provisions in the new tax law, which he signed on Dec. 22, 2017. In particular, he praised a provision that allows businesses to immediately deduct the full costs of their investments, calling it “the biggest secret in the plan.” The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda takes us there.

 

Top EU official to meet Trump amid trade fight: European Commission President Jean-

Claude Juncker said on Friday that he will travel Washington in July to meet with President Trump amid an escalating trade war between the U.S. and Europe.

Juncker said that Europe stands committed to “free and fair, multilateral based trade,” and announced that he would meet with the U.S. president before the end of July, according to a European Commission spokeswoman.

That meeting will not take place before July 24, he said. A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment. Max Greenwood tells us more about what’s at stake here.

 

Kudlow claims rising deficit is coming down, pushes Fed on rate hikes: President Trump’s top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, on Friday said the federal deficit is falling, even though the latest data shows it is growing since the tax-cut law went into effect.

“As the economy gears up, more people working, better jobs and careers, those revenues come rolling in and the deficit, which was one of the other criticisms, is coming down,” Kudlow said in an interview with Fox Business. “And it’s coming down rapidly. Growth solves a lot of problems.”

In a report released earlier this month, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said the federal deficit had expended by $97 billion this year compared to last year. Government spending surged 6 percent relative to last year, the CBO said, while revenues only increased 3 percent. The Hill’s Niv Elis explains here.

Kudlow also raised eyebrows when he asked the Fed to “move very slowly” with a series of planned interest rate hikes. The NEC director said he hopes “the Fed, under its new management, understands that more people working and faster economic growth do not cause inflation.” I’ve got more on his remarks here.

Why it matters: Kudlow’s request is a rare comment from the White House on monetary policy, which is exclusively directed by the Fed. Top White House economists have historically avoided discussing preferred interest rate levels out of deference to the Fed’s independence.

 

ON TAP NEXT WEEK

Wednesday:

• Happy Independence Day!

Thursday:

• The Federal Reserve Board releases minutes from its June 12-13 meeting, 2 p.m.

Friday:

• June jobs report released, 8:30 a.m.

 

NEXT WEEK’S NEWS, NOW

• Congress is out all of next week for the holiday, so action on Capitol Hill will be pretty limited before a frenzy of activity when lawmakers return. The Senate will soon have a Supreme Court nominee to consider among a slew of other Trump appointees pending confirmation.

• The June employment report will be released Friday at 8:30 a.m., and is expected to show the addition of roughly 200,000 jobs to the economy.

 

GOOD TO KNOW

• Citibank is paying $335 million to credit card customers that didn’t receive legally mandated interest rate reductions in a settlement announced Friday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
• Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo is set to interview President Trump for Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” this weekend at 10:00 a.m.

• Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that he thinks Congress should take the lead on indexing capital gains to inflation, remarks that come as conservative groups say executive action is needed.

• The Senate passed legislation on Thursday that would legalize hemp as an agricultural commodity, a key priority of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)

• Four members of Congress have requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conduct a new review of gender pay inequity in the federal workforce, including the implications of race and ethnicity on pay, citing analysis from The Hill.
• The Senate easily cleared their farm bill on Thursday, setting up a fight with House Republicans over new restrictions on food stamps.

ODDS AND ENDS

• Tinder, the popular online dating application, says it is taking steps to better secure the privacy of its users by encrypting some of its data.

• The debt of American households is on pace to surpass the prior peak debt level of 2008, according to LendingTree.

 

Join us Wednesday, July 11, for “Latino Entrepreneurship & The American Dream,” featuring Reps. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), Jenniffer González-Colón (R-P.R.), and Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.). Topics of discussion include what leaders in government and industry are doing to support Latino entrepreneurs and how barriers related to lending, training, and growth can be eliminated We will also explore the role mentoring can play in empowering Hispanic small business owners. RSVP Here.