US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Canada is keen to reach a trade agreement with the United States, and that the agreement may be concluded “very soon.”
He reiterated his complaint that Canada treated American farmers unfairly, saying it should raise tariffs.
In response to media questions, following his meeting with Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin, in Dublin, Trump said: “Canada very much wants to conclude an agreement.”
He added: "Canada must treat our farmers better. It cannot impose tariffs on them." He continued: “It is possible that you will witness the conclusion of an agreement with Canada very soon.”
China called on government-owned companies to develop their foreign investment strategies and enhance security guarantees, as part of Beijing's efforts to expand the global reach of its government companies, according to Bloomberg.
Bloomberg quoted a statement by the Supervision and Management Committee of State-Owned Assets, published on its website on Saturday, saying that companies must deepen international cooperation in areas including technology, equipment and standards.
The committee explained that central state-owned enterprises must align their overseas expansion with China's broader opening-up framework, and use domestic and international markets in a coordinated manner.
She called for cooperation that brings benefits to China and its partners abroad, and promotes peaceful development.
The level of filling gas reserves in Germany is still low, with the approach of winter, which has raised fears over the past few days that the amount of gas stored may not be sufficient until next spring.
Although the Federal Network Management Agency in Germany has dispelled fears that gas reserves may be insufficient to meet the country's gas supply needs during the winter. The head of the agency, Klaus Mueller, said on Saturday, according to the German News Agency in Bonn: “We actually now have an amount of gas in stocks that slightly exceeds the amount that we withdrew from stocks throughout the last half of the winter. “There is still time in the coming weeks to continue storing gas.”
However, the amount of gas currently stored is about 136 terawatt-hours, or slightly more than 55 percent of the storage capacity. According to the grid agency, about 134 terawatt-hours were withdrawn during the entire last winter.
Compared with previous years, the level of filling of gas reserves is low. The possibility of the government ordering purchases was discussed, which is already available, but could be expensive.
The Union of Gas Storage Facilities Operators (ENIS) recently spoke of “historically low filling levels,” calling for other rules to be put in place so that the gas storage process becomes feasible again.
Comparing current storage levels with previous levels is not entirely appropriate, as there are now stations on the German coast to receive LNG ships, and thus additional quantities can be imported from the global market relatively quickly. There are also pipelines, including lines coming from Norway.
Mueller also pointed to the possibility of importing liquefied natural gas, saying: “The operating rate of liquefied natural gas stations is currently about 45 percent. There are sufficient capacities to import additional quantities of gas.”
Similar to the position of the German Economy Ministry, Mueller does not currently support any state intervention, relying instead on the free market. “It is the job of the merchants to fill the stocks,” Mueller said, noting that the merchants have obligations to supply gas to local public service facilities and industrial facilities.
He added: “They can fulfill these obligations through supply operations via pipelines, importing liquefied natural gas, or withdrawing gas from reserves,” indicating that they are obligated to fulfill these obligations, and therefore they are taking the necessary precautions. He said: “Government interventions will be costly in all cases.”
