A temporary Hormuz corridor is still not an open strait

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• Canada publishes its $20 billion counter-tariff list. Starting September 8, Ottawa will levy 15%, 25% or 50% duties on about 700 U.S. product lines covering roughly $20 billion of annual imports—steel and aluminum at 50%, cheese and appliances at 25%, electronics and tools at 15%—and pair the duties with a C$7.5 billion support package that includes interest-free loans of C$2.5 million to C$5 million. The list matches Washington’s latest round dollar-for-dollar after the U.S. 50% tariffs on about $20 billion of Canadian goods took effect over the weekend. 45
• Washington’s “economic D-Day” stops short of secondary penalties. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Operation Economic Outcast, new sanctions on nearly 60 Iran-linked individuals, entities and vessels, and a wider secondary-sanctions perimeter across digital assets, gold, technology, aviation and shipping. He did not name target countries or effective dates for secondary penalties, and Chinese banks suspected of financing Iranian oil were absent from the list. 6
• SpaceX plans a $100 billion Starbase Louisiana. On a 125,000-acre Pecan Island site in Vermilion Parish, the company wants its largest Starship launch complex, with construction next year, a first launch in 2029, more than 3,000 jobs at an average salary of $92,600, and on-site methane, power and deep-water shipping. The project expands Starship operations beyond Texas and planned Florida pads. 7
• The U.S. prepares to revoke up to 200,000 B-1/B-2 visas. Officials say the State Department will, on a rolling basis in the coming weeks, cancel business and tourist visas issued from 2016 to 2026 for people who have applied for or are seeking asylum—the largest single mass revocation on record if completed. Revocation would strip temporary visitor status; it would not by itself equal immediate deportation. 8
• U.S. consumer confidence slips again. The Conference Board index fell to 89.4 in August from 90.2 in July, a seven-month low, as gasoline stayed above $4 a gallon amid the Iran conflict. Present-situation views improved while the short-term outlook worsened. 9
• Economists expect a September BOJ hike to 1.25%. In a Reuters poll, 57% of economists now look for the Bank of Japan to raise its policy rate from 1% to 1.25% in September, up from 5% a month earlier, citing Iran-linked inflation pressure and yen weakness. Nearly two-thirds see the terminal rate at least at 1.5% by end-March. 10
• Putin authorizes temporary state control of drone-hit infrastructure. A new decree lets Moscow take temporary management of energy, industrial, communications, transport and logistics sites if private owners fail to protect them from Ukrainian drones or rebuild after strikes. The Kremlin says the step is targeted security management, not nationalization; overnight Ukrainian attacks hit the Afipsky and Novoshakhtinsk oil refineries. 11
• Trump sends a Saudi civil nuclear pact to Congress. The July deal would let U.S. firms export civilian nuclear technology, including AP1000 reactors, but an administration official said it moves only if Riyadh joins the Abraham Accords and normalizes with Israel. Congress has 90 session days to review the package. 12
• Dolly Parton dies at 80. The country songwriter and performer died peacefully in Nashville on Tuesday; her publicist did not disclose a cause. She leaves a catalog that includes “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors” and “I Will Always Love You,” more than 100 million records sold, and the Imagination Library book program. 13

Quote of the day

“Why would I want to blow up the global financial system? We believe that it is important to level set and give people a cure period, but they should know that that will move very quickly and that we are serious.” — Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury secretary, on secondary sanctions tied to Iran. 6

Further reading

• Iran and Oman edge towards deal on Strait of Hormuz — The Financial Times tracks the interim corridor and demining talks as the first diplomatic movement on Hormuz in weeks.
• Can Trump’s ‘economic D-day’ force Iran to capitulate? — An FT analysis of whether the latest sanctions campaign can extract concessions that earlier maximum-pressure efforts did not.