

**US-Canada trade negotiations remain frozen as C$28 billion in Canadian counter-tariffs approach a Sept. 8 deadline, threatening a cross-border supply chain that moves billions in autos, steel and agricultural goods.** US-Canada trade negotiations remain stalled as Prime Minister Mark Carney holds a tougher line against President Donald Trump, with C$28 billion in Canadian retaliatory tariffs set to take effect Sept. 8. "We should not react in the moment," said Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, urging Canada to hold out for a deal that makes domestic manufacturing sustainable rather than rushing back to the table. Canada's counter-tariffs, matching Washington's duties dollar-for-dollar, cover roughly $28 billion in annual U.S. imports and come with $7.5 billion in federal support for workers and businesses. Trump has threatened to double auto tariffs to 50 percent on New Year's Day, extending duties to auto parts and steel, while Bloomberg News reported the administration is weighing additional penalties. The stakes are steep: University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe estimates 87,000 Canadian jobs are at risk — 52,000 directly and 35,000 through supply chains — with Ontario, Quebec and B.C. hardest hit. Kansas City, home to Ford and General Motors plants employing 10,000 workers, exports about $4 billion in goods to Canada annually, according to a Canadian Chamber of Commerce study. ## Auto sector bears the brunt The automotive industry sits at the center of the dispute. Michigan, Canada's largest trading partner, imports roughly $70 billion in goods from the country annually, about 40 percent of its total. Trump's threatened 50 percent auto tariffs on New Year's Day would hit a sector already reeling from the collapse of consumer EV tax credits, which forced General Motors to temporarily lay off about 900 workers at its Kansas City plant. ## Economic fallout spreads The pain extends beyond autos. Quebec paperboard manufacturer RYAM said it will close its Temiscaming complex in September, putting more than 400 people out of work, blaming 50 percent tariffs on the Canadian forest industry. Manitoba has offered $100 million in tariff relief, while Saskatchewan imposed a 50 percent reciprocal tax on U.S. alcohol. Canadian ice cream maker Chapman's said it will convert 70 percent of its American ingredients by mid-2027 and hold prices until March 2028. Canada's economy entered the escalation on firmer footing, growing at an annualized 3.3 percent in the second quarter — the fastest pace in more than three years — before the latest tariffs were imposed. But business investment remains below pre-pandemic levels, and the Canadian Labour Congress warns the intensifying trade war will test that growth. The impasse coincides with White House departures as the administration heads toward midterm elections. Bloomberg News White House Correspondent Jeff Mason reported press secretary Karoline Leavitt has left the administration, adding to uncertainty over policy direction. California Gov. Gavin Newsom predicted Trump would reverse course on the tariffs "within days, if not weeks," citing mounting political pressure from Republican members of Congress. Former Canadian ambassador Derek Burney, who helped create the original NAFTA in 1989, said the relationship has deteriorated to an unprecedented low. "We didn't indulge in bombast and insults in the public media," he said. "Now the Americans are going wild with all kinds of nonsense." If the Sept. 8 deadline passes without a deal, policy experts say the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement could effectively be dead. "If those counter tariffs actually go into effect on Sept. 8, you can consider CUSMA dead," said Hannah Thibedeau of Global Public Affairs. The two-week window before Canada's tariffs take effect offers an off-ramp, but former Conservative deputy leader Lisa Raitt said she has "not much hope" negotiations resume soon without an external factor. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

Everpure reported fiscal Q2 revenue of $1.19 billion, beating consensus by 7.5 percent, yet shares fell 10 percent as free cash flow swung negative. "While these purchases created a temporary headwind to operating cash flow in the quarter, we expect operating cash flow to normalize over the next two quarters," CFO Tarek Robbiati said. Adjusted EPS came in at $0.70, above the $0.58 consensus, while EBIT jumped 76.7 percent year over year to $229.6 million. Product revenue rose 54 percent to $687 million and subscription services climbed 20 percent to $499 million. Free cash flow swung to negative $237.6 million against a consensus estimate of positive $226.6 million, a swing of more than $460 million, as the company front-loaded NAND purchases to lock in component supply. | Metric | Actual | Consensus | Beat/Miss | |--------|--------|-----------|-----------| | Revenue | $1.19B | $1.10B | +7.5% | | Adjusted EPS | $0.70 | $0.58 | +$0.12 | | Free cash flow | -$237.6M | +$226.6M | -$464.2M | The stock fell 10.35 percent to $97.63 in the session after the Aug. 26 release, extending a week-long decline of 14 percent. Everpure raised its full-year revenue target to $5.03 billion-$5.07 billion, implying 38 percent growth, and lifted operating income guidance to $940 million-$960 million. Product gross margin held at 66.2 percent, the low end of the company's 65-70 percent target range, a choice management framed as prioritizing share gains over near-term margin capture. Overall gross margin came in at 69.9 percent. Storage-as-a-service accelerated underneath the headline print. Evergreen//One's total contract value run rate crossed $1 billion after growing 121 percent year over year to $277 million in the quarter, remaining performance obligations rose 44 percent to more than $4 billion, and international revenue climbed 75 percent to $498 million. CEO Charles Giancarlo tied the guidance raise to two quarters of pricing data and a second design win with a top-five hyperscaler, announced Aug. 10, that will start contributing revenue in fiscal 2028. The guidance raise signals management expects AI-driven storage demand to accelerate, but the cash flow swing and a valuation above 148 times trailing earnings leave the stock exposed to further multiple compression. Investors will watch the next two quarters for operating cash flow to normalize as component pre-buys roll off, with analysts holding an average price target of $108.69. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

Radiant Industries secured a binding agreement worth up to $750 million to deploy 15 of its 1-MWe Kaleidos portable microreactors across U.S. Army installations, the largest award under the Pentagon's $2.2 billion Janus Program. The California-based startup was one of five companies selected to build, own, and operate commercial microreactors at domestic bases, with at least one unit targeted for operation by Sept. 30, 2028. "The U.S. Army is a savvy customer. They have the world's top nuclear experts and know what to look for in a partner," Tori Shivanandan, president and chief operating officer at Radiant, said. Radiant's first three-unit deployment is slated for Fort Benning, Georgia, with additional units going to other military installations. Each Kaleidos unit is factory-built and arrives as a sealed, fueled package transportable by land, sea, or air. The reactor requires no cooling water, operates up to five years between refuelings, and carries a 20-year design life. Radiant will handle fueling, refueling, and spent-fuel storage at its own 300,000-square-foot R-50 campus in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, allowing installations to return to greenfield condition within two years of reactor removal. The contract is one of the largest ever issued by the Defense Innovation Unit and follows Radiant's exclusive one-year access to the Idaho National Laboratory's DOME test facility, where the Kaleidos design is being prepared for full-power testing. The company also holds a parallel award under the Air Force's Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations initiative to deploy a unit at Buckley Space Force Base in Colorado. ## Janus Program Puts Five Vendors on the Grid The Army's Janus Program, initiated by executive order in 2025, will distribute up to $2.2 billion through fiscal year 2031 across five vendors using a milestone-based payment model — companies receive government funding only after hitting specific technical goals. The other selectees include BWXT Advanced Technologies at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, with its 20-MWe BANR reactor; General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems at Fort Hood, Texas, with the roughly 5-MWe GA-TES; Antares Nuclear at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with its R1 heat-pipe reactor; and Westinghouse Government Services at Fort Drum, New York, with the eVinci microreactor. The competitive field spans a wide range of technical approaches. BWXT is the only vendor that self-supplies its TRISO fuel from its NRC-licensed Lynchburg, Virginia, facility, and it has authorized more than $25 million to double output there. General Atomics' GA-TES uses uranium-zirconium hydride fuel drawn from its TRIGA research reactor heritage, the only Janus design not using TRISO particle fuel. Antares, which achieved criticality with its Mark-0 test reactor at INL in June, has a combined federal contract book approaching $1 billion across the Army, Air Force, and Space Force programs. Radiant's fuel pathway separates enriched uranium supply from reactor-ready fuel fabrication. DOE-allocated HALEU (uranium enriched to 19.75 percent, versus 3 to 5 percent for conventional reactors) will support Kaleidos deployments, and Standard Nuclear will fabricate that material into TRISO particle fuel under a binding multi-metric-ton agreement extending through 2031. ## Military Anchor Deployments Could Unlock Commercial Scale The Army projects more than 20 total nuclear microreactors across Pentagon installations when private capital is included, with the government expecting the majority of funding to come from the private sector. For Radiant, the Janus award feeds directly into the same product it is building for commercial customers, including a signed agreement with Equinix for 20 Kaleidos units to power data centers. "Operating on military installations first gives us the reliability track record to unlock commercial deployments, and the resulting, much larger commercial volume drives down costs, letting the government buy at scale for less," Mike Starrett, chief commercial officer at Radiant, said. The Army does not expect all five vendors to deliver reactors by 2028. "We have a very practical pathway to delivering at least one of these reactors on or by September 30, 2028," Dr. Jeff Waksman, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment, said. "If a company is not performing, we can pull future milestones." The broader advanced nuclear sector is drawing parallel interest from big tech. Data center operators facing multi-year grid interconnection queues are evaluating microreactors as a behind-the-meter power source, and Radiant's Equinix agreement points to commercial demand beyond defense. BWXT is also pursuing a Wyoming commercial TRISO facility and has a letter of intent from Tata Chemicals Soda Ash for up to eight BANR units. For investors, the Janus awards give advanced nuclear startups a government-backed revenue path that reduces technology risk, potentially accelerating the sector's move from pilot projects to commercial order books. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.