(Bloomberg) — All it took was a single social media post by Donald Trump for world leaders to plunge into response mode, US automaker stocks to tumble and investors to begin scrambling to assess potential economic impact. And while the US president-elect’s threat on Truth Social to impose 25% tariffs on all goods from Mexico and Canada and 10% on products from China may ultimately prove to be a negotiating tactic, it sent a clear signal: While Trump hasn’t yet assumed the White House, the second Trump era has effectively begun. President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico suggested her country could respond to the threatened tariffs with levies of its own, warning the economic consequences would be dire.
“One tariff will be followed by another in response, and so on until we put common companies at risk,” Sheinbaum said at her daily press conference. For Canadian officials, the online post landed just as a special cabinet group meeting on US relations was wrapping up. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was soon on the phone with Trump, working to assure the president-elect he’d heard the message — but also pointing out that the issues at the Canadian border are tiny compared to the US-Mexico border.
Still, Canada is not ruling out striking back. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, speaking to reporters Tuesday afternoon, pointed out that her government responded dollar-for-dollar when Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum during his first term. “The importa.
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