Thinking through the cacophony
To say that the last week was wild would be an understatement. We are only 18 days into the second Trump administration, with 1 442 days still ahead of us. The week started with US President Donald Trump imposing hefty 25% import tariffs on Canada and Mexico and 10% tariffs on China. The market reaction was understandably negative. After talks between Trump and his Mexican and Canadian counterparts, the implementation of the tariffs was put on hold. Mexico City and Ottawa promised to better police their borders, a small price to pay to avert the potentially catastrophic impact on their respective economies. Both countries send around 80% of their exports to the US.