What’s going on here? The US president moved to enact 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports – and then negotiated a month’s pause across both. What does this mean? In making imported offerings more expensive, the US president is hoping American-made wares will look more appealing. That could, in turn, lift sales for stateside companies and bring more manufacturing jobs back to the country. Mind you, analysts say it could be years before those jobs materialize – moving supply chains around the globe and building new production facilities is a migraine-inducing amount of work. But while the jury’s out on how this’ll play out for the US, investors have already delivered their verdict for the north: Canada’s currency and many of its stocks were taken down a peg after the news. Why should I care? Zooming in: Salsa or a spicy marg… it’s Sophie’s choice. If tariff hikes eventually play out as threatened, the auto industry could be hit especially hard: the proposed duties would immediately hit a quarter of all cars sold in the States. And because carmakers are expected to spread those costs out across all models, Americans could see the average price of a new car rise by about $3,000. If that doesn’t scare you, maybe this will: Mexico and Canada are the biggest suppliers of produce like tomatoes and avocados, as well as beef and tequila – so if the pause ends, you might have to skip the guac. The bigger picture: Land of the fee. Higher tariffs will mean higher costs for American businesses. And they’ll pass that burden on to customers via price increases, running the risk of igniting inflation and turning off shoppers. That’s already a gruesome twosome for the economy, and then there’s the risk that trade partners like Canada, Mexico, China, and Europe respond with tariffs of their own – they’ve already threatened as much. | 