America’s business executives are struggling to figure out how the global trading system will be reshaped by Donald Trump’s policies after his decision last week to open a second front in his trade war by targeting Mexico.
The US president’s plan to use tariffs against Mexico in retaliation for illegal immigration has prompted a realisation among businesses and markets that his past decisions to levy tariffs, for example on steel and aluminium, were not simply negotiating tactics towards broader strategic goals, analysts say.
“The market would like to believe the president is crying wolf on tariffs, but he isn’t,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton. Companies were now “walking on eggshells”.