Canada, China, Mexico, and the art of retaliation

The confrontation US President Donald Trump announced on Feb 1 targets America’s three largest trading partners. He accuses them of endangering American interests and, starting on Feb 4, will subject them to tariffs that are far more harmful than those he imposed in his first term. After decades in which America has supported broadly open markets, his actions look as if they will mark a new era of protectionism.

Canada, China, and Mexico all want to buy time, mitigate the damage, retain firepower and create pathways for de-escalation. Yet despite being lumped together and having similar goals, they have different strategies, including fiery rhetoric, targeted counter-tariffs and empty technocratic gestures. How these play out will determine the degree of economic and financial chaos that unfolds and influence how places including Europe respond to Mr Trump if and when he carries out his threat to take action against them too.