Trump tariffs Trade-offs, threats... and friendships under strain

One by one, the bottles of Kentucky bourbon were pulled from the shelf of a Vancouver liquor store. In their place, a sign: "Buy Canadian instead." The move, aimed at states with Republican governors, marked an early salvo in a looming trade war between the US and Canada.

- Leyland Cecco

"We have targeted red states because, quite frankly, Donald Trump doesn't care about Democrat states," British Columbia's housing minister, Ravi Kahlon, said. "We want to make sure that we're not punishing states that have nothing to do with this." Over last weekend, the US had announced sweeping tariffs on Canada, one of its largest trading partners and political allies. And in a speech lauded across the political aisle in Canada, the outgoing prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said the American taxes, in breach of the continent's free trade agreement, would be met with a "far-reaching" economic and political response. By Monday, however, Trudeau had announced Trump had agreed a 30-day pause to the tariffs on Canadian goods after a phone call the US president said went "very well".

Hours earlier, Trump had also agreed a similar pause with the Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, postponing sweeping new US tariffs on goods by one month. The US president had upended US-Mexico ties last weekend when he announced 25% tariffs and accused Sheinbaum's administration of engaging in an "intolerable alliance" with Mexican crime groups.

It was the third time in two weeks the US president had delayed his threatened 25% tariffs on the two countries.