Trump imposes tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, spurring prospect of inflation and trade conflict [Video]

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Saturday signed an order to impose stiff tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China — fulfilling one of his post-campaign commitments to voters that threatened to spark higher inflation and disrupt businesses across North America as the countries vowed harsh measures in response.

Mexico’s president immediately ordered retaliatory tariffs and Canada’s prime minister said it was “prepared” to quickly respond. Trump’s order includes a mechanism to escalate the rates if the countries retaliate against the U.S.

The decision throws the global economy and Trump’s own political mandate to combat inflation into possible turmoil, though the Republican president posted on social media that it was necessary “to protect Americans.”

The tariffs risk an economic standoff with America’s two largest trading partners in Mexico and Canada, upending a decades-old trade relationship with the possibility of harsh reprisals by those two nations. The tariffs also if sustained could cause inflation to significantly worsen, …