How much did your 401K lose this week? Trump tariffs bring stock declines [Video]

President Donald Trump‘s long-threatened tariffs against Canada and Mexico went into effect Tuesday, putting global markets on edge and setting up costly retaliations by United States’ North American allies. 

Starting just past midnight Tuesday, imports from Canada and Mexico are now to be taxed at 25%, with Canadian energy products getting tariffed at 10%. In addition, the 10% tariff that Trump placed on Chinese imports in February is doubling to 20%.

Impact

Big picture view:

Tariffs often cause bad side effects such as higher prices and inflation, making your money worth less.

The other big risk is damage to Americans’ long-term retirement goals. 

All the post-election gains stock markets enjoyed were gone on Monday, with the hole only getting deeper on Tuesday.

There is now a trade war between the U.S. and two of its closest allies and trading partners, Mexico and Canada, the latter imposing matching tariffs.

“Canadians are reasonable, and we …