Donald Trump’s comments on tariffs sent a ripple through currency markets as traders scrambled to get to grips with the move.
Initially, the US dollar jumped in value against the currencies of those countries being targeted. It rose more than 2% against the Mexican peso and hit the highest level for four and a half years against the Canadian dollar.
The US dollar also strengthened against other currencies, although it has since lost some of the earlier gains, and share prices in Europe fell as investors worried about the potential impact.
People were never quite sure whether Trump actually meant literally the things he was saying in the campaign – if that’s really what he would do.
On this, he certainly seems to be making good on his campaign promises, and in a hurry as well.
He has said very clearly that he plans to do this on day one. So this is not going to be the culmination of a negotiation with these countries to impose a tariff, he wants to do this from as early as he possibly can.
And I suspect you might see this with some other policies as well – that he is a man in a hurry who wants to start imposing his agenda just as quickly as he can.