President Donald Trump escalated his surprise tariff threats against Mexico on Friday, triggering alarm about the likely economic fallout, spooking global markets and raising the prospect of US trade wars on multiple fronts.
Trump announced his readiness to levy tariffs on all Mexican imports, beginning at five percent starting June 10 and rising to as high as 25 per cent in coming months until Mexico substantially reduces the flow of illegal immigration.
Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said early Friday that his country was "doing our job" to stop the flow of undocumented migrants to the United States, and warned Trump that hitting his neighbor with tariffs would be a lose-lose game. But the US president only doubled down on his threats of punishment, saying in a new flurry of tweets that "Mexico has taken advantage of the United States for decades."