In one fell swoop last week, U.S. President Donald Trump sent global markets into a tailspin, upended business confidence and reversed decades worth of trade liberalizations. Hot off the heels of the COVID pandemic, the world is now facing another major economic crisis — only this one is entirely man made.

On Wednesday, universal tariffs ranging from 10 to 49 per cent will be applied to imports from 180 different countries, compounding the pain caused by the president’s across-the-board tariffs on non-CUSMA compliant goods from Canada and Mexico, 25 per cent steel and aluminum tariffs and his new 25 per cent levy on vehicles and parts sourced from outside the United States.