Global markets have been reacting to the new trade law territory US President Donald Trump invoked on Saturday (1 February) after he signed an executive order to go ahead with his pledged tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.

President Trump pushed ahead with an emergency sanctions law to justify 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports and an extra 10% duty on Chinese goods to tackle fentanyl and illegal immigration into the US.

The 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) is untested for imposing import tariffs and the US President was warned all three nations could take retaliatory countermeasures.

China’s response
Moments after the news broke China announced an anti-trust investigation into Google. The country’s finance ministry also announced 15% tariffs on coal and liquefied natural gas, and 10% on crude oil, farm equipment, large-displacement vehicles and pickup trucks from the US.

Since then, China’s commerce ministry and its customs administration said on Tuesday (4 February) it would impose export controls on a raft of critical materials to “safeguard national security interest”. The administration added it was including US companies PVH Group and Illumina Inc to its unreliable entity list. Clothing company PVH owns brands including