Every time US President Donald Trump opens his mouth about tariffs — or brandishes his executive pen — the world’s stock markets brace for a trillion-dollar haircut. Friday was no exception. Markets cratered yet again after Trump threatened a 50% tariff on all European Union goods and warned tech giant Apple that iPhones not made in the Lower 48 would face a 25% import tax.That sent the Dow Jones plunging more than 300 points at the opening bell, the S&P 500 dropped 1%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell more than 1.5%, wiping hundreds of billions from global valuations in minutes. European markets followed suit, with the STOXX Europe 600 dropping nearly 2%.Losses on Canadian markets were more muted, with the TSX down only 31 points at the opening bell..“It’s becoming routine,” one Wall Street strategist said. “Trump speaks, markets bleed.”The timing couldn’t be worse — or more awkward. Just days earlier, G7 finance ministers gathered in Banff, Alberta, to project unity in the face of mounting global economic turbulence. The joint communiqué, hailed by Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne as “a testament to common ground,” emphasized the importance of economic resilience, supply chain stability, and international cooperation. But it conspicuously avoided one issue: tariffs..Indeed, the 150% gorilla in the room — Trump’s escalating trade war with virtually every other G7 country — went unnamed. Not once did the communiqué mention tariffs, even as the US is locked in tense negotiations or disputes with each of its fellow G7 members.Ottawa is engaged in its own ambiguous “negotiations” with Trump’s trade team, though officials declined to clarify the status of talks ahead of next month’s G7 leaders’ summit in Kananaskis, where Trump is confirmed to attend.Sources close to the negotiations say discussions have been “productive but unpredictable,” with Trump reportedly demanding everything from lower agricultural tariffs to ‘Made in North America’ guarantees for major tech firms..Meanwhile, Trump has vowed to strike 90 trade deals in 90 days. So far, he has inked only a preliminary, non-binding agreement with the United Kingdom to ease tariffs on select goods, and what officials are calling a “gentlemen’s agreement” — if that term still holds meaning in Trump’s orbit — with China to engage in talks over mutual tariff reductions. Notably, neither deal addresses core structural issues or includes enforceable terms..Trump’s latest tariff threats target everything from luxury goods and pharmaceuticals from the EU to iPhones made outside the US — even though no smartphones are manufactured domestically. Industry analysts say building iPhones in the US would make them cost as much as $3,500 each and take up to a decade to implement.Apple is already pivoting manufacturing to India as an end-run around Trump in anticipation of future tariff shocks..Likewise, the EU has already drawn up $100 billion in retaliatory tariffs, ready to activate if no deal is reached before the current 90-day tariff pause expires in July. France, Germany, and Sweden have warned they will not accept a deal similar to the UK’s, which EU representatives have described as a “political concession fest.”“There’s a profound lack of seriousness coming from Washington,” said one EU diplomat. “We’re being asked to negotiate based on Truth Social posts.”As the G7 summit in Kananaskis approaches, global markets and world leaders will be watching not just for policy shifts, but for what Trump says next. Because in Trump’s Brave New World of geopolitical brinkmanship, a single sentence can be worth a trillion dollars.
