In the whirlwind of activity in his first few weeks in the White House, Donald Trump has sought to remake the world to his advantage by blowing up alliances and trading relationships that took decades to build. His latest attempt to bend America’s allies to his will came on March 4th, in the form of tariffs of 25% on imports from Mexico and Canada, originally due to take effect a month earlier. The tariffs will hurt the neighbours, but they are also a blow to carmaking in America, an industry of both economic heft and outsize cultural significance. They will push up the price of the mode of transport that Americans hold most dear.
