The Trump administration’s senior trade counselor also dismissed concerns that the president forced only minor concessions from Canada and Mexic

Trump has backed off, at least temporarily, but Jimmys Kimmel and Fallon, Stephen Colbert, and Seth Meyers wondered if the president was ever really serious. Or, in the words of Kimmel, was he just “pretending to issue tariffs so that Canada and Mexico can pretend to bend over for him, and then it’ll look like he’s the big hero.”

On Friday afternoon, around the same time a delegation of senior Canadian officials was preparing to meet with President Donald’s Trump’s border czar in a bid to stave off withering new tariffs, Trump himself essentially told them from afar: Don’t bother.

Amid warnings of price increases, Canada moved quickly to retaliate, China said it had planned countermeasures and Mexico said it would soon unveil its response.

Shares in Europe and Asia have fallen after US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, and said tariffs on the EU would "definitely happen". The German and French stock markets were down about 2%, with shares in carmakers among the worst hit, while London's FTSE 100 dropped more 1%.

The move likely will trigger retaliation and risk igniting a trade war that could cause broad economic disruption for all countries involved.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set out "far-reaching" tariffs of 25%, affecting 155bn Canadian dollars' worth ($106.6bn; £86bn) of American goods ranging from beer and wine, to household appliances and sporting goods.

One local congressman says President Trump is engaged in a “dangerous trade war” and he’s holding a rally on that with other local leaders.On Satu