Market Perspectives
Navigating the unfolding trade war
Highlights
With the threatened Trump Tariffs now announced, but delayed, we review where we are, and what we could expect over the weeks and months ahead. We are optimistic that Canada and the United States can move to a settlement on the current fentanyl-driven round of tariff discussions, but we also expect future rounds of tariff threats and negotiations related to other grievances such as defence spending.
These threats and negotiation tactics are unfortunately the new reality, at the very least until the USMCA trade agreement is renegotiated in 2026. We had previously already cautioned about increased market volatility in 2025, and this further adds to those concerns, but we continue to see the potential for the equity markets to achieve modest gains throughout the year. We also take this opportunity to emphasize the importance of diversification through these periods of uncertainty and recommend that investors review their return objectives and risk tolerance with their advisors.
