The US has shot the opening salvo in a potential trade war with its economic and military allies by levying 25 and 10 percent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Canada, Mexico and the EU. Predictably all three trading partners have announced retaliatory tariffs on US imported goods from Harley Davidson’s to peanut butter. The escalation from the White House came off the back of US commerce secretary Wilber Ross’s comments that negotiations with the trade partners on tariffs had gone nowhere. This development will undoubtedly spell a further bout of uncertainty and market volatility exacerbated by the ongoing political uncertainty in Italy.