NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks racked up more losses on Wall Street Tuesday as a trade war between the U.S. and its key trading partners escalated, wiping out all the gains since Election Day for the S&P 500.

The Trump administration imposed tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico starting Tuesday and doubled tariffs against imports from China. All three countries announced retaliatory actions, sparking worries about a slowdown in the global economy.

The S&P 500 fell 1.2%, with more than 80% of the stocks in the benchmark index closing lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1.6%.

The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.4%. The tech-heavy index briefly reached a 10% decline from its most recent closing high, which is what the market considers a correction, but gains for Nvidia, Microsoft and other tech heavyweights helped pare those losses.

Financial stocks were among the heaviest weights on the S&P 500 index. JPMorgan Chase fell 4% and Bank of America lost 6.3%.

Markets in Europe fell sharply, with Germany’s DAX falling 3.5% as automakers saw sharp losses. Stocks in Asia saw more modest declines.

“The markets are having a tough time even setting expectations for what this trade war could look like,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird. “This is clearly a level step higher than anything we saw during (Trump’s) first term.”

The market could soon face more twists in the tariff drama. President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress Tuesday night. After the closing bell, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox Business News that the U.S. would likely meet Canada and Mexico “in the middle” on tariffs, with an announcement coming as soon as Wednesday.

The recent decline in U.S. stocks has wiped out all of the markets’ gains since Trump’s election in November. That rally had been built largely on hopes for policies that would strengthen the U.S. economy and businesses. Worries about tariffs raising consumer prices and reigniting inflation have been weighing on both the economy and Wall Street.

The tariffs are prompting warnings from retailers, including Target and Best Buy, as they report their latest financial results. Target fell 3% despite beating Wall Street’s earnings forecasts, saying there will be “meaningful pressure” on its profits to start the year because of tariffs and other costs.

Best Buy plunged 13.3% for the biggest drop among S&P 500 stocks after giving investors a weaker-than-expected earnings forecast and warning about tariff impacts.

“International trade is critically important to our business and industry,” said Best Buy CEO Corie Barry.

Barry said China and Mexico are the top two sources for products that Best Buy sells, and it also expects vendors to pass along tariff costs, which would make price increases for American consumers likely.

Imports from Canada and Mexico are now to be taxed at 25%, with Canadian energy products subject to 10% import duties. The 10% tariff that Trump placed on Chinese imports in February was doubled to 20%.

Retaliations were swift.

China responded to new U.S. tariffs by announcing it will impose additional tariffs of up to 15% on imports of key U.S. farm products, including chicken, pork, soy and beef, and expanded controls on doing business with key U.S. companies. Canada plans on slapping tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods over the course of 21 days. Mexico also plans tariffs on goods imported from the U.S.

Companies in the S&P 500 are wrapping up the latest round of quarterly financial reports. They’ve posted broad earnings growth of 18% for the fourth quarter. But Wall Street has already trimmed expectations for the current quarter to about 7% growth from just over forecasts of 11% at the beginning of the year.

“The hit to growth is more of the commentary that we’ll be looking for from companies,” said Kevin Gordon, senior investment strategist at Charles Schwab.

Concerns about profits follow a series of economic reports with worrisome signals that include U.S. households becoming more pessimistic about inflation and pulling back on spending. Consumer spending has essentially driven U.S. economic growth in the face of high interest rates.

Wall Street has been hoping that the Federal Reserve would continue lowering interest rates in 2025. The central bank has signaled more caution, though, partly because of uncertainty surrounding the economic impact of tariffs. The Fed is expected to hold rates steady at its upcoming meeting later in March.

The Fed raised interest rates to their highest level in two decades in order to tame inflation. It started cutting its benchmark rate in 2024 as the rate of inflation moved closer to its target of 2%. But inflation remains stubbornly just above that target and tariffs threaten price increases that could fuel inflation.

In the bond market, Treasury yields were mixed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.20% from 4.16% late Monday. It’s still down sharply from last month, when it was approaching 4.80%, as worries have grown about the strength of the U.S. economy.

“Because tariffs are in effect, and there’s no guarantee that they’re likely to be temporary, that’s filtering its way to the bond market and we’re seeing the threat of higher inflation eroding the value of the 10-year note,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA.

The yield on the 2-year Treasury held steady at 3.94%.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 71.57 points to 5,778.15. The Dow dropped 670 points to 42,520.99, and the Nasdaq shed 65.03 points to 18,285.16.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump launched a trade war Tuesday against America’s three biggest trading partners, drawing immediate retaliation from Mexico, Canada and China and sending financial markets into a tailspin as the U.S. faced the threat of rekindled inflation and paralyzing uncertainty for business.

Just after midnight, Trump imposed 25% taxes, or tariffs, on Mexican and Canadian imports, though he limited the levy to 10% on Canadian energy. Trump also doubled the tariff he slapped last month on Chinese products to 20%.

Beijing retaliated with tariffs of up to 15% on a wide array of U.S. farm exports. It also expanded the number of U.S. companies subject to export controls and other restrictions by about two dozen.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country would plaster tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods over the course of 21 days.

“Today the United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, their closest friend. At the same, they are talking about working positively with Russia, appeasing Vladimir Putin, a lying, murderous dictator. Make that make sense,” Trudeau said.

Later in the day, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the U.S. would likely meet Canada and Mexico “in the middle,” with an announcement coming as soon as Wednesday.

Lutnick told Fox Business News that the tariffs would not be paused, but that Trump would reach a compromise.

“I think he’s going to figure out, you do more, and I’ll meet you in the middle in some way,” Lutnick said.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexico will respond to the new taxes with its own retaliatory tariffs. Sheinbaum said she will announce the products Mexico will target on Sunday. The delay might indicate that Mexico still hopes to de-escalate Trump’s trade war.

The president is abandoning the free trade policies the United States pursued for decades after World War II. He argues that open trade cost America millions of factory jobs and that tariffs are the path to national prosperity. He rejects the views of mainstream economists who contend that such protectionism is costly and inefficient.

Import taxes are “a very powerful weapon that politicians haven’t used because they were either dishonest, stupid or paid off in some other form,” Trump said Monday. “And now we’re using them.”

Dartmouth College economist Douglas Irwin, author of a 2017 history of U.S. tariff policy, has calculated that Tuesday’s hikes will lift America’s average tariff from 2.4% to 10.5%, the highest level since the 1940s. “We’re in a new era for sure.”

As the trade disputes escalated, stocks racked up more losses Tuesday on Wall Street, wiping out all the gains since Election Day for the S&P 500. Markets in Europe also fell sharply.

Trump has said tariffs are intended to address drug trafficking and illegal immigration. But he’s also said the tariffs will come down only if the U.S. trade deficit narrows.

The American president has injected a disorienting volatility into the world economy, leaving it off balance as people wonder what he will do next.

During his first term, Trump imposed tariffs only after lengthy investigations — into the national security implications of relying on foreign steel, for example, said Michael House, co-chair of the international trade practice at the Perkins Coie law firm.

But by declaring a national emergency last month involving the flow of immigrants and illicit drugs across U.S. borders, “he can modify these tariffs with a stroke of the pen,’’ House said. “It’s chaotic.”

Democratic lawmakers were quick to criticize the tariffs.

“Presidents don’t get to invent emergencies to justify bad policies,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “Abusing emergency powers to wage an economic war on our closest allies isn’t leadership — it’s dangerous.”

Even some Republican senators raised alarms. “Maine and Canada’s economy are integrated,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, explaining that much of the state’s lobsters and blueberries are processed in Canada and then sent back to the U.S.

Truck driver Carlos Ponce, 58, went about business as usual Tuesday morning, transporting auto parts from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to El Paso, Texas, just as he’s done for decades.

Like many on the border, he was worried about the fallout from the tariffs. “Things could change drastically,” Ponce said. Truckers could lose their jobs or have to drive farther to coastal ports as Mexican manufacturers look for trading partners beyond the U.S.

Alan Russell, head of Tecma, which helps factories set up in places like Ciudad Juarez, is skeptical that Trump’s tariffs will bring manufacturing back to the United States.

“Nobody is going to move their factory until they have certainty,” Russell said. Just last week, he said, Tecma helped a North Carolina manufacturer that moved to Mexico because it couldn’t find enough workers in the United States.

U.S. businesses near the Canadian border scrambled to deal with the impact. Gutherie Lumber in suburban Detroit reached out Tuesday to Canadian suppliers about the cost of 8-foot wood studs. About 15% of the lumber at the Gutherie yard in Livonia, Michigan, comes from Canada.

Sales manager Mike Mahoney said Canadian suppliers are already raising prices. “They’re putting that 25% on studs.‘’ Builders will strain to stay within their budgets.

After years of effort and thousands of dollars in investment, Tom Bard, a Kentucky craft bourbon distiller, gained a foothold in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta and watched his sales grow north of the border. Now Kentucky bourbon is in Canada’s crosshairs, and an order from his Canadian distributors is on hold.

“That hurts,” he said. At his small distillery “every single pallet that goes out the door makes a huge difference ... The last thing you want is to have an empty spot where your bottles are supposed to be on a shelf.”

Bard co-owns the Bard Distillery with his wife, Kim, in western Kentucky’s Muhlenberg County, about 135 miles (217 kilometers) southwest of Louisville, Kentucky.

Trump overwhelmingly carried Kentucky in the November election. In Muhlenberg County, Trump defeated Kamala Harris by a more than 3-to-1 margin.

The China tariffs also threaten the U.S. toy industry. Greg Ahearn, president and CEO of the Toy Association, said the 20% tariffs on Chinese goods will be “crippling,” as nearly 80% of toys sold in the U.S. are made in China.

Steve Rad, CEO of the Austin, Texas-based toy maker Abacus Brands Inc., hopes to find ways to avoid raising prices in the wake of the 20% tax on Chinese goods.

The company will have to “go to war” with its pricing and cost structure and figure out how to avoid penalizing consumers. For one product, a $39.99 kit that teaches children how volcanoes work, he’s thinking of switching to cheaper, lower-quality paper.

Rachel Lutz owns the Peacock Room, four women’s boutique shops with about 15 employees in Detroit. She’s been bracing for the tariffs but doesn’t understand the logic behind them.

“I’m struggling to see the wisdom in picking a fight with our largest trading partner that we’ve had historically wonderful relationships with,” Lutz said Tuesday from her shop. “I’m struggling to really understand how they can’t see that will profoundly impact our economy in ways that I think the American consumer has not predicted. We’re about to find out.”

___

Gillies reported from Toronto. Associated Press writers Anne D’Innocenzio in New York; Corey Williams in Detroit; Bruce Schreiner in Louisville, Kentucky; Didi Tang and Lisa Mascaro in Washington; and Megan Janetsky and Maria Verza in Mexico City contributed to this report.

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - The Laredo Police Department reported significant traffic delays Wednesday morning, March 5, around 11:30 a.m. on Mines Road at Verde Blvd.

Officers say there is an issue with the traffic lights in the area, which is causing a backup on the southbound lanes of Mines Road. Traffic safety officials are currently addressing the situation.

Drivers are advised to use caution and expect delays while traveling through the area.

DEL RIO, Tex. (KGNS) - Vice President JD Vance arrived at Laughlin Air Force Base on Wednesday, March 5, as part of a visit to the southern border. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard join him.

A KGNS crew is on-site at the Air Force base, where Air Force Two landed at 11:45 a.m. The vice president and other officials are expected to travel to Eagle Pass later in the day, where they will hold a press briefing.

The visit comes as the Trump administration continues to address border security concerns. More updates will be provided as the day unfolds.

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - Testimony began Tuesday in the trial of two men accused of playing key roles in what federal officials have called the deadliest human trafficking incident in U.S. history.

On June 27, 2022, authorities discovered 67 migrants inside a semitrailer on San Antonio’s southwest side. The victims, from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, were trapped in extreme heat. The initial death toll of 48 later rose to 53 as more victims succumbed to heat-related injuries.

Homero Zamorano Jr., identified as the driver of the semitrailer, was arrested shortly after. A year later, four Mexican nationals were also arrested in connection with the smuggling organization. This trial focuses on two of them:

• Armando Gonzales-Ortega – Alleged coordinator

• Felipe Orduna-Torres – Described as a leader and organizer

Emotional First Day of Testimony

The first witness, who was leaving work nearby, testified that he saw a young girl crying in the middle of the road. She pointed toward the trailer, where he found bodies scattered everywhere. A San Antonio police officer later testified that he discovered piles of bodies in the back of the truck.

Testimony also revealed that the migrants were picked up in Laredo after crossing the border and loaded into the trailer. Smugglers doused them with a “seasoning” to evade Border Patrol K-9s at checkpoints.

Defense Claims a “Conspiracy”

During opening statements, the defense argued that their clients were not involved and claimed the case was a “conspiracy.”

The trial is expected to last four weeks, and if found guilty, both men could face life in prison.

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - Webb County is reminding the public about a state policy that blocks people who have fallen behind on child support payments from renewing the registration on their vehicle.

The policy went into effect back in 2016 as a way for the Texas Attorney General’s Office to keep up to date on their payments.

The county is using social media to alert people about this policy and to encourage them not to risk driving with an expired registration, which could lead to further complications.

“The motor vehicle system belongs to the state, and the Attorney General is the top law officer of the state of Texas, and they, through the virtue of the legislature, can enforce child support through the Texas Motor Vehicle System. In other words, if you owe child support, you need your car to work. You ain’t getting a sticker, and you’re not gonna be able to renew it unless you catch up,“ said Web Counties Tax Assessor-Collector, Patricia Barrera.

We’re told the matter cannot be resolved at the county level, and it has to be done with the Attorney General’s Office.

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - President Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs has become a reality for those in the trading world.

As early as Tuesday, March 4, some of the United States' biggest trading partners were hard hit with 25% tariffs on most imports.

President of the National Brokers Association (NBA), Jose David Gonzalez, says that many steps in the trading process remain unclear, mentioning, “A lot of brokers get paid a nominal service fee, so now we’re going to have to work with the clients to make them pay their duties upfront. Because it’s the importer’s responsibility.”

Gonzalez expects the costs of the tariff to be passed off to the consumer, adding, “In the next 10 days, you’re going to see price increases in the grocery store. Anybody who is looking at vehicles, you’re going to start looking at price increases there too.”

He speculates any product created outside the U.S. would become more costly. Things like avocados, fruits and electronics are some of the items expected to rise in prices.

However, in terms of traffic pouring in through Laredo’s port of entry, Gonzalez expects it would affect small to midsize importers specifically.

“You are immediately going to see a reduction, and I’m going to state that you’re probably going to see a reduction in the flow of traffic,” he said.

Hours before the tariffs went into effect, we interviewed U.S. Customs Broker Arturo Dominguez, who explained that there was a flurry of activity in the days before the tariffs were put in place.

“Right now, everyone is trying to cross as much as they can because they only have till midnight to cross whatever they want,” Dominguez said.

He added that this was an ongoing trend since Trump first issued the threat of tariffs, providing an extension for both Canada and Mexico.

“In one week, we saw a little bit over 60k trucks between Laredo and Colombia bridge, so it’s pretty high,” Dominguez mentioned.

Additionally, Dominguez notes that he saw many people shipping consistently to build up their stock.

Gonzalez states that the choice to impose tariffs remains federal, however, he has noticed Laredo, and state officials, have been lobbying for changes to how the current administration is handling trade.

U.S. brokers have been issued a letter outlining different guidelines as to what products and at what point in the process the tariffs apply.