Adding to the confusion, the White House says the tariffs would go into effect immediately, but also that the president was open to negotiating.

The uncertainty has forced companies to scramble. Mercedes is weighing whether to pull some cheaper models, like the ​​GLA sport utility vehicle, from the U.S. market, as a round of auto tariffs — set to go into effect tomorrow — challenge the company’s profitability, Bloomberg reports. And Sandoz, the European pharma giant, has warned that the trade war could drive up health care costs and crimp drug availability.

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