Trump focuses his economic war on China. Will weary U.S. allies follow?

An economic war of global titans has erupted, with the U.S. versus China in multitrillion-dollar volleys of tit-for-tat tariffs. 

And in this epic geopolitical standoff, the U.S. is counting on having friends by its side. Unfortunately for those allies, the U.S. hasn't finished spraying them all with friendly fire.

President Donald Trump sent stock markets soaring on Wednesday by softening some of his market-crushing tariffs — though many remain in place.

Trump admitted to having seen the wild reaction in bond markets that had some experts expressing fear not just of a stock crash, but a full-blown financial crisis.

So the U.S. president switched to Plan B: "You have to be flexible," Trump said Wednesday.

What does it mean? It means different things, for different countries — for China, for North America and for the rest of Planet Earth.

China will now get a 125 per cent tariff, potentially shutting down large swaths of the U.S. market.

The ripple effects could be massive, from unsold Chinese goods swamping world markets, to the more frightening spiralling of tensions.

"From the Chinese perspective, I do think this is far more than just a trade war — and [more than] economic. That makes it hard to be optimistic," said U.S.-based China analyst Bill Bishop on his podcast.

"We're starting on a very precipitous decline in the China-U.S. relationship."

Other nations aren't being hit so hard, but they're not being spared, either.

Most of the world now gets a 10 per cent tariff — which was the minimum tariff announced last week — plus larger tariffs on steel, aluminum, autos and likely lumber and pharmaceuticals.

What about Canada? 

Well, if you're a tad confused, don't feel bad. So is the White House. In the span of an hour Wednesday, the Trump administration performed two U-turns on its North America policy.