内容摘要："We used to sell around a million pairs of boots a year," says the 45-year-old sales manager, Mr Peng, who did not wish to reveal his first name.

"We used to sell around a million pairs of boots a year," says the 45-year-old sales manager, Mr Peng, who did not wish to reveal his first name.

On Saturday, the president made good on his threats, ordering a new 25% tax on shipments from Mexico and Canada and raising existing tariffs on goods from China by 10%.But that has not stopped the questions.

"Is it for a day, is it a political flex or is it something that will last for four years?" asked Nicolas Palazzi, the founder of Brooklyn-based PM Spirits. He runs a 21-person business that imports and sells wine and spirits, about 20% of which come from Mexico.Trump's orders set in motion threats that the president has discussed for months, striking at shipments from America's top three trade partners, which together account for more than 40% of the roughly $3tn goods the US imports each year.Canadian oil and other "energy resources" will face a lower 10% rate. But otherwise, there will be no exceptions, the White House said.

Trump said the tariffs were intended to hold Canada and Mexico accountable for promises to address illegal immigration and drug trafficking.The measures go into effect on 4 February and are to remain in place "until the crisis is alleviated," according to the orders.

If the plans were not a surprise, they still presented a potentially stunning blow to many businesses, especially for those in North America. The three countries have become tightly linked economically after decades of free trade under a treaty signed in the 1990s, known then as Nafta and updated and renamed under the Trump administration to USMCA.

The growth of mezcal in the US, brought in by businesses like Palazzi's, has been part of this shift.Earlier that year, Tetiana's name had appeared online on a pro-Russian forum. It identified her as a 'waiter', a slur for those seen to be 'waiting' for liberation. Melitopol was full of informers.

"She definitely donated money and helped [Ukraine] however she could," her daughter tells me. "Some people die on the battlefield and others die in occupation, helping Ukraine in other ways. To me, she's a warrior. She knew the risks. But she had to help."By then, Ukrainians in occupied areas were being forced to take Russian passports. Russian citizens were brought in to staff schools, as well as police and prosecutors.

Eventually Tetiana and Oleh agreed to leave Melitopol if the Ukrainian army hadn't pushed through by November. But in September, they were arrested.Lyudmila was frantic. Unable to return to an occupied town, she wrote to every official body she could find, demanding answers as her grandmother began searching local police stations and prisons.