WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump escalated his abrupt tariff threats against Mexico on Friday, triggering alarm about the likely economic fallout, spooking global markets and raising the prospect of US trade wars on multiple fronts.

Trump unexpectedly announced his readiness to levy tariffs on all Mexican imports, beginning at five percent starting June 10 and rising monthly to as high as 25 percent until Mexico substantially reduces the flow of illegal immigration.

Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Friday that his country was “doing our job” to stop the flow of undocumented migrants to the United States, and warned Trump that hitting his neighbor with tariffs would be a lose-lose game.

But the US leader then doubled down on his threats, saying in a flurry of tweets that “Mexico has taken advantage of the United States for decades.”

The impact of new tariffs would be devastating for Mexico, which sends 80 percent of its exports to the US.

Lopez Obrador reminded his American counterpart the tariffs would also take a heavy toll on the United States, whose largest trading partner so far this year is Mexico — thanks mainly to Trump’s trade war with China.

Earlier this month Trump, angered by what he deemed unfair Chinese trade practices, raised punitive duties on $200 billion in Chinese imports. Beijing has promised retaliation.

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