As Donald Trump approaches six months into his second presidential term, four foreign markets he vowed to penalize with heavy tariffs have not only withstood the threat, they’ve outpaced the S&P 500 and America’s biggest tech giants by a wide margin.
Since Jan. 20, 2025 — Trump’s inauguration day — exchange-traded funds tracking Mexican, Canadian, eurozone and Chinese stocks have posted significant gains.
Such performance defied Wall Street’s overly pessimistic expectations at the start of the year, especially as these regions were seen as directly damaged by Trump’s protectionist agenda.
Equities in Mexico, Canada, Europe and China Defy Trump’s Tariff Threats
The iShares MSCI Mexico ETF (NYSE:EWW) surged 28%, the iShares Large-Cap China ETF (NYSE:FXI) rose 21%, the iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF (NYSE:EZU) gained 20%, and the iShares MSCI Canada ETF (NYSE:EWC) is up 11%.
Ironically, these four economies — responsible for the bulk of last year’s trillion-dollar U.S. trade deficit — were key targets in the new administration’s push to rebalance trade.
In contrast, the S&P 500, as tracked by the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO), has remained flat.
Meanwhile, a widely followed basket of tech giants struggled to keep pace. The Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (NYSE:MAGS) — which tracks the performance of Microsoft Corp. (NYSE:MSFT), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: