Long-threatened tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump have plunged the country into a trade war abroad — all while on-again, off-again new levies continue to escalate uncertainty.

As U.S. and Ukrainian officials prepare to meet in Saudi Arabia this week, President Donald Trump has privately made clear to aides that a signed minerals deal between Washington and Kyiv won’t be enough to restart aid and intelligence sharing with the war-torn country, according an administration official and another U.S. official.

National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said in an interview with ABC News' "This Week" that the tariffs are not meant to start a trade war. "What happened was that we launched a drug war, not a trade war, and it was part of the negotiation to get Canada and Mexico to stop shipping fentanyl across our borders," Hassett said.

The economy in 2018 was much different than the one today, and so are the Fed's options for keeping it on track.

Canada is gearing up to appoint a new Prime Minister today with countrywide elections for a new government to take place this year, making an air of anxiety amid a trade war with the U.S. Canadian Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Candace Laing joins Alex Witt to give perspective on Trump’s tariffs from the Canadian side.

U.S. arms exports reached 43 percent of the worldwide total as Ukrainian imports skyrocketed following the Russian invasion, according to research by SIPRI.