President-elect Donald Trump pledged big tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China last week, announcing he was ready to sign an executive order placing 25% tariffs on all goods imported from Canada and Mexico on day one of his presidency, with an additional 10% tariff on goods from China. 

“This was one of the big questions during the campaign—how much of the tariff talk was Donald Trump bluster and how much was a serious plan, and I think there's still a bit of a question about that,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. “I think what he's putting out now, at this stage, could be seen as an attempt to nudge the behavior of both Mexico and Canada regarding the border and to engage in what is essentially financial saber rattling,” he says.

“But also, I wouldn't be surprised to see him follow through on this because he is a believer in tariffs, and he demonstrated that in his first term. So I think all of these things are designed to change the behavior of those countries. And certainly one of the things he's concerned about is the fairness of trade arrangements with those other countries,” Reeher says.

Watch the full interview via Fox News.