Trump’s Tariff War Drags Down Deals Work in Subdued M&A Market

New US tariffs and a growing trade war are weighing down an already sputtering global deals market.

Mergers & acquisitions transactions for the first two months of the year were down 21% compared to last year, dropping to $434.2 billion, according to Bloomberg data. The total number of deals during that stretch was the lowest in at least five years, taking the wind out of the sails for M&A dealmakers who expected an influx in transactions after President Donald Trump moved into the White House.

The slowdown stems in part from the threat of tariffs on imported goods from Canada, ...