Mexico and Canada are putting aside their differences and forming a more united front as they try to head off US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose steep tariffs on them as soon as next week. Since winning the election in November Trump has repeatedly threatened his country’s two largest trading partners with tariffs of 25 per cent on all exports to the US in retaliation for what he says are rising levels of illegal immigration and the trafficking of the opioid fentanyl into the country.

What's in a name change, after all? The water bordered by the Southern United States, Mexico and Cuba will be critical to shipping lanes and vacationers whether it’s called the Gulf of Mexico, as it has been for four centuries,