WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The White House said on Monday it has noticed that Mexico is "serious" about President Donald Trump's executive order on tariffs, but Canada has "misunderstood" it to be a trade war between the neighboring countries.

Trump campaigned heavily on tariffs and threatened to implement them against Canada and Mexico on Inauguration Day, which was later pushed back to Feb. 1.

The tariffs if sustained could cause inflation to significantly worsen, possibly eroding voters' trust that Trump could as promised lower the prices of groceries, gasoline, housing, autos and other goods.

Here’s why Trump’s opening tariff salvo will likely hurt U.S. consumers. If U.S. voters reelected Donald Trump hoping for relief from higher prices, his recent threats to impose tariffs on America’s three largest trade partners might make them think again.