Hawkish voices in his White House—notably, Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff for policy—are pushing for the universal tariffs that Mr Trump promised on the campaign trail. By using his presidential memo to call for an “America first” trade policy without specifying its actual content,

American voters seem lukewarm about Trump’s tariffs. A recent survey by Quinnipiac University reported that 51 percent of respondents opposed Trump’s plan to impose new tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada, and China. Thirty-eight percent supported the proposal.

Global shares and U.S. Treasuries were volatile on Tuesday, reversing a brief relief rally from early in the session in the first few hours of Donald Trump's new presidency after he announced plans for trade tariffs on neighbouring countries.

As for China, the target of his first-term trade war, he warned that he might impose hefty tariffs if its government blocks a sale of TikTok, a Chinese video app facing a ban in America. And for good measure he reiterated a campaign pledge to slap tariffs of 100% on members of the BRICS group of countries,

President Donald Trump used his inauguration Monday to underscore his plans to move away from taxing Americans in favor of tariffs on imports from other countries.