Trump to announce reciprocal tariffs on US trading partners tonight

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he's announcing increases on US tariffs to match the tax rates that other countries charge on imports.

“TODAY IS THE BIG ONE: RECIPROCAL TARIFFS!!!” Trump posted on his social media site, Truth Social. “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

Trump later posted that there would be a news conference in the Oval Office on the tariffs on Thursday afternoon, raising questions about whether he's formally signing the tariffs as he previously said he would do or simply making the broader case for them to US voters with plans to study and formulate a detailed set of policies.

The prospect of a dramatic hike on tariffs could send shockwaves through the world economy, possibly depressing growth while also causing inflation to intensify.

Trump has maintained that such tariffs will help to create domestic factory jobs, but most economists say they would effectively be a tax increase on US consumers that would add to inflationary pressures.

The Republican president has openly antagonised multiple US trading partners over the past several weeks, levying tariff threats and inviting them to retaliate with import taxes of their own that could send the economy hurtling into a trade war.

Trump has put an additional 10 per cent tariff on Chinese imports due to that country's role in the production of the opioid fentanyl. He also has readied tariffs on Canada and Mexico, America's two largest trading partners, that could take effect in March after being suspended for 30 days. On top of that, on Monday, he removed the exemptions from his 2018 steel and aluminium tariffs.