On the campaign trail, Mr Trump promised a 10 per cent to 20 per cent charge on all imported goods and 60 per cent on Chinese products. He also vowed a 25 per cent tariff on all products from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10 per cent duty on Chinese goods.

President Trump said on Tuesday that he intended to impose a 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports into the United States on Feb. 1, a decision that is sure to escalate trade tensions between the world’s largest economies.

Trump underscored his intention to use tariffs, a tax on foreign goods, as a tool of international economic policy and an increasingly vital source of government revenue.