Mr. Trump announced last week that vehicles and auto parts imported into the U.S. will be subject to a 25% tariff rate. The auto tariffs are expected to go into effect at midnight, just hours after the latest round of tariff announcements by the president Wednesday afternoon.

While President Trump called Wednesday's impending tariffs announcement a "liberation day" for the nation, American consumers hold their breath to see how expensive goods will become.

Few details of the announcement are known prior, creating anxiety among the business community and global leaders.

Britain said it believed a trade deal with the United States was close as it sought to soften the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs which threaten an escalating global trade war that would hurt its open economy.

In his speech, he listed the new tariffs to be imposed on a number of countries, including the country's biggest trading partners, and a more complete list was released later by the White House. No further tariffs were announced for Canada or Mexico.

Donald Trump launched a new assault on the global trading order on Wednesday, imposing a barrage of new tariffs including on all US imports in a move that sent Wall Street stock futures tumbling. The president said a levy of 10 per cent would apply to nearly all US imports from April 5 as he also revealed additional so-called reciprocal duties,

Donald Trump’s tariff offensive convulsed global markets on Thursday, with sectors from banking to tech left reeling from the US president’s bid to remake the global economic order. Wall Street stocks sustained heavy losses,

President Donald Trump's punishing tariffs rocked global financial markets on Thursday, with the dollar and U.S. stocks tumbling as investors rushed to safe havens on fears a broadening trade war would push an already fragile world economy into recession.

Donald Trump’s tariffs on global US imports will dent the UK government’s fragile growth ambitions and hit key manufacturing sectors, industry groups and economists have warned. The 10 per cent levy — while less than the 20 per cent faced by the EU — will weaken demand and disrupt supply chains,