President Donald Trump has announced new import taxes on all goods entering the US, in the biggest upheaval of the international trade order since the aftermath of World War Two.

His plan sets a baseline tariff of 10% on all imports, consistent with his proposal during last year’s White House campaign.

Items from about 60 trade partners that the White House described as the “worst offenders”, including the European Union and China, face higher rates – payback for unfair trade policies, Trump said.

Analysts said the trade war escalation was likely to lead to higher prices for Americans and slower growth in the US, while some countries around the world could be plunged into recession.

But in Wednesday’s announcement at the White House, Trump said the measures were necessary because countries were taking advantage of the US by imposing high tariffs and other trade barriers.

Declaring a national emergency, the Republican president said the US had for more than five decades been “looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike”.

“It’s our declaration of economic independence,” Trump said in the Rose Garden against a backdrop of US flags.

The White House said the US would start charging the 10% tariffs on 5 April, with the higher duties for certain nations starting on 9 April.

“Today we are standing up for the American worker and we are finally putting America first,” Trump said, calling it “one of the most important days, in my opinion, in American history”.

His decision stunned many analysts.

“He just dropped a nuclear bomb on the global trading system,” Ken Rogoff, former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, told the BBC.

Tariffs are taxes on imports. On the campaign trail last year, Trump said he would use them to boost manufacturing, promising a new age of US prosperity.

The import taxes could raise $2.2tn (£1.7tn) of revenue by 2034, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

He spent weeks previewing Wednesday’s announcement, which followed other orders raising tariffs on imports from China, foreign cars, steel and aluminium and 25% on some goods from Mexico and Canada.

For now, the White House said the latest changes would not change anything for Mexico and Canada, two of America’s closest trading partners.

But other allies will face new tariffs, including 10% for the UK and 20% for the European Union, said Trump.

The measure introduces a new 34% tariff on goods from China, on top of an existing 20% levy, bringing total duties to at least 54%.

The tariff rate will be 24% on goods from Japan, and 26% from India.

Some of the highest duties will hit exports from countries that have seen a rush of investment in recent years, as firms shifted supply chains away from China following tariffs in Trump’s first term.

Goods from Vietnam and Cambodia will be hit with 46% and 49% respectively.

Higher levies will also fall on much smaller nations, with products from the southern African country of Lesotho facing 50%.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned other countries not to hit back.

“My advice to every country right now is, do not retaliate,” Bessent told Fox News.

“Sit back, take it in, let’s see how it goes. Because if you retaliate, there will be escalation,” he said. “If you don’t retaliate, this is the high watermark.”

The duties will affect trillions of dollars in trade, likely setting the stage for higher prices in the US on clothing, European wine, bicycles, toys and thousands of other items.

Olu Sonola, head of US economic research at the Fitch Ratings agency, said the measures would bring the US tariff rate to what was in place in 1910.

“Many countries will likely end up in a recession,” he said.

The US stock market was closed for trading by the time that Trump made his announcement, which he billed as “Liberation Day”.

But shares in the Asia-Pacific region opened lower on Thursday morning.

Japan’s benchmark stock index, the Nikkei 225, was down by 4% in early trading. Australia’s ASX 200 was around 2% lower.

Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives described the tariffs as “worse than the worst case” that investors had anticipated.

But he said he believed there would be negotiations and exemptions.

Trump has described his measures as “reciprocal” – intending them as a retaliation for other countries’ policies that he says fuel high trade imbalances.

These include high tariffs, as well as Value Added Tax (VAT) or regulations that bar foods with traces of certain chemicals.

Trump also reinstated plans to end tax-free treatment for small packages from China as of May, a move that would hurt Amazon rivals such as Shein and Temu.

He confirmed that a 25% tax on imports of all foreign-made cars, which he announced last week, would begin from midnight.

And he repeated his intention to hit specific items that were exempt from Wednesday’s action, such as copper and pharmaceuticals, with separate tariffs.

US President Donald Trump is set to announce further tariffs later on 2 April, which he has suggested will hit all countries, and could take effect immediately.

He has already introduced a series of taxes covering steel, aluminium and car imports as well as all goods from China.

Trump argues the measures – which make foreign goods more expensive – will help US manufacturers and protect jobs. However, prices could go up for consumers.

Tariffs are taxes charged on goods imported from other countries.

Typically, tariffs are a percentage of a product’s value. For example, a 25% tariff on a $10 (£7.76) product would mean an additional $2.50 charge.

Companies that bring the foreign goods into the country have to pay the tax to the government.

Firms can choose to pass on some or all of the cost to customers.

Tariffs are a central part of Trump’s economic vision. He says “tariff” is his favourite word.

He argues the taxes will encourage US consumers to buy more American-made goods, boosting the country’s economy and increasing the amount of tax raised.

Trump wants to reduce the gap between the value of goods the US imports and those it exports to other countries.

For example, the US had a trade deficit of $213bn (£165bn) with the European Union (EU) in 2024, something Trump has called “an atrocity”.

The US president also said tariffs were intended to force China, Mexico and Canada – the countries first targeted – to do more to stop migrants and drugs reaching the US.

He has refused to rule out the possibility of a recession as a result of his trade policies. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said tariffs were “worth it” even if they led to an economic downturn.

Several tariffs announced by Trump have subsequently been delayed, amended or scrapped.

2 April:

• 25% tariff on cars coming into the US – 25% tariff on imported car parts due in May or later

12 March:

• 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports

6 March:

• Tariff exemption expanded to include other goods shipped under North America’s free-trade agreement, such as televisions, air conditioners, avocados and beef
• Tariffs on potash – used in fertiliser by US farmers – reduced from 25% to 10%

5 March:

• A month-long tariff exemption announced for cars made in North America which comply with the continent’s existing free trade agreement

4 March:

• 10% tariff on Chinese goods doubled to 20%
• 25% tariff against goods from Mexico and Canada, with a 10% tariff on Canadian energy imports

7 February:

• Exemption for shipments from China worth less than $800

4 February:

• 10% tariff on goods from China

Economists expect tariffs to increase prices for US consumers across many imported goods, as firms pass on some or all of their increased costs.

The products affected could include everything from beer, whisky and tequila to maple syrup, fuel and avocados.

Firms may also decide to import fewer foreign goods, which could in turn make those which are available more expensive.

Among Trump’s targets are overseas car firms. The US imported about eight million cars last year – accounting for about $240bn (£186bn) in trade and roughly half of overall sales.

The new import taxes of 25% on cars and car parts will take effect on 2 April, with charges on businesses importing vehicles starting the next day. Taxes on parts are due to kick in later, possibly in May.

Car prices were already expected to rise as a result of tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico.

Component parts typically cross the US, Mexican and Canadian borders multiple times before a vehicle is completely assembled.

The cost of a car made using parts from Mexico and Canada alone could rise by $4,000-$10,000 depending on the vehicle, according to analysts at the Anderson Economic Group.

The tariffs Trump announced during his first term as president raised the average price of steel and aluminium in the US by 2.4% and 1.6% respectively, according to the US International Trade Commission.

US tariffs on imported washing machines between 2018 and 2023 increased the price of laundry equipment by 34%, according to official statistics.

Prices fell once the tariffs expired.

A number of other countries have introduced their own tariffs on goods imported from the US.

These will make US products more expensive, and are bolstering fears of a global trade war which could create problems for economies worldwide.

China has introduced a 10-15% tax on some US agricultural goods. It has also targeted US aviation, defence and tech firms.

EU tariffs targeting US goods worth €26bn (£22bn) will start on 1 April and be fully in place on 13 April. They will cover items ranging “from boats to bourbon to motorbikes”, as well as steel and aluminium products.

The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has promised a “robust and calibrated response” to any further tariff announcements.

Canada has imposed 25% tariffs on US steel, aluminium and a range of other goods. Further counter tariffs may be introduced.

Mexico has delayed introducing its own retaliatory tariffs while negotiations continue.

A photograph of Kaliyah Coa, an 11-year-old girl who went missing in the River Thames on Monday, has been released by the Metropolitan Police.

Police were called at about 13:20 BST after Kaliyah, who had been playing during a school inset day, entered the water near Bargehouse Causeway, near London City Airport in east London.

Emergency services launched a “large-scale response” to the incident, the force said, but crews from the London Ambulance Service, London Fire Brigade (LFB) and the RNLI were later stood down.

The Met said a recovery mission was now under way along the Thames.

On Tuesday, a witness who lives near the causeway said he had been alerted to the incident by the children who were with Kaliyah “shouting, screaming”.

His neighbour, 59-year-old Shaleen Rajaendram, added: “Then I saw suddenly two kids were coming out to the top of the bridge, I said ‘what happened?’

“Then they said ‘one of my friends was playing in the water, one of my friends has gone into water and she’s gone underneath and we can’t find her’.”

One woman, who later found shoes, a sock, a coat and phone by the river, had taken a life ring to the water but could not see Kaliyah.

Bargehouse Causeway is a concrete slope that goes directly into the River Thames and is used to transport boats.

Some residents pointed out that it appeared to be covered in moss and is slippery.

One woman, who said she tried to warn the children not to play there, saw the events unfold.

Speaking to BBC London, she said: “There were a few kids playing and going in the water a little bit. Five minutes later, the screams came and the girls ran for help.”

Another woman said her son had previously got into difficulty in the same area, in the sand around the causeway, when his ball rolled down towards the water.

“He went to get the ball in the water, not realising that when the tide goes out it’s like sinking sand and when he panicked he went deeper in,” said Nadine Taylor.

“My partner had to grab him and it was lucky he was there to get him out. He was traumatised from that – he’s never gone back near that water again.”

Ch Supt Dan Card from the Met, local policing commander for north-east London, said the force was committed to finding Kaliyah, and were using drone technology and boats as part of their “thorough search over a wide area”.

“Specialist officers are supporting Kaliyah’s family through this deeply upsetting time and our thoughts go out to all those impacted by what has happened.”

He added: “I’d like to thank the members of public, our first-responding officers, and colleagues from other emergency services, as they responded rapidly to carry out a large-scale search during a highly pressurised and distressing time.”

The force is appealing for witnesses.

The search on Monday involved boats and helicopters from HM Coastguard, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and London Fire Brigade.