Breaking News: Donald Trump issues new reciprocal tariffs on trade partners in major economic showdown…..See More

Trump signed an executive order at the White House on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump has announced new sweeping reciprocal tariffs to match the higher tax rates that other countries charge on imports.

Trump signed an executive order at the White House on Thursday, saying the tariffs were necessary for the “purposes of fairness.”

“Whatever countries charge the the United States of America, we will charge them, no more, no less,” Trump said.

The tariffs are not set to take immediate effect in a bid to give countries time to negotiate new trade terms with the US, CNN reported.

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 American consumers that would add to inflationary pressures.

The tariffs could also spark retaliatory measures by US trading partners that could slow growth around the world and increase inflation.

The Census Bureau reported that the US had total imports of $4.1 trillion last year.

Earlier this month, Trump signed an order to place duties of 10 percent on all imports from China and 25 percent on imports from Mexico and Canada.

He accused China of not doing enough to stem the production of precursor chemicals for the opiate fentanyl and said the measures were necessary “to protect Americans.”

Trump also said Canada and Mexico were not doing enough to reduce illegal immigration into the US.