President Donald Trump delivered on his threat to hit Canada and Mexico with sweeping import levies, imposing one of the largest increases in US tariffs since the 1930s in a dramatic escalation of a trade war that stands to upend ties with major economic partners.

President Donald Trump's new 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada took effect on Tuesday, along with a doubling of duties on Chinese goods to 20%, launching new trade conflicts with the top three U.

Starting just past midnight, imports from Canada and Mexico are now to be taxed at 25 percent, with Canadian energy products getting tariffed at 10 percent.