The US president says America has been looted and plundered for decades.  

Global trade is his enemy and his response? Big tariffs, or taxes, charged on goods imported to the United States, from another 34 percent on Chinese imports to 10 percent on everything sent from Australia.

They’re coming into effect this weekend and Trump thinks they will revitalise the American manufacturing industries and the economy. 

The Australian treasurer describes it as a dark day for the global economy.

Today, North America correspondent Carrington Clarke explains what it means for all of us. 

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Carrington Clarke, ABC North America correspondent