Higher US tariffs came into effect on dozens of economies on Thursday, drastically raising the stakes in President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging efforts to reshape global trade. As an executive order signed by Trump last week took effect, US duties increased to levels ranging from 15 percent to 41 percent for a list of trading partners, including economies with agreements to avoid more severe, threatened tariffs like the European Union and Japan.

Trump said early Thursday that “billions of dollars in tariffs” were now flowing into the United States after his August 7 deadline for implementing new duties. Taking to his Truth Social platform just after midnight, he posted: “It’s midnight! Billions of dollars in tariffs are now flowing into the United States of America.” (AFP)