The UK and EU are bracing themselves for a trade war as President Donald Trump is set to impose sweeping tariffs on ‘Liberation Day’. The message from the US president has been consistent - tariffs are coming on Wednesday but the plan has largely remained a mystery with the size and scope of the barriers unknown.

However, the Trump administration has trailed today's announcement as a sweeping one. But he has also said he will be "very kind" in his announcement which could be good news for Britain.

"Very simply, it's if they charge us, we charge them," the US President said in February, shortly before he ordered officials to develop such a plan. Trump will unveil his tariff plan today in his first Rose Garden press conference of his second term.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said he will announce a “country-based tariff plan that will roll back the unfair trade practices that have been ripping off our country for decades.”

Experts fear a policy of wide-ranging levies on foreign goods could tip the U.S. into a recession risking a slowdown for businesses.

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