Trump's 10% baseline tariff comes into force

US President Donald Trump's 10% baseline tariffs on US trading partners around the world came into effect on Saturday as he plowed ahead with his strategy, stating in a new social media post: "Hang tough, it won't be easy, but the end result will be historic".

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While the baseline charge has kicked in, higher duties on some countries - which replace, rather than add to the 10% rate are due to start on April 9.

"We have been the dumb and helpless 'whipping post,' but not any longer. We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding that "This is an economic revolution, and we will win." His comments came a day after American market was left bloodied by two straight sessions of losses. The S&P 500 fell 6% Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 5.5% and the Nasdaq composite dropped 5.8%.

In tandem, the tariffs sparked a trade war with China announc ing 34% tariffs on American goods, a retaliation that will come into effect next week.

China said on Saturday "the market has spoken" in rejecting Trump's tariffs, and called on Washington for "equal-footed consultation". State-run Xinhua news agency also published the Chinese government's stance, saying the US should "stop using tariffs as a weapon to suppress China's economy and trade".

But criticism came not only from American's typical rivals.