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Likely to be hit hardest are China’s top exports to the United States -- the country is the dominant supplier of goods from electronics and electrical machinery to textiles and clothing, according to the Peterson Institute of International Economics.

But analysts also warn that because of the crucial role Chinese goods play in supplying US firms, the tariffs may also have major knock-on effects.

“US imports from China are dominated by capital goods and industrial materials instead of consumer goods,” Gene Ma, Head of China Research at the Institute of International Finance, told AFP.

“The tariff will hurt US manufacturers as well as consumers.”

“This trade war not only has a destructive impact on China but also on the global trade system,” Chen Wenling, Chief Economist at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges in Beijing, said.

How might Beijing respond?

Beijing has yet to specify what exactly its “countermeasures” will involve. But the retaliation could see Beijing hike pre-existing tariffs imposed in response to previous measures.

“China’s countermeasures should be reasonable, beneficial and measured,” Mei Xinyu, an economist at the state-affiliated Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, told AFP.

“They need to be strong and precise, while also avoiding turning the countermeasures into a decoupling of China and the United States,” Mei added.

China last month slapped tariffs of 15 percent in imports of coal and liquefied natural gas from the United States. Crude oil, agricultural machinery, big-engined vehicles and pickup trucks also face 10 percent duties.

Analysts say those moves are designed to hit Trump’s support base -- those in America’s rural heartlands that voted him into office last year.

Beijing has called for dialogue to resolve the dispute, but any deal will take time.

“There are still chances for the two parties to resume talks in the following months,” Betty Wang at Oxford Economics told AFP.