“When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win,” Trump wrote in an early morning tweet.

“Example, when we are down $100 billion with a certain country and they get cute, don’t trade anymore-we win big. It’s easy!” the president wrote.

After weeks of rumors and counter-rumors about his administration’s intentions, Trump on Thursday announced he would sign off on measures designed to protect US producers next week.

The tariffs — 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum — cover two materials that are the lifeblood of the construction and manufacturing sectors.

The announcement was greeted with fury within key US trading allies such as Canada, the EU, Australia and Mexico, as well as rival China.

It also caused jitters across global stock markets. DM