Trump, China's Xi set to speak on tariff battle

US President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are expected to speak by phone on Tuesday, just hours after slapping tariffs on each other's economies in an escalating trade war.

Beijing said it was imposing levies on imports of US energy, vehicles and equipment in a return salvo minutes after Trump's threatened tariffs on Chinese goods came into effect.

Trump suspended tariffs on Mexico and Canada on Monday for a month after they vowed to step up measures to counter flows of the drug fentanyl and crossing of undocumented migrants into the United States.

Stock markets wavered on Tuesday as investors braced for volatile market activity in the coming weeks over Trump's threatened tariffs on the three biggest US trading partners.

"Let's see what happens with the call today," Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro, a veteran of the US president's first term, told news outlet Politico.

Asked if Trump could halt the tariffs on China too, he added: "It's up to the boss. I never get ahead of the boss, that's why I'm sitting here."

Trump imposed fresh 10 percent tariffs on Chinese goods, on top of levies that were already in place against America's biggest economic competitor. Mexico and Canada had faced 25 percent tariffs.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that Trump was due to talk to Xi, but said Tuesday that "I don't have any updates on when that call will take place."

"He is not going to allow China to continue to source and distribute deadly fentanyl into our country, that was the reason for this tariff," Leavitt told reporters outside the West Wing.