The counter-measures include a 15% tax on coal and liquefied natural gas imports from the US, while crude oil, agricultural machinery, pickup trucks and large-engine cars will face a 10% tariff. These are expected to come into force next Monday.

China has complained to the World Trade Organization (WTO) – accusing the US of breaking international rules.

Trump says the tariffs are a response to trade deficits – as well as an effort to curb the flow of the opioid fentanyl. His administration says chemicals used to make the drug come from China.

Beijing has previously said that America’s fentanyl crisis was its own issue.

The new US tariff of an additional 10% on Chinese imports came into effect on Tuesday.

In a statement announcing its response, China said the move was “not only unhelpful in solving its [America’s] own problems, but also undermines the normal economic and trade cooperation between China and the US”.

Other steps Beijing has taken in response to the Trump administration’s new tariffs include adding more US companies to its blacklist “unreliable entity” list.

This time PHV Corp, the company that owns fashion brands Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, and US biotechnology firm Illumina, have both been targeted.

In a statement, China’s commerce ministry accused the firms of “discriminatory measures against Chinese enterprises”.

Firms added to the list may face a number of sanctions including fines and having the work visas of their foreign employees revoked.

Beijing has also announced plans to restrict the export of 25 critical minerals, some of which are key components for electrical products.

These include tungsten, which is difficult to source and a crucial material for the aerospace industry, tellurium, widely used for solar panels, and molybdenum, which is used to strengthen steel alloys.

A Chinese watchdog has launched an investigation into Google for alleged violations of competition rules, known as antitrust.

Although Google’s search services have been blocked in China since 2010, it still has some business activities in China. It still provides apps and games to the Chinese market through partnership with local developers for example.

Both the US and China have in the past imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of one another’s goods in the past as part of an ongoing trade war.

Meanwhile, Trump has suspended for 30 days the 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada that he threatened.

After last-minute negotiations, the two US neighbours agreed to stricter border security and taking bigger steps to address fentanyl trafficking – a win for Trump’s strategy of leveraging the US economy to force concessions from other countries.

Together, China, Mexico and Canada accounted for more than 40% of imports into the US last year.

It remains unclear whether Trump will follow through on his threats to Canada and Mexico once the 30-day deadline is up.

That uncertainty stirs fears that could see businesses reducing their reliance on American markets, holding off on investing in building new factories or hiring workers until the trade stand-off becomes clearer.

The measures target more than 200 entities and individuals ranging from traders and officials to insurance companies, as well as hundreds of oil tankers.

In a first since Moscow’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, the UK will join the US in directly sanctioning energy companies Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas.

“Taking on Russian oil companies will drain Russia’s war chest – and every ruble we take from Putin’s hands helps save Ukrainian lives,” said Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

Some of the measures announced by the US Treasury on Friday will be put into law, meaning the incoming Trump administration will need to involve Congress if it wants to lift them.Washington is also moving to severely limit who can legally purchase Russian energy, and going after what it called Moscow’s “shadow fleet” of vessels that ship oil around the world.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the actions were “ratcheting up the sanctions risk associated with Russia’s oil trade, including shipping and financial facilitation in support of Russia’s oil exports.”

President Joe Biden said Russian leader Vladimir Putin was in “tough shape”, adding that “it’s really important that he not have any breathing room to continue to do the god-awful things he continues to do.”

“It is probable that gas prices [in the United States] could increase as much as three or four cents a gallon,” said the president.

But, he added, the measures were likely to “have profound effect on the growth of the Russian economy”.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, thanked the US for what he called its “bipartisan support”.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, a price cap on oil has been among the key measures designed to curb Russia’s energy exports.

But as Olga Khakova from the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Centre explained, its effectiveness was “diluted” because it was also trying to avoid the volume of Russian oil in the market dropping.

This was due to concerns about the impact reduced supply would have on the global economy.

But experts said the oil market was now in a healthier position.

“US oil production (and exports) are at record levels and rising, and therefore the price impact of taking Russian oil off the market, the objective of today’s sanctions, will be attenuated,” said Daniel Fried, a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council.

“The US government has gone after the Russian oil sector in a big way, intending to deal what may turn out to be a body blow,” Fried added.

John Herbst, a former US ambassador to Ukraine, said while the steps were “excellent”, their implementation would be critical.

“Which means that it is the Trump administration that will determine if these measures do in fact put pressure on the Russian economy,” he said.

On 1 January, Kyiv shut off a pipeline that for decades was used to supply Central Europe with Russian natural gas.

Slovakia had been the main entry point and the country now stands to lose millions of euros in transit fees.

The UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) estimated last month that there were 130,530 Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia out of 6,813,900 globally.

Fico – who in December made a surprise visit to Moscow for talks with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin – described Kyiv’s move as “sabotage”.

The prime minister of the EU state said he would propose halting electricity exports to Ukraine and also “sharply reducing” financial support for Ukrainians who have found shelter in Slovakia.

He said there was no risk of Slovakia itself suffering from gas shortages, as it had already made alternative arrangements.

But Fico added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to turn off the taps would deprive Slovakia of 500m euros (£415m; $518m) in transit fees from other countries.

He said his party was ready to debate “halting supplies of electricity” and the “significant lowering of support for Ukrainian citizens in Slovakia”.

“The only alternative for a sovereign Slovakia is renewal of transit or demanding compensation mechanisms that will replace the loss in public finances,” he added.

Last month Zelensky accused Fico of helping Putin to “fund the war and weaken Ukraine”.

“Fico is dragging Slovakia into Russia’s attempts to cause more suffering for Ukrainians,” the Ukrainian president had said.

Poland has offered to support Kyiv in case Slovakia cuts off its electricity exports – supplies that are crucial to Ukraine, whose power plants come under regular attack from Russia.

Poland’s government called Ukraine’s shutdown of Russian gas supplies “another victory” against Moscow while the European Commission said the EU had prepared for the change and most states could cope.

Moldova, which is not in the EU, is already suffering shortages.

Russia can still send gas to Hungary, Turkey and Serbia through the TurkStream pipeline across the Black Sea.

Kyiv is calling it a “historic” day as its refusal to extend a transit agreement with Russia’s Gazprom has halted the return flow of cash to fund the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

But in neighbouring Moldova, the move threatens to cause a crisis.

In Transnistria, a separatist region of eastern Moldova loyal to Moscow, the year began with only hospitals and critical infrastructure being heated, not houses.

“The hot water was on until about 2am, I checked. Now it’s off and the radiators are barely warm,” Dmitry told the BBC by phone from his flat in the enclave.”We still have gas, but the pressure is very low – just what’s left in the pipes.””It’s the same everywhere.

“Transnistria split from the rest of Moldova in a short war as the Soviet Union fell apart. It still has Russian troops on its soil and an economy that’s fully dependent on Russian gas, for which the authorities in Tiraspol pay nothing.

“They just have a file, where it says how much the debt is each month,” explains Jakub Pieńkowski, of the Polish Institute of International Affairs, PSIM. “But Russia is not interested in asking for this money.”

Suddenly, that lifeline via Ukraine has been cut.In some Transnistrian towns, the authorities are setting up “heating points” and there are hotlines for help finding firewood. Families have been advised to gather in one room for warmth and seal cracks in the windows and doors with blankets.

New Year’s Day in the enclave brought sunshine but the temperature overnight is forecast to fall below 0C.

“It’s chilly now inside the flat,” local resident Dmitry says. “And we don’t know what frost January will bring.”

The electricity is still flowing, for now.But Transnistria’s main power plant in Kurchugan is already being fuelled by coal instead of Russian gas and the authorities say there’s only enough of that for 50 days.

That means problems for the rest of Moldova, which gets 80% of its electricity from Kurchugan.

The government in Chisinau says it has enough gas to heat the country until spring and it will switch to buying electricity from Europe, but that means a giant hike in costs.

A state of emergency was introduced last month and businesses and citizens have been told to reduce consumption with the country braced for power cuts.

The abrupt halt in gas via Ukraine affects Slovakia and Hungary, too.

Both have governments sympathetic to Moscow that have been far slower than others in the EU to wean themselves off Russian fuel and stop funding Russia’s war. Paying more for alternative supplies will squeeze their budgets.

But Moldova is poorer and less stable – a prolonged crisis could have serious economic and political consequences.That may well be what Moscow wants.

Russia could supply its allies in Transnistria via Turkey, albeit at a higher cost, which would mean electricity for all Moldova.

Instead, Gazprom claims it has halted supplies because Chisinau is almost $700m in debt. The Moldovan government says an international audit put the true amount at around $9m which has mostly been repaid.

“We’re treating this not as an energy crisis but a security crisis, induced by Russia to destabilise Moldova both economically and socially,” Olga Rosca, foreign policy adviser to Moldova’s president, told the BBC.

“This clearly is a shaping operation ahead of parliamentary elections in 2025, to create demand for a return of pro-Russian forces to power.”

Relations between Moldova and Moscow are tense.

Once part of the USSR, the country has begun talks to join the EU and turned even more firmly away from Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

President Maia Sandu was re-elected last year despite evidence of a massive campaign against her led from Moscow.

It hasn’t stopped.Before her inauguration, Russia’s external SVR intelligence agency issued a bizarre statement falsely claiming she planned to take back Transnistria by force to restore energy supplies. It painted the president as “frenzied” and “emotionally unstable”.

Analyst Jakub Pieńkowski agrees that the Kremlin is exploiting Kyiv’s decision to ban the transit of Russian gas.

“It’s a reason to make some political and social issues in Moldova,” he argues. “Electricity prices have already risen about six times in three years and people are angry.”

As the humanitarian situation in Transnistria worsens, pressure on Chisinau will grow. But Tiraspol is refusing all help, even generators.

“They will create a narrative of Chisinau freezing Transnistria into submission,” Olga Rosca believes.

And even if Tiraspol opts to buy gas from elsewhere, the hit to its economy could be disastrous.

“The prices here would shoot up, including for heating and food. But pensions here are tiny, and there’s no work,” Dmitry told me, from Bendery in the buffer zone on the edge of Transnistria.

He says people there are barely “clinging on” as it is. Now life elsewhere in Moldova will also get harder.

“Russia can wait for the elections and then parties who are not pro-EU will probably win,” Jakub Pieńkowski predicts.

“Because Maia Sandu can talk about EU accession. But what use is that if people don’t have money for electricity or gas?””This is the aim for Russia.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country would not allow Russia to “earn additional billions on our blood”. Poland’s government meanwhile said the cut-off was “another victory” against Moscow.

The European Commission said the EU had prepared for the change and most states could cope. Moldova, which is not in the EU, is already suffering shortages.

Russia can still send gas to Hungary, Turkey and Serbia through the TurkStream pipeline across the Black Sea.

Russian company Gazprom confirmed that gas exports via Ukraine to Europe stopped from 08:00 local time (05:00 GMT) on Wednesday.

Moscow has transported gas to Europe through Ukraine since 1991.While immediate effects are light, the strategic and symbolic impact for the whole of Europe is enormous.

Russia has lost an important market, but its president, Vladimir Putin, says EU countries will suffer most.

The EU has significantly reduced imports of gas from Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but a number of eastern member states still depend largely on the supplies, making Russia about €5bn ($5.2bn; £4.2bn) a year.

Russian gas was less than 10% of the EU’s gas imports in 2023, according to the bloc. That figure was 40% in 2021.

But several EU members, including Slovakia and Austria, continued to import significant amounts of gas from Russia.

Austria’s energy regulator said that it did not forecast any disruption as it had diversified sources and built up reserves.

But the end of the transit deal has already caused serious tensions with Slovakia, which is now the main entry point of Russian gas into the EU and earned transit fees from piping the gas on to Austria, Hungary and Italy.

Slovakia has said it will pay more for alternative routes. Its energy regulator announced in early December that Gas prices for consumers would rise in 2025.

Robert Fico, Slovakia’s prime minister, said on Wednesday that the end of the deal would have “drastic” consequences for EU countries, but not on Russia, Reuters reported.

On Friday, Fico – who had just made a surprise visit to Moscow for talks with Putin – threatened to stop supplying electricity to Ukraine.

This prompted Zelensky to accuse Fico of helping Putin “fund the war and weaken Ukraine”.

“Fico is dragging Slovakia into Russia’s attempts to cause more suffering for Ukrainians,” the Ukrainian president said.

Poland has offered to support Kyiv in case Slovakia cuts off its electricity exports – supplies that are crucial to Ukraine, whose power plants come under regular attack from Russia.

Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme there were alternative gas supply routes from international markets, such as a terminal in Croatia and connections from Germany and Poland.

“These routes should be explored so that Russia doesn’t make money on selling oil and gas to the European Union,” Sikorski said.

Poland is importing gas from the US, Qatar and the North Sea, he added.

“As far as I understand, all countries have alternative routes,” he said.

Moldova – which is not part of the EU – could be seriously affected by the end of the transit agreement. It generates much of its electricity at a power station fuelled by Russian gas.

It also supplied the Russia-backed breakaway region of Transnistria, a small sliver of land sandwiched between Moldova and Ukraine where around 300,000 people live.

Russian gas company Gazprom had said on 28 December it would restrict gas to Moldova on 1 January because it said it had failed to fulfil its payment obligations.

Dorin Recean, Moldova’s prime minister, denied the alleged debt and accused Russia of using “energy as a political weapon” in a social media post. He said the move would leave Transnistria “without light and heat in the middle of the winter”.

Heat and hot water was cut off to Transnistria “due to the temporary cessation of gas supplies” at 07:00 local time (05:00 GMT) on Wednesday, energy company Tirasteploenergo said on Telegram.

It urged residents to dress warmly, gather family members together in a single room, hang blankets or thick curtains over windows, and use electric heaters.

The temperature was due to drop below 0C on Wednesday night. Medical institutions and hospitals were still being supplied, the company said.

Moldova’s energy minister, Constantin Borosan, said his government had taken steps to ensure stable power supplies, but called on citizens to save energy.

A 60-day state of emergency in the energy sector has been in place since mid-December.

President Maia Sandu accused the Kremlin of “blackmail” possibly aimed at destabilising her country before a general election in 2025. The Moldovan government also said it had offered aid to Transnistria.

The EU has found alternative sources in liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar and the US, as well as piped gas from Norway, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In December, the European Commission laid out plans to entirely replace gas transiting through Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier that his country would not allow Russia to “earn additional billions on our blood” and had given the EU a year to prepare.The European Commission said the continent’s gas system was “resilient and flexible” and that it had sufficient capacity to cope with the end of transit via Ukraine.

Russia can still send gas to Hungary, as well as Turkey and Serbia, through the TurkStream pipeline across the Black Sea.

The stopping of the flow through Ukraine marks the end of an era of cheap Russian gas in the EU.

Slovakia is the most affected, while the European Commission says the impact will be limited, thanks to careful planning and alternative supplies.

However, the strategic and symbolic impact for the whole of Europe is enormous.

Russia has lost an important market but Russian President Vladimir Putin says EU countries will suffer most.

The EU has significantly reduced imports of gas from Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but a number of eastern member states still depend largely on the supplies, making Russia about €5bn ($5.2bn; £4.2bn) a year.

Russian gas made up less than 10% of the EU’s gas imports in 2023, according to figures from the bloc, compared with 40% in 2021.

But several EU members, including Slovakia and Austria, continue to import significant amounts of gas from Russia.

Austria’s energy regulator said it did not forecast any supply disruption as it had diversified sources and built up reserves.

But Ukraine’s decision has already caused serious tensions with Slovakia, which is now the main entry point of Russian gas into the EU and earned transit fees from piping the gas on to Austria, Hungary and Italy.

On Friday, Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico – who had just made a surprise visit to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin – threatened to stop the supply of electricity to Ukraine.

This prompted Mr Zelensky to accuse him of helping Mr Putin “fund the war and weaken Ukraine”.

“Fico is dragging Slovakia into Russia’s attempts to cause more suffering for Ukrainians,” the Ukrainian president said.

Poland has offered to support Kyiv in case Slovakia cuts off its electricity exports – supplies that are crucial to Ukraine, whose power plants come under regular attack from Russia.Moldova – which is not part of the EU – could be seriously affected by the end of the transit agreement. The gas fuelled a power plant on which Moldova relies for most of its electricity needs. It also supplied the Russia-backed breakaway region of Transnistria, a small sliver of land sandwiched between Moldova and Ukraine.

Moldova’s energy minister, Constantin Borosan, said the government had taken steps to ensure stable power supplies to the country but called on citizens to save energy. A 60-day state of emergency in the energy sector has been in place in Moldova since mid-December.

President Maia Sandu accused the Kremlin of “blackmail” possibly aimed at destabilising her country ahead of a general election in 2025. The Moldovan government also said it had offered aid to Transnistria.

Russia has transported gas to Europe through Ukraine since 1991.

As the EU has reduced its dependence on Russian gas, it has found alternative sources in liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar and the US as well as piped gas from Norway.

In December, the European Commission laid out plans it said would enable EU member states to entirely replace gas transiting through Ukraine.

Under the EU’s contingency plans, affected countries will be supplied with Greek, Turkish and Romanian gas from the Trans-Balkan route, while Norwegian gas will be piped through Poland. More supplies will also reach central Europe through Germany.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country would not allow Russia to “earn additional billions on our blood” and had given the EU a year to prepare.

The EU has significantly reduced imports of gas from Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but a number of eastern member states still depend largely on the supplies, making Russia about €5bn ($5.2bn; £4.2bn) a year.

The European Commission said the continent’s gas system was “resilient and flexible” and that it had sufficient capacity to cope with the end of transit via Ukraine.

Russian gas made up less than 10% of the EU’s gas imports in 2023, according to figures from the bloc, compared to 40% in 2021.

But several EU members, including Slovakia and Austria, continue to import significant amounts of gas from Russia.

Austria’s energy regulator said it did not forecast any supply disruption as it had diversified sources and built up reserves.

But Ukraine’s decision has already caused serious tensions with Slovakia, which is now the main entry point of Russian gas into the EU and earned transit fees from piping the gas on to Austria, Hungary and Italy.

On Friday, Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico – who had just made a surprise visit to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin – threatened to stop the supply of electricity to Ukraine.

This prompted Mr Zelensky to accuse him of helping Mr Putin “fund the war and weaken Ukraine”.

“Fico is dragging Slovakia into Russia’s attempts to cause more suffering for Ukrainians,” the Ukrainian president said.

Poland has offered to support Kyiv in case Slovakia cuts off its electricity exports – supplies that are crucial to Ukraine, whose power plants come under regular attack from Russia.

Moldova – which is not part of the EU – could be seriously affected by the end of the transit agreement. The gas fuelled a power plant on which Moldova relies for most of its electricity needs. It also supplied the Russia-backed breakaway region of Transnistria, a small sliver of land sandwiched between Moldova and Ukraine.

Moldova’s energy minister, Constantin Borosan, said the government had taken steps to ensure stable power supplies to the country but called on citizens to save energy. A 60-day state of emergency in the energy sector has been in place in Moldova since mid-December.

President Maia Sandu accused the Kremlin of “blackmail” possibly aimed at destabilising her country ahead of a general election in 2025. The Moldovan government also said it had offered aid to Transnistria.

Russia has transported gas to Europe through Ukraine since 1991.

As the EU has reduced its dependence on Russian gas, it has found alternative sources in liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar and the US as well as piped gas from Norway.

Once the Ukrainian transit route is cut off, the Black Sea’s TurkStream – which reaches Turkey, Hungary and Serbia – will be the only Russian gas supply to European countries.

In December, the European Commission laid out plans it said would enable EU member states to entirely replace gas transiting through Ukraine.

Under the EU’s contingency plans, affected countries will be supplied with Greek, Turkish and Romanian gas from the Trans-Balkan route, while Norwegian gas will be piped through Poland. More supplies will also reach central Europe through Germany.