President Donald Trump is considering changing a key U.S. trade benefit to other nations, the "de minimis" exemption on import tariffs, as he accuses China of unfair trade practices and blames it for a crisis over the deadly drug fentanyl.

Chinese officials were prepared for Donald Trump to deliver bad news on his return to the US presidency: immediate 60 per cent tariffs on exports that could deal a serious blow to the world’s second-largest economy.

President Vladimir Putin has grown increasingly concerned about distortions in Russia's wartime economy, just as Donald Trump pushes for an end to the Ukraine conflict, five sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.

In a post to Truth Social, President Trump threatened to hit Russia with tariffs if Vladimir Putin refuses to make a deal on the Ukraine war.