BANGKOK (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday imposed once unthinkably high U.S. taxes on imports from dozens of countries, part of his campaign to turn one of the world's most open economies into a fortress bristling with barriers to trade.

The taxes — tariffs — that took effect at midnight apply to products from 66 countries, the European Union, Taiwan and the Falkland Islands.

Trump believes the tariffs will protect U.S. industry from foreign competition, encourage companies to build factories and hire workers in the United States and raise revenue to pay for the massive tax cuts he signed into law July 4.

"Growth is going to be unprecedented,” Trump said Wednesday.

But mainstream economists and policy analysts warn that tariffs are paid by importers in the United States who w

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