The US economy will feel the pain if Trump goes ahead with his plan to whack countries buying Moscow’s oil with fresh tariffs on their goods.

"The key channel by which secondary tariffs on buyers of Russian energy could impact the global economy would be through the level of energy prices," says Kieran Tompkins from the consultancy Capital Economics. If the tariffs work, they will cut the flow of Russian oil and gas to global markets.

Donald Trump’s administration is considering additional sanctions on Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ of oil tankers if President Vladimir Putin does not agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine by Friday. Blacklisting vessels in the fleet would mark the first time the US has imposed sanctions on Moscow since Trump returned to the White House in January.

Hassett's statements during his interview appearance on NBC News' Meet the Press shows that the White House intends to hold steady on its tariffs even as economic data raises concerns about the impact they may have on growth, prices, and job creation as well as lasting consequences for global trade.

And on Friday, when the July jobs report revisions showed a distressed economy, Trump had an answer: He fired the official in charge of the data and called the report of a sharp slowdown in hiring “phony.

Trump removed the head of the agency producing monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was weak in May and June.