The nation's top diplomat has delivered Canberra's sharpest rebuke of Donald Trump, accusing the US President of unsettling the international trading system that has allowed economic prosperity to flourish for seven decades and warning that Australia stands to be significantly hurt by a global trade war.

As Mr Trump unleashed a fresh wave of tariffs to punish China, prompting Beijing to retaliate, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade secretary Frances Adamson issued a rallying cry to business leaders to become more vocal in standing up for free trade and the international rules-based order as it comes under assault.

"On several fronts, the US is unsettling the international trading system that has underpinned global economic growth for 70 years," Ms Adamson told Australian and New Zealand business leaders in Canberra on Tuesday.

"Perhaps most concerning for Australia, the United States has withdrawn some of its support for the World Trade Organisation, while raising unilateral tariffs and quotas against some of its trading partners.

Alibaba founder Jack Ma says the US-China trade war is 'going to be a mess' and could last 20 years

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