The US economy tapped the brakes at the end of last year, as growth slowed from the torrid pace fuelled by tax cuts, likely dashing President Donald Trump’s hopes for pushing gross domestic product (GDP) into overdrive.

US economic growth was revised sharply lower for the final three months of last year, down to 2.2 per cent rather than the 2.6 per cent originally reported, the Department of Commerce reported on Thursday.

While economists say the economy is in good shape, and growth is running at a solid pace, Trump and his economic team have repeatedly promised that his aggressive trade policies, deregulation and the massive tax cut at the end of 2017 would accelerate growth to three per cent or above.

And with China and Europe slowing, and Britain on course for a potentially damaging Brexit, the US won’t get much help from foreign demand.

Most economists, including those at the International Monetary Fund, have cut US growth forecasts for this year, and the US Federal Reserve (Fed) has pledged to keep the benchmark interest rate on hold for the foreseeable future.

Trump has lashed out at the Fed repeatedly, blaming the central bank for raising rates and throwing cold water on the expansion. In his unprecedented Twitter rants about the supposedly independent Fed, he has called it “crazy” and “out of control”, and a bigger threat to the US economy than China.

But economic data is not in his favour – business confidence, consumer spending and home construction have all slowed in recent months.

Still, economists agree with the Fed’s assessment that the US is in good shape.

“The slowdown in GDP growth . . . is a straightforward story about the end of the kick from tax cuts, which was never going to last long,” said Pantheon Macroeconomics’ Ian Shepherdson.

FTN Financial’s Chris Low said growth “was weaker than originally reported, but not weak. At 2.2 per cent, it was par for the course in this recovery before 2017”.