US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross (Photo: AFP/VNA)

The statement came one day after President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser Gary Cohn resigned to protest the government’s tariff plan.

On Tuesday, Mr. Trump repeated his call for tariffs of 25% on imported steel and 10% on aluminum to take effect this week, angering US’s trade partners. On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the World Trade Organization said the US’s major trade partners have expressed dismay at the plan.