The US commerce secretary has confirmed that the government will start levying 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on Wednesday as announced by President Donald Trump last month.



Howard Lutnick spoke in an interview with NBC News on Sunday.



The secretary also explained Trump's plan to match tariff rates on Canadian lumber and dairy products with duties placed by Ottawa on US items of the same kind. Trump said on Friday that he would "wait till Monday or Tuesday" to impose the reciprocal tariffs.



Lutnick said the tariffs will start on April 2. He called the Canadian duties on US dairy products "outrageous," saying the president is going to respond to them but has agreed not to do so until that day.



Trump said in his address to a joint session of Congress last week that reciprocal tariffs on his country's trading partners would kick in on April 2.



Lutnick defended the Trump administration's tariff policy. He said "some products that are made foreign might be more expensive, but American products will get cheaper." He added that the Trump administration is "going to bring manufacturing back."