US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has indicated that tariffs on Canada and Mexico will be imposed from Tuesday as planned, but that their rate could be lowered.



Speaking with FOX News on Sunday, Lutnick touched on Trump's plan to impose 25-percent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods to prevent smuggling of illegal drugs into the US from the two countries.



The administration initially planned to introduce the tariffs in February, but delayed the start by one month after the two neighbors promised to tackle drug trafficking.



Lutnick said, "Both Mexico and Canada have done a reasonable job on the border." He also said: "There are going to be tariffs on Tuesday on Mexico and Canada, exactly what they are. We're going to leave that for the president and his team to negotiate."



Trump posted on social media on Thursday last week that he would impose the levies on Tuesday.



The US has strong economic ties with the two countries. The tariffs are expected to have a wide-ranging impact.



Washington started imposing an additional 10-percent duty on Chinese goods on February 4. The US says it plans to double that on Tuesday.



Economists warn that the tariffs will make imported items more expensive and lead to higher inflation in the US.



But Trump insists that tariffs did not cause high inflation during his first term in office.