Donald Trump's concerns over international trade are understandable but the U.S. president is choosing the wrong approach to level the playing field, the U.K.'s trade chief told CNBC Wednesday.

Speaking at 10 Downing Street, the U.K.'s International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said he "understands" the U.S. reservations related to Chinese overproduction, Chinese market access, and also the funding shortfalls by some NATO countries.

"We have got sympathy with that. Where we have our difference is the mechanism applied to that," Fox told CNBC's Steve Sedgwick.

In response to China's metal production, the U.S. president recently implemented tariffs aimed at protecting domestic product. Trump also decided to implement metal tariffs against European, Japanese, Canadian and other allied nations.