Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross Wilbur Louis RossTrump 'very happy' to allow TikTok to operate in US if security concerns resolved TikTok, WeChat to be banned Sunday from US app stores The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by National Industries for the Blind - Trump seeks to flip 'Rage' narrative; Dems block COVID-19 bill MORE said on Wednesday that the Trump administration was "not trying to blow up the world" with the president's announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

"We're not trying to blow up the world. There's no intention of that. We want to balance our needs to fix the trade deficit with the needs of the economy, and the needs of the global economy itself," Ross told CNBC's "Squawk Box."

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President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden leads Trump by 36 points nationally among Latinos: poll Trump dismisses climate change role in fires, says Newsom needs to manage forest better Jimmy Kimmel hits Trump for rallies while hosting Emmy Awards MORE last week announced plans for the U.S. to slap a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and a 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum.

The proposal has faced widespread criticism from both parties and from the international community.

The president on Monday suggested that the steel tariffs could be used as leverage to speed up the completion of a new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) deal.

We have large trade deficits with Mexico and Canada. NAFTA, which is under renegotiation right now, has been a bad deal for U.S.A. Massive relocation of companies & jobs. Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum will only come off if new & fair NAFTA agreement is signed. Also, Canada must.. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 5, 2018

Negotiators for the U.S., Canada, and Mexico wrapped up their seventh round of talks last week without a resolution.

"The president indicated the other day he has a willingness to give an exemption to Canada and Mexico, provided that we work things out in NAFTA," Ross said.

"We're not looking for a trade war. We're going to have very sensible relations with our allies," he said.

The announcement has put the U.S. at odds with some of its biggest allies.

Canada’s minister of foreign affairs, Chrystia Freeland, said the country would take “appropriate, responsive measures" to the tariffs, while the European Union said it would consider slapping tariffs on U.S. goods such as bourbon, Levi's denim, and Harley Davidson motorcycles.

Trump has defended the tariffs and said that if it triggered a global trade war, it could be a good thing and "easy to win."

“When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win,” Trump tweeted last Friday.