Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said President Donald Trump's trade policies should be judged by its results, not what people believe might happen.
"I think what the naysayers should do is judge President Trump by his results. Don't judge President Trump by your theory about what (you think) might be his results. Judge our trade policy by its results," Ross said Tuesday on CNBC's "Squawk Box."
Earlier in March, Trump announced tariffs on steel and aluminum, which sparked worries that a trade war might ensue.
Ross also targeted the European Union and China for criticism.
"It's ludicrous that a car coming into the U.S. from abroad pays a 2.5 percent tariff; when a car going from America to the EU pays a 10 percent tariff; and a car going to China pays 25 percent.
"Those entities call themselves free traders. I don't see how you can be a free trader when you charge a tariff that's 4 to 10 times what we do on the exact same product," Ross said.
"They have to start matching their rhetoric with their behavior," Ross added.
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