U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Wednesday defended the doubling of steel and aluminum tariffs by claiming the United States “can’t fight a war” without domestic production of those materials.

Lutnick made the comments while denying the immediate real-world implications that steep tariffs will have on U.S. manufacturing during testimony in front of the U.S. Senate appropriations committee that focused in part on U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policy.

“The big issue is, you can’t fight a war without steel and aluminum production in America,” Lutnick said during an exchange with Democratic U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, who was asking if he or Trump consulted with the Pentagon before raising those tariffs.

“If you don’t have the ability to make your own ste

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