WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senators Elizabeth Warren and Mark Kelly sent a letter to the Trump administration on Monday questioning its trade policy. The letter, addressed to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, requested an explanation for the growing trade deficit on manufactured goods.

"Blue-collar jobs are disappearing, a trend that economists blame at least in part on the president's historic and volatile tariff policy," the lawmakers wrote. They added, "The Trump Administration's trade agenda has favored the interests of wealthy corporations and Trump allies, leaving manufacturing workers behind."

A February analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data published by Democrats on the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee indicated that the U.S. economy lost 108,000 manufacturing jobs during the first year of Trump's second term. According to data released by the Census Bureau in February, the trade deficit in physical goods reached a record high in 2025, although the U.S. overall trade deficit with the world narrowed that year.

Additional economic shifts included the announced closure of John Paulson's Ohio brass instrument manufacturing plant, with operations moving to China. Whirlpool has cut nearly 500 jobs since Trump's tariffs took effect and is expanding its presence in Mexico. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis reported that total construction spending on manufacturing has decreased since a peak in summer 2024.

The Supreme Court struck down a majority of Trump's tariffs in February. Trump had imposed these tariffs citing the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. Following this ruling, he issued a new set of import taxes using a different statutory authority. "After campaigning on promises to lower costs for American families 'on day one,' President Trump's disastrous economic policies, including sweeping IEEPA tariffs, have driven up prices for American families and small businesses," Warren and Kelly wrote.