Democratic senators urge Trump to revamp China trade ties, revise free trade deals
Source: Reuters
March 31, 2025 11:19 AM EDT Updated 9 hours ago
WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) - Three Democratic senators on Monday urged U.S. President Donald Trump to "dramatically revise" the United States' trade relationship with China along with 14 free trade agreements, providing a boost to his push to revamp U.S. trade policy. In a letter to the Republican president, Senators Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan welcomed the comprehensive review of trade policy Trump has ordered and his push to rebuild the U.S. manufacturing base.
Trump has upended U.S. trade policy and unsettled financial markets with a series of tariffs aimed at competitors like China and neighbors like Canada and Mexico and specific sectors like autos and metals. He plans to announce more tariffs aimed at all countries with big trade surpluses on Wednesday.
The policies have sparked criticism from free trade groups and some firms, but also support from unions and some Democratic lawmakers, underscoring the bipartisan nature of concerns over the loss of 4.3 million manufacturing jobs since 2001. The Democratic senators said changes were urgently needed after what they called flawed trade decisions made by Democrats and Republicans on trade ties with China and other countries, while calling on Trump to keep the needs of workers in mind.
"Free trade and globalization have left us with offshored manufacturing, devastated communities, workers out of a job or in jobs with lower wages, and supply chains overly dependent on our adversaries in too many areas," they wrote, noting that their states had suffered disproportionately.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/democratic-senators-urge-trump-revamp-china-trade-ties-revise-free-trade-deals-2025-03-31/
Link to Sen. Baldwin PRESS RELEASE - Baldwin Leads Colleagues in Laying Out Worker-First American Trade Policy
Link to LETTER (PDF download) - https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/download/033125-baldwin-peters-slotkin-letter-on-trade?download=1
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