Two U.S. senators from opposite parties asked the Commerce Department on Thursday to initiate a national security review into imports of heavy construction and farm equipment made in Mexico by firms such as Deere & Co, Caterpillar and CNH Industrial.
The appeal, submitted in a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, requests an investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. That statute has previously been used to impose tariffs on items including steel and autos.
The lawmakers - Senator Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat from Wisconsin, and Senator Bernie Moreno, a Republican from Ohio - framed their request as timely, given the administration's plan for a scheduled review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in July.
In their communication, the senators asked that the probe encompass a range of categories: agricultural implements, construction and mining equipment, forestry equipment, heavy machinery, and related parts and derivatives. They argued that duty-free treatment under the USMCA has encouraged some producers to relocate manufacturing to Mexico.
The letter cites a specific example: CNH laid off 222 workers in Racine, Wisconsin, in 2024 while moving production to Mexico, Baldwin said. The senators pressed for policy responses to address what they described as an incentive to shift production across the border.
"These companies should not be allowed to eliminate American jobs, pay Mexican workers poverty wages and then ship products back to the U.S. for additional profit on the backs of our communities," the senators wrote.
CNH, Deere, Caterpillar and the Commerce Department were not immediately available for comment.
The request comes amid broader use of Section 232 by the administration. The Trump administration has applied 232 tariffs to copper, steel, aluminum, autos, auto parts, timber, furniture and trucks, and has been investigating other sectors, including pharmaceuticals. Officials have sought to restore tariffs that were previously struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court under a different law by relying on Section 232 and Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
Senator Baldwin has previously criticized the administration's broad tariff strategy, while supporting more targeted action through measures such as Section 232. The letter from Baldwin and Moreno asks the Commerce Department to take that targeted route for heavy equipment and related goods produced in Mexico.
Contextual note: The senators requested a formal Section 232 investigation and recommended changes to USMCA provisions they say have incentivized relocation of production. The scope and timing of any Commerce Department response were not provided in the letter.