In a letter to the Trump administration, Tammy Baldwin and Bernie Moreno cite CNH, Caterpillar and John Deere after jobs are offshored.
When you think of a classic American company, one that probably springs to mind is John Deere. The company’s been around since 1837, when John Deere himself revolutionized farming technology. Today, his namesake continues to sell tractors, mowers and more to both farmers and the average consumer.
But even though John Deere feels very American and started out as such, the products themselves are less so. The same is true for other heavy equipment manufacturing companies such as Case New Holland (CNH) Industrial and Caterpillar. That’s because these companies have significantly offshored their operations. Although they continue to produce some parts of their products domestically, offshoring has become a major part of their strategy.
The people who suffer because of this offshoring are American workers. In 2024, CNH Industrial sparked controversy when they announced plans to lay off over 200 workers in Wisconsin and move those jobs to Mexico. In 2025, John Deere announced it would also be moving some of its manufacturing operations to Mexico and laid off thousands of workers in Iowa. Caterpillar has extensive facilities in Mexico, including some that have come under fire for reported labor abuses.
These companies have cited cost-cutting measures as the reason why they continue to offshore. But when it comes to spending money on executives and investors, it’s a different story. Over the past few years, John Deere, CNH and Caterpillar have paid billions of dollars to shareholders through stock buybacks and shareholder dividends.
This state of affairs hurts hard-working Americans, especially in the Midwest, which has been hit hard by factory reductions and closures. That’s why, in a moment of bipartisan collaboration, Sens Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) and Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) wrote a letter late last month calling on the Trump administration to open a Section 232 investigation into the offshoring of heavy equipment manufacturing, citing John Deere, CNH and Caterpillar as the prime offenders. The letter came ahead of the White House hosting John Deere and CNH’s CEOs for National Agriculture Day.
A Section 232 investigation would determine whether the offshoring of heavy equipment manufacturing threatens national security. If it’s determined that imports do pose a threat, the president can then impose tariffs on these products.
The senators wrote:
“We are outraged that John Deere, Case New Holland (CNH), Caterpillar, and other major manufacturers have turned their backs on the American workers, families, and towns that built them by sending production of heavy construction and agricultural equipment to Mexico… 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.”
Although the senators focus on Section 232 tariffs on these manufacturers, that’s not their only concern. They also point out how the current US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) has allowed this massive offshoring to happen. Currently, due to USMCA, heavy equipment made in Mexico can enter the United States duty-free with no rules of origin. Even if the administration does impose Section 232 tariffs, the issue can’t fully be addressed until the issues with USMCA are dealt with.
The Alliance for American Manufacturing applauds Sens. Baldwin and Moreno for speaking out against the scourge of offshoring. We hope the Trump administration will seriously consider their proposal – and improve the USMCA, as we’ve written about here.