Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Ohio Gov. John Kasich penned a letter Monday urging the Trump administration to put an end to a trade war they contend hurts U.S. industries and leaves “large numbers of our citizens worse off.”

The letter, addressed to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, seeks to highlight the impact of trade on the states’ economies and “the detrimental effects that uncertainty in U.S. trade policy and the imposition of retaliatory tariffs are having on our states.”

“We appreciate the desire to revise and seek updated, fair and equitable trade agreements,” the pair wrote. “However, we strongly urge our negotiators to address these opportunities without closing markets, imposing tariffs or enacting government regulations that threaten to negatively affect our manufacturers and agricultural producers, as well as the businesses and rural communities so dependent upon their profitability.”

> RELATED: Trade war would be devastating for Colorado, U.S. Chamber chief warns

Twenty-seven states count North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico as their two largest export markets, the governors wrote, citing International Trade Administration statistics. Those states include Colorado.

China, Japan, the UK, Germany and South Korea are also major export destinations, they added. “Now, some of these trading partners are among the countries imposing retaliatory tariffs on our states’ manufacturing and agricultural products.”

The letter closes with an exhortation to “pursue a trade policy that is forward-looking and designed to place our workers and our economy in a position to benefit from all the changes the 21st century will bring.”

A recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce report warns that $277 million in Colorado exports and 733,000 jobs are threatened by the emerging trade war with China, Canada, the European Union and Mexico, Chamber head Tom Donohue pointed out to Colorado Politics Editor at Large Vince Bzdek during a recent interview.

This isn’t the first time that Hickenlooper, a Democrat, and Kasich, a Republican, have teamed up. The duo recently urged Congress to take a bipartisan approach to fixing the nation’s healthcare system and has been rumored as potential presidential-vice presidential running mates in 2020.

As Colorado Politics’ Joey Bunch wrote in August 2017:

“These days the two seem figuratively arm-and-arm on the national scene talking about bipartisanship to find a solution healthcare. They seem to be talking about something more: a fresh way of doing the public’s business by governing from the center with ideas from both sides.”

There was talk in 2017 of the two governors running as a “unity” ticket for president and vice president – talk that Hickenlooper has shot down.

Last week Hickenlooper announced the formation of a political action committee, putting him a giant step closer to jumping into the 2020 presidential race.

As for Kasich in 2020, “all of my options are on the table,” he told Politico in March.

Term limits prevent both governors from running for third terms in their current seats.