WASHINGTON — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday urged President Donald Trump to reconsider his approach on trade, telling his fellow Republican that tariffs on steel and aluminum "may threaten future economic growth both in our state and across the country."

Abbott, in a letter to Trump, highlighted particular harm to Texas.

The governor noted that Texas imports more steel and aluminum than any other U.S. state. He pointed out that the tariffs endanger Texas' booming energy sector. He cited data that many more Texans work in industries that depend on the metals than in those that produce them.

"The new tariffs could jeopardize the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Texans and other Americans employed in the oil and gas industry," he wrote.

Abbott's letter adds another voice to the chorus of concern in Texas over Trump's trade strategy, particularly as tariffs have set off an ever-growing trade war with even close U.S. allies.

Republicans and Democrats in Texas have united to implore Trump to pursue a different course than his protectionist agenda. Many business in the state have bemoaned the import levies, with one Texas company going so far as to sue the Trump administration over the issue.

Even Energy Secretary Rick Perry, the former Texas governor, said this week that he's trying to "raise some warning flags" with his boss over trade.

That kind of pushback is no real surprise, given that trade plays an outsized role in Texas' economy. More than 1 million jobs in Texas are supported by trade with just Mexico and Canada, which are the U.S.'s partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Abbott, in his letter to Trump, made clear that dynamic.

More than just highlighting the direct impact of the steel and aluminum tariffs, the governor also pointed to the $50 billion in retaliatory levies that China has lined up. Those tariffs would hit more than $8 billion of tariff-eligible goods that Texas last year exported to China, Abbott said.

Among the big targets: cotton, sorghum, beef and wheat.

"If 25 percent tariffs are, in fact, levied on these agricultural products, Texas farmers will be significantly affected," said Abbott, who did nonetheless praise Trump for seeking to curb "unfair trade practices."

Whether the Texan's letter moves the needle with Trump remains to be seen.

Abbott's prior efforts to write Trump in defense of NAFTA have done little to tone down the president's contempt. While the Trump administration continues to negotiate with Canada and Mexico, Trump just recently called NAFTA "one of the worst deals ever made by this country."

The president has also been unapologetic about his overall trade approach.

He's readying additional levies on Chinese goods and looking into whether the U.S. should impose tariffs on imported automobiles. He's also remains adamant that other countries have taken advantage of the U.S. on trade matters for years.

"For all those free traders out there, that's not free trade. That's stupid trade," he said Wednesday at a rally in North Dakota.