And that's my.
Banner headlines of 25%
tariffs on Mexico and Canada
from President Trump one day,
then an about face and they're
on pause for 30 days.
And across the board, additional 10%
U.S. tariff on China remains
in place.
Unsettled times and fast moving.
What's the reaction in the business
community in Wisconsin?
For that, we turn to Kurt Bauer,
president and CEO
of Wisconsin Manufacturers and
Commerce. And thanks very much for
being here.
My pleasure.
So last weekend, when you heard the
news of the 25% tariff
on Canada and Mexico, what was your
reaction?
Not a surprise.
He campaigned on this.
We knew something was coming.
We weren't sure exactly how broad it
was going to be.
We thought it was a negotiating
tactic, particularly with Canada.
We thought that there'd be something
more with Mexico.
We obviously thought something was
going to happen with China.
But it was a little broader than we
thought.
How relieved were you then when it
was kind of pulled back?
I think the pause is good.
I'm concerned the retaliatory
tariffs would be rough on Wisconsin.
We are a manufacturing state.
We are a agricultural state.
We make things, we process things,
we grow things and we export them
around the world.
Canada's our number one trading
partner. We have a positive.
I'd trade with
them right now.
The second largest is
Mexico and then China.
So all three are on the chopping
block. They account for about 50%
of Wisconsin exports.
So this could have a very
significant impact on the state of
Wisconsin and our manufacturing and
agricultural industries.
So it's apparently a 30
day pause. We think it will be
reenacted.
I don't know. There's a lot of
talking across the border.
I've talked with my counterparts in
Quebec, Ontario and Alberta.
We have very strong relationships
among the trade associations
across the border.
We're doing everything we can to try
and work something out as best we
can. Ultimately, this is up to the
president. He does have the
authority to do this, and
we're hoping that we're able to work
out some sort of deal.
It looks like you you got
Mexico and Canada made some
accommodations.
We're seeing that from other
countries as well.
So hopefully this will work out and
we won't have tariffs and we won't
have a trade war.
Yeah. If business moves uncertainty,
though, what's this climate like?
Well, that's funny you should say
that, because business is inherently
uncertain and this government
shouldn't make it worse.
This certainly does.
We saw during Covid 19 that
businesses were incredibly
resilient.
They were adaptable.
They'll have to be again if this
goes into place.
The concern we have is supply chain
and energy. We get a lot of our
energy from Canada, particularly
Alberta.
We don't want those flows cut off.
That will have a major impact on the
cost of energy in the state of
Wisconsin.
Supply chains are difficult as well.
You can't just snap your fingers and
create a supply chain, particularly
on precise products
and raw materials.
So, you know, there are
we have some skin in the game, to be
sure.
What about the additional 10% tariff
on China?
Well, we've seen a lot of our
members moving away from China for a
variety of different reasons.
China has not been a good actor on
trade. They have, you know,
manipulated their currency, They
have stolen IP, they've forced
tech transfers in exchange for
market access.
They subsidize their industries.
They have dumped into the United
States to put American competitors
out of business.
So 86% of my
members support tariffs in China
because they don't believe that
they've been a fair player
in trade.
Look, we're manufacturing state, as
I said earlier, we're an
agricultural say we want to sell
to the world, but we want it to be
on a fair and equal basis.
So how injurious would it be to
Wisconsin if the Canada and Mexico
tariffs or a trade war
does happen?
Depends on how long it lasts.
Depends on specifically what.
But it would certainly have an
impact and we'd see it right away.
It depends on the industry,
but most businesses, most
sectors would see some effect
right away. And of course, that
would trickle down to consumers as
well.
In fact, I was going to ask, what
should consumers brace for?
Well, let's hope that we don't
have to brace for anything, but
it's hard to know.
I think gas prices would probably go
up. You'd see impact on products
and maybe
agricultural products that we bring
up from Mexico. I was thinking of
the Super Bowl. If you want your
guacamole.
Avocados largely come from Mexico.
All of that could be higher prices.
Briefly, you said you were in
Washington this week.
Have you spoken with the Trump
administration about this and your
concerns?
We had a delegation at the White
House this week. We did talk about
it. I was not there.
I was at the Pentagon having a
different conversation, not about
tariffs, but we were on the Hill
talking to their delegation.
They're concerned about it.
They certainly recognize that
Wisconsin is a major manufacturing
and agricultural state.
They know the stakes.
All right. Kurt Bauer, thanks very
much.
My pleasure.
I'm getting a lot of information,
and.
I'm a fast talker.
So. Good works for us.
All right. Thank you.
Good luck with all this, though, to
all of us.
Yeah. Well, we'll see
what happens.
We are talking to the Trump folks,
But I mean, he's pretty
intent on it. I mean, it goes back
to, again, what he wants to
accomplish. And from our
perspective, if he wants more
manufacturing, the way to do
it is business climate, not tariffs.
So he already wants to lower
the tax rate for four manufacturers.
We have a manufacturers and
agriculture production tax credit in
Wisconsin that incentivizes
production and jobs in Wisconsin.
Regulations are ridiculously
stifling and suffocating
energy, natural resources
and then, of course, workforce if we
can reform our guest worker program.
Bottom line is we control our own
destiny and destiny and all of the
above.
Yeah, the guest worker program is a
big deal.
Yeah. Yeah, we we are lobbying
hard on that because, of course,
Wisconsin has a demographic drought.
We just don't have enough people.
Man, there's so many things for you
to focus on. Yeah, there.
Are.
Well, thanks so much for having me.
Nice to see you again.