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(WTAQ-WLUK) — With Wisconsin’s top trading partners at the center of these tariffs, it’s sounding the alarm for what they could mean for consumers.
“Prices are gonna go up. Prices are gonna go up at the grocery store, at the pump, prices for lumber for building houses,” said Missy Hughes, Secretary of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC).
If enacted in a month, Canada, which sits atop as the state’s largest trade partner, would face a 25% tariff on imports to the U.S. — and 10% on its energy products.
All imports from China, which will still go into effect Tuesday, face a 10% tariff.
Mexico’s would be 25% if negotiations with the U.S. fall through.
“These are blanket tariffs, right? So, we’re talking about all of the stuff coming in, is basically, from these countries is getting hit with a higher charge on it. A higher tax. It’s likely to get passed to the consumer,” said St. Norbert College Professor of Economics & Data Analytics, Marc Shaffer.
In 2023, those three nations contributed more than $18 billion of the state’s $39 billion worth of imported goods.
“Global trade is incredibly important for our businesses,” said Hughes.
While GasBuddy says prices at the pump dropped nationwide and in Wisconsin in the last week, experts believe that could change with tariffs on Canadian energy and oil.
GasBuddy predicts a slow, but modest impact on fuel prices in the Great Lakes, Midwest, Rockies, and Northeast U.S. — markets that are heavily reliant on Canada for its fuel.
“Particularly in Wisconsin, let’s talk about our farmers. Our farmers who are using fuel to plant their crops, to utilize fertilizer which includes incredible amounts of fossil fuels, all of those costs are gonna go up,” said Hughes.
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