DataWatch: Trump’s tariffs and Wisconsin’s economy

DataWatch: Trump’s tariffs and Wisconsin’s economy

Reading Time: 3 minutesPresident Donald Trump’s fluctuating tariff policies have kept the world guessing.Uncertainty about what’s next — and how U.S. companies will absorb new costs —  has stirred anxiety among investors, business owners and consumers. “That whipsawing back and forth, that creates a tremendous amount of uncertainty,” said  Steven Deller, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor who researches the state’s agricultural and manu…

Turbulence for Wisconsin’s Export Economy

Manufacturing and agriculture play an outsized role in Wisconsin’s economy, making exports essential. Yet since the mid-2010s, the value of those exports has fallen both statewide and in the Milwaukee area. Now newly enacted U.S. tariffs are triggering retaliatory actions by some major trading partners, making 2025 a bumpy ride so far for many Wisconsin businesses and farmers. Wisconsin’s exported goods were valued at $27.5 billion in 2024, or a…