FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2026
CONTACT: press@opportunitywisconsin.org
Your weekly update on how Trump’s tariff chaos is hitting Wisconsin families and small businesses — and what Congress is (not) doing about it.
ROUNDTABLE ROUNDUP: La Crosse Small Business Owners Sound the Alarm
Last week, Opportunity Wisconsin and Main Street Action hosted a roundtable in La Crosse with small business owners from across western Wisconsin to discuss how tariffs are raising costs, hurting sales, and threatening livelihoods. The message was consistent: working families and small businesses are paying the price for tariff chaos, while Congressman Derrick Van Orden has stayed silent on new tariffs and voted multiple times for illegal tariffs that have driven costs up for months.
Mike Grady, owner of Elite Tonewoods in West Salem, told WIZM that his purchasing and sales are down about 30 percent from the prior year — and he linked that directly to the tariffs. The La Crosse Tribune also highlighted the challenges facing participants:
"We're still a small company, but we import almost half a million pounds of coffee a year from around the world,"said TJ Semanchin, owner of Wonderstate Coffee. "This is a product that we can't replace domestically."
"My sweet rice flour has gone up 53% in the last year, and tapioca starch has gone up 68%, unsweetened cocoa powder has gone up 43%, white premier chocolate has gone up 74% in the last year, chocolate chips have gone up 50%. That's significant," said Sarah Burns, owner of Omega Bakery in Holmen.
"I've had growth for seven years straight. This past year, I would say my purchasing was down 30% from what it would have been... I directly blame that on tariffs and uncertainty," said Grady.
"If he cares about the economy in western Wisconsin, we really need them to repeal all the tariffs," Semanchin said, speaking directly to Van Orden.
Read more: WIZM | La Crosse Tribune | News 8000
BY THE NUMBERS: Wisconsin Businesses And Consumers Paid $3.5 Billion in Tariffs
A new report puts a staggering price tag on what tariffs have cost the Badger State. Wisconsin companies and their consumers paid approximately $3.5 billion in tariffs between March and December 2025. And since President Trump began implementing tariffs during his first term, Wisconsin importers have paid $8.9 billion in total — meaning more than a third of all tariffs paid since 2018 were paid in 2025 alone.
Congressmen Van Orden and Steil have both voted multiple times for illegal tariffs and have refused to speak out as President Trump is set to implement new 15 percent global tariffs.
Read more from the Wisconsin State Journal
JOBS REPORT: Tariffs Still Aren't Creating the Manufacturing Boom They Promised
Friday's jobs report was another piece of bad economic news fueled, in part, by ongoing tariffs. The report showed the economy lost 92,000 in February — the third time in five months that employment went down — and the unemployment rate rose to 4.4%. The report is a sign that the economic uncertainty created by tariffs continues to weigh on employers.
One number stands out in particular: manufacturing, an industry that Republicans claimed would be boosted by tariffs, lost another 12,000 in February.
With a 150-day clock ticking on Trump’s new tariffs, it’s time for Van Orden and Steil to speak out and put Wisconsin families and businesses first.
Read more from CNBC
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