Your weekly update on how Trump’s tariff chaos is hitting Wisconsin families and small businesses — and what Congress is (not) doing about it.
IN KENOSHA: Women Business Owners Sound the Alarm on Tariff Costs
Yesterday, Opportunity Wisconsin hosted a town hall in Kenosha with women-owned small business owners from across the First District to discuss how tariffs are driving up costs, threatening their livelihoods, and squeezing the customers they depend on. The message was clear: these aren't abstract trade debates — they're about whether businesses built by Wisconsin women can survive.
Congressman Bryan Steil voted multiple times to keep illegal tariffs in place and has stayed silent about the new 10% global tariff raising costs for his constituents. The small business owners in his district deserve a congressman who will speak out — and fight back.
ONE YEAR LATER: Wisconsinites are still paying the price for Trump’s tariffs
This Thursday, April 2nd, marks one year since President Trump stood in the White House Rose Garden and announced sweeping tariffs. One year later, the Supreme Court has struck those tariffs down as illegal, Wisconsin families are paying more for groceries and everyday essentials, and Congressmen Van Orden and Steil have refused to put a stop to it.
Here’s a look back at what Wisconsinites have said about these harmful tariffs nearly one year later:
"We're roasting half a million pounds of coffee a year and we employ 85 people. But these tariffs are crushing us. You're looking at $100,000 in tariffs right here. That's on top of all of our other supplies getting more expensive. We've had no choice but to raise prices. All I see are higher prices." — TJ, Wonderstate Coffee, Viroqua
"My famous lasagna … costs a fortune these days. Cheese should not be $9 in Wisconsin. Congressman Bryan Steil supported the tariffs that are raising our prices. We need to tell Bryan Steil to stop raising our costs." — Deb, Mt. Pleasant
"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%, chocolate chips have gone up 50%. That's significant." — Sarah, Omega Bakery, 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."— Mike, Elite Tonewoods, West Salem
"With five kids, dinner time at our house can be a bit hectic. You wouldn't believe how much food we go through with five kids. It's not cheap. Nothing but love around that table, but the cost is almost too much to bear. These tariffs are driving grocery prices through the roof. Congressman Bryan Steil voted to support the tariffs that are raising our prices. I'm a firefighter and my wife is a nurse. We should be able to afford a family meal." — Joe, Kenosha firefighter
Wisconsin businesses and consumers paid approximately $3.5 billion in tariffs between March and December 2025 alone. The tariffs Trump announced on Liberation Day were eventually struck down by the Supreme Court, but new ones immediately replaced them, and costs haven't come down. One year in, Van Orden and Steil's answer to all of it is silence.
BY THE NUMBERS: Wisconsinites Have Had Enough
A new Marquette Law School Poll of Wisconsin voters, released last week, makes clear that Wisconsinites aren't buying what Van Orden and Steil are selling.
Sixty percent of those surveyed oppose the administration's push to reimpose tariffs after the Supreme Court struck them down as illegal, and more Wisconsinites say tariffs are hurting the economy and Wisconsin farmers than say they are helping. Meanwhile, the rising cost of living remains Wisconsin voters' top concern across party lines.
Read the poll results here
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