FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 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.
IN KENOSHA: Black-Owned Business Owners Sound the Alarm
Opportunity Wisconsin held a roundtable last week at Bigg Mike's barbershop in Kenosha, where Black-owned small business owners shared how tariffs and Republican economic policies are hitting them where it hurts. The conversation was covered by the Kenosha News — and the message was clear: these aren't abstract policy debates. They're about whether businesses can keep the lights on.
Hair product costs are up. Food costs are up. And customers — squeezed by the same rising prices — are cutting back on everything from haircuts to restaurant visits to travel. Mike Johnson, owner of Bigg Mike's, said his regulars are coming in less often. Union Park Tavern owner and state Rep. DeSmidt said eating out is now considered a luxury. And travel business owner and Opportunity Wisconsin organizer Cierra Chesir spoke about the challenges she’s facing: "My business has taken a huge hit because I have clients who consistently book trips with me every year. They've told me that they just don't have it in their budget to travel."
Javantae Peet, a Racine business owner, added a challenge unique to minority-owned businesses: "When it comes to minority businesses, most of the time we're self-funded. We don't have access to capital that our counterparts do."
Congressman Bryan Steil voted multiple times to keep illegal tariffs in place. He has stayed silent about the new 10% global tariff that went into effect last week.
WHAT TARIFFS? Vance Visits Wisconsin, Doesn't Mention Tariffs Once
Vice President JD Vance did not utter the word "tariffs" a single time during his speech at a Plover, Wisconsin machining plant last Thursday Wisconsin Examiner — even as new tariffs were taking effect.
The disconnect between the message and the reality was hard to miss. Sachin Shivaram, CEO of Wisconsin Aluminum, told reporters: "I can tell you from my experience running our company, from everyone I talk to in my networks — 95% of people in manufacturing, 99% do not support the tariffs. It's costing all of them, all of us, a lot of money."
Van Orden stood on stage with Vance and said nothing about tariffs either. That's not a coincidence — it's a pattern. Both Van Orden and Steil have voted repeatedly to support Trump's illegal tariffs and block congressional efforts to challenge them. Now, with a new 10% global tariff in effect and a 150-day congressional clock ticking, Wisconsin families and businesses are still waiting for either congressman to say a word.
Read more from the Wisconsin Examiner.
BY THE NUMBERS: Majority Of Wisconsin Voters Say Tariffs Are Hurting Farmers
The latest Marquette University Law School poll — released the day before Vance's visit — makes clear that Wisconsin families aren't buying the "Golden Age" spin. Across partisan affiliations, the rising cost of living is voters' number one concern, and 55% of respondents said tariffs are hurting Wisconsin farmers.
That's the reality that Van Orden and Steil wish they could ignore. Recent reporting shows farm bankruptcies spiking in Wisconsin as costs continue to increase. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, bankruptcies were up 46% in 2025 compared to the previous year.
This poll is a reminder that Wisconsin families are watching their costs rise and they won’t ignore it.
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