After the breakdown of trade talks with Canada, Gov. Tony Evers Monday blasted President Donald Trump and Wisconsin’s Republican congressional delegation for starting a trade war with Wisconsin’s largest trade partner.
After a potential deal fell through late Friday, Trump announced that a 50% tariff would be applied to certain Canadian goods.
The Associated Press reports that Canada will announce retaliatory tariffs today.
In 2025, Wisconsin exported goods valued at over $7.5 billion to Canada, and Evers said the president and Wisconsin’s GOP congressmen who enable him, many of whom represent rural areas, are leaving Wisconsin farmers and producers behind.
Evers said a recently released report by the Center for American Progress found that, as of June 30, tariffs have caused the average American household to spend about $2,072 more on gas, electricity and tariff-affected goods since the start of Trump’s second term.
“Time and time again, President Trump and Republicans are causing costs to go up and making life even harder for ranchers, farmers and producers across America, including here in America’s Dairyland — and where in the hell are Republicans in Congress?” Evers said in a statement.
Wisconsin Republicans have yet to comment on the latest breakdown in trade talks with Canada, but in the past they have pointed out the potential long-term gains of the president’s policies.
In exchange for tariff relief, other nations have re-negotiated trade deals that are more favorable to the U.S., but under Prime Minister Mark Carney, Canada has pushed back.
In previous trade disputes, Trump has covered farmers’ trade-related economic losses with federal aid in the form of “bridge” payments.
