Wisconsin business leaders support President Donald Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on goods imported from China, according to the latest Wisconsin Employer Survey, conducted by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC), the combined state chamber of commerce and manufacturers’ association.
Eighty-six percent of respondents support imposing tariffs on countries like China in response to unfair trade practices, but business leaders have concerns about tariffs on nations like Canada and Mexico. Forty-four percent support 25% tariffs on imports from America’s neighbors to the north and south, while 56% oppose. Still, 73% support President Trump’s plan to use tariffs as a negotiating tactic to slow illegal immigration into the U.S.
When asked how increasing tariffs would impact their business, 50% said it would have a negative effect, 26% said it would be positive, and 24% said it would have no impact.
The survey also shows that Wisconsin business leaders want to see immigration reform, but 89% say the plan should start with securing the U.S. southern border. As for what immigration reform should look like, respondents overwhelmingly support updating the nation’s guest worker program, with emphasis on H-1B visas. Ninety-six percent support increasing the current 85,000-person cap on H-1B visas, which targets foreign workers with specialized skills. Further, nearly all support creating new visa options for high-demand workers to address Wisconsin’s labor shortage.
On taxes, 97% of respondents support making the provisions contained in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) permanent. A new study commissioned by the National Association of Manufacturers says that failing to renew the expiring tax provisions in the TCJA will cost Wisconsin 110,000 jobs, $10 million in employee wages, and $19.5 billion in GDP from the manufacturing sector alone.
Manufacturing is Wisconsin’s top economic sector, representing nearly $72 billion in GDP annually. The vast majority of survey respondents — 90% — support lowering the U.S. corporate tax rate for manufacturers to 15%.
Ninety-four percent of business leaders also support making permanent the 199A deduction that levels the tax rate between C-corporations and pass-throughs, which isn’t surprising given that around 90% of Wisconsin businesses are organized as pass-throughs, meaning shareholders rather than the corporation itself pays taxes. In addition, 97% support restoring the ability for businesses to deduct research and development expenses in the year they are incurred instead of being forced to amortize expenses over five years.
