Contact: Aaron White
Phone: 202-225-5506
Aaron.White@mail.house.gov
Rep. Ron Kind hosts roundtable in Stevens Point with Wisconsin farmers, workers and manufacturers to discuss safeguarding Wisconsin’s rural economy
Rural Economy Roundtable focused on Wisconsin businesses impacted by increased steel and aluminum tariffs and tariff retaliation
Stevens Point – Today, U.S. Rep. Ron Kind hosted a roundtable in Stevens Point to listen and hear directly from central Wisconsin workers, farmers and manufacturers about the impact of increased steel and aluminum tariffs and the subsequent retaliation on Wisconsin exports. The attendees of the roundtable also discussed how to best safeguard the health of Wisconsin’s rural economy.
“I am thankful for the opportunity to hear directly from farmers, workers and producers here in central Wisconsin about how tariffs and closed markets are impacting our economy,” said Rep. Ron Kind. “Industries and businesses that our state is proud of, like our world-class dairy, pork, and manufacturing, are facing damage to their bottom lines because of the President’s continued bad trade policies. I will continue to fight for a level playing field and expanded markets for Wisconsin producers.”
On Monday, President Trump announced an additional $200 billion of tariffs on thousands of individual goods from China, further ratcheting up the trade war. Yesterday, China announced $60 billion of retaliatory tariffs in response.
The Rural Economy Roundtable in Stevens Point included area farmers, paper producers, manufacturers, and other impacted individuals. Rep. Kind has hosted Rural Economy Roundtables with Wisconsin farmers, workers and families in La Crosse, Eau Claire, and Platteville.
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, over $1 billion of Wisconsin exports are threatened by the President’s Trade War, with the hardest hit industries including dairy, cranberry and bean growers, pork producers, and paper and pulp manufacturers. Over 800,000 Wisconsin jobs are supported by global trade.