A recent WMC survey finds state business leaders have mixed views on imposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico, while retaliatory tariffs on China are more popular. 

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce yesterday released more results from the group’s winter survey, which gathered results from 153 employers in the state by email and traditional mail. 

When asked if they back higher tariffs on imports from countries like China “as a response to unfair trade practices like dumping and intellectual property theft,” 63% said they strongly support it and 23% somewhat support it. Nine percent oppose it somewhat and just 5% strongly oppose the move. 

But in a separate question about imposing a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, strong support got 8%, somewhat support got 36%, somewhat oppose got 29% and strongly oppose got 27%. 

Still, 73% of respondents said they support President Donald Trump’s plan to raise tariffs on Canada and Mexico as a negotiating tactic to help slow illegal immigration into the United States, while 27% were opposed. 

“Wisconsin is a manufacturing and agricultural state,” WMC President and CEO Kurt Bauer said in a statement on the results. “We make, grow and process things and we want to sell them around the world. But business leaders are saying that we need our trading partners to play by the rules.”

Half of respondents said increased tariffs would have a negative impact on their business, while 26% said they would have a positive impact and 24% said they wouldn’t have an effect. 

The survey also included questions on other federal policy topics, ranging from immigration to tax cuts and research and development expense deductions. 

WMC found strong support for several policy actions aimed at driving legal immigration related to employment. 

Ninety-six percent of respondents said they support “significantly increasing” annual quotas for employment-based immigration visas to allow more skilled workers to legally enter the country. The question referenced the H-1B program, which allows foreign workers that meet certain professional benchmarks to temporarily work in the United States in specialty occupations. 

Similarly, 99% of respondents support creating new visa options for “high-demand” workers to boost the pool of skilled legal immigrants in the workforce. 

See the report and release