Press Release: READ: Gov. Evers Slams Wisconsin Republicans in Congress for Repeatedly Caving on President Trump’s Erratic Tariffs, Enabling Latest Reckless Trade War with Wisconsin’s Largest Export Partner as Retaliatory Tariffs Take Effect

State of Wisconsin sent this bulletin at 09/08/2026 10:26 AM CDT
Office of Governor Tony Evers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 8, 2026
Contact: GovPress@wisconsin.gov 
 
READ: Gov. Evers Slams Wisconsin Republicans in Congress for Repeatedly Caving on President Trump’s Erratic Tariffs, Enabling Latest Reckless Trade War with Wisconsin’s Largest Export Partner as Retaliatory Tariffs Take Effect
As retaliatory tariffs go into effect today that are expected to send costs skyrocketing, Gov. Evers blasts Wisconsin Republicans in Congress for voting in lockstep with President Trump on his disastrous economic policies and enabling chaotic trade wars that are hurting Wisconsin farmers, producers, manufacturers, and working families 
MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers sent a letter to every Republican member of Wisconsin’s Congressional delegation, slamming them for enabling President Donald J. Trump’s latest trade war with Canada, Wisconsin’s largest export partner, which he started with unnecessary tariff proclamations in July. The governor’s letter comes as Canada’s retaliatory tariffs take effect today, which are expected to send costs skyrocketing across the state. In his letter, the governor outlined the disastrous impacts this trade war will have on Wisconsin’s farmers, producers, manufacturers, and working families and pointedly called out Republican members of Wisconsin’s own Congressional delegation who represent key portions of Wisconsin’s rural and farming communities for caving to President Trump on his erratic tariffs and reckless trade wars, leaving Wisconsin farmers and producers behind, including: 
  • U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin);  
  • U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil (WI-01);  
  • U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (WI-03);  
  • U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (WI-05);  
  • U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman (WI-06);  
  • U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany (WI-07); and  
  • U.S. Rep. Tony Wied (WI-08). 
This letter comes as Gov. Evers, last month, made a point of calling out Congressional Republicans, including Republican members of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation, for enabling President Trump’s erratic tariffs and trade wars by repeatedly doing nothing as President Trump unilaterally attempted to implement illegal tariffs and intentionally blocking efforts in Congress aimed at ending the tariffs. As a result of Republicans’ actions—or lack thereof, a recently released report found that, as of June 30, 2026, the average American household has spent about $2,072 more on gas, electricity, and tariff-affected goods since President Trump took office for his second term and Republicans secured control of the U.S. Congress, with costs only expected to increase during the remainder of the year.   

In 2025, Canada was Wisconsin’s largest export partner, with exports to the country valued at over $7.5 billion. On top of jeopardizing the relationship with Wisconsin’s key export partners, the retaliatory tariffs announced by Canada, which will go into effect on Sept. 8, will cost the state greatly. As outlined in the governor’s letter, nearly every variety of cheese Wisconsin sells to Canada will face a 25 percent counter-tariff, and milk powders, whey, and other dairy ingredients will face 50 percent, further jeopardizing Wisconsin’s $116 billion agriculture industry. Additionally, the corrugated boxes, coated papers, packaging, and tissue products made in the Fox Valley, Green Bay, and Central and Northern Wisconsin will face counter-tariffs of mostly 50 percent, serving as another direct blow to our state, which makes more paper than any other in the country and annually results in more than half a billion dollars in sales to Canada. 

The latest escalation in President Trump’s ongoing trade spats with several countries and on-again-off-again tariffs also comes as the president announced he will be allowing foreign beef imports, drawing ire from American ranchers. The U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, representing more than 175,000 cattle producers and feeders, excoriated the Trump Administration: “You don’t put America first by putting U.S. cattle producers last,” USCA President Justin Tupper said.  

For nearly 18 months, Congress has abdicated its constitutional responsibilities, standing idly by while President Trump imposed, paused, reimposed, and rewrote tariff taxes on Wisconsin’s closest trading partners by proclamation, and Wisconsin businesses and consumers have paid at every turn. The Supreme Court has already struck down the president’s earlier tariffs on Canada, a federal trade court has ruled against the ones he imposed to replace them, and each time his answer has been to reach for another law, most recently a 96-year-old statute that had never been used to impose a single tariff. 

In March, Gov. Evers announced that Wisconsin joined a multi-state lawsuit against President Trump’s action to impose burdensome, ten percent tariffs on certain imported goods after the U.S. Supreme Court found some of the president’s previously issued tariff taxes unconstitutional, opining that the tariffs exceeded powers granted to the president by the U.S. Congress. The multi-state litigation argues the “president has no authority to impose tariffs as he has done here.” Therefore, the lawsuit argues that “because these tariffs are unlawful, [the] Court should declare that they are not in force, enjoin the Defendant agencies and officers from enforcing them, and vacate the agency actions implementing them.”   

All told, We Pay the Tariffs, an organization of small business owners from across the country, found that Wisconsin businesses have paid $5.4 billion in tariff taxes from March 2025 to June 2026. Further, a December 2025 survey found that half of Americans said paying for food is difficult, and 55 percent blame the Trump Administration. Furthermore, research from the Kiel Institute indicates that it's working folks and families who pay the price for President Trump's erratic trade wars, as American consumers paid for 96 percent of the $200 billion in tariff revenue generated in 2025, despite the president continuing to suggest otherwise.  

The governor’s letter to Wisconsin’s Congressional delegation is attached, and a transcript of the letter is available below.

Dear Duly Elected Republican Members of Congress: 

I write to you today to urge you to call on President Trump to end his reckless and erratic trade war with Canada, our closest trading partner, our neighbor across the Great Lakes, and the buyer of more Wisconsin goods than any other foreign country. This latest trade war only adds insult to injury for the Wisconsin businesses and consumers across our state who are already struggling to make ends meet due to President Trump’s disastrous economic policies and tariff taxes. On behalf of Wisconsin farmers, producers, and businesses, I am asking you to publicly call on President Trump to rescind his July 20 proclamations, send negotiators back to the table, and stop messing with Wisconsin farmers, manufacturers, and working families, who are paying the price for these irresponsible actions.

To say that there’s a lot at stake for Wisconsin would be an understatement. Last year, Canada bought nearly 28 percent of our state’s total exports, amounting to over $7.5 billion in Wisconsin goods—that’s nearly double what we export to Mexico, our next-largest market.

If that already wasn't enough, retaliatory tariffs that take effect on September 8, will cost Wisconsin greatly. Nearly every variety of cheese Wisconsin sells to Canada will face a 25 percent counter-tariff, and milk powders, whey, and other dairy ingredients will face 50 percent. Almost every dairy farmer in Wisconsin will feel the impacts of this, whether they export product or not. Not to mention the corrugated boxes, coated papers, packaging, and tissue products made in the Fox Valley, Green Bay, and Central and Northern Wisconsin will face counter-tariffs of mostly 50 percent, serving as another direct blow to our state, which makes more paper products than any other state in the country and annually results in more than half a billion dollars in sales to Canada. 

This all comes as, for nearly 18 months, Republicans in Congress have abdicated their constitutional responsibilities, standing idly by while President Trump imposed, paused, reimposed, and rewrote tariff taxes on our closest trading partners by proclamation, and Wisconsin businesses and consumers have paid the price at every turn. Since President Trump took office for his second term, the average Wisconsin household has spent roughly $2,035 more on gas, electricity, and tariff-affected goods. That’s in addition to Wisconsin businesses, which paid an estimated $5.4 billion in tariff taxes between March 2025 and June 2026. This is untenable. Families and businesses cannot sustain these pressures, and costs will only continue to grow if Congress fails to act. 

The Supreme Court has already struck down the president’s earlier tariffs on Canada, a federal trade court has ruled against the ones he imposed to replace them, and each time his answer has been to reach for another law, most recently a 96-year-old statute that had never been used to impose a single tariff. Congress has had many chances to put a stop to this. Both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives have voted to end President Trump’s tariffs on Canada, with Republicans joining Democrats in both chambers and yet, not one of you joined them. I am calling on you now, as representatives of the people of Wisconsin, to require congressional approval before new tariffs take effect and refuse to vote for any rule that keeps those bills off the Floor. 

Wisconsin cannot afford for you to keep choosing this president’s trade war over the farmers, manufacturers, and families you were elected and entrusted to represent. As representatives of America's Dairyland, it is my sincere hope that you will join me in publicly calling on President Trump to rescind his July 20 proclamations and end this unnecessary, harmful, and reckless trade war with our neighbors in Canada. 

Respectfully,

Tony Evers
Governor 
 
An online version of this release is available here.
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