Senator Tammy Baldwin made a stop in Green Bay Thursday with a tour of Hinterland Brewery and to talk with area businesses about the impact of those tariffs. Aug. 7, 2025. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A new round of tariffs implemented by President Donald Trump began to take effect Thursday.
Just after midnight, goods from dozens of countries became subject to tariffs of 10% or higher.
Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin made a stop in the Green Bay area Thursday for a tour of Hinterland Brewery and to talk with area businesses about the impact of those tariffs. Trump says they are necessary to punish countries taking advantage of the United States.
Baldwin made it clear she’s not against tariffs, but believes they should be used strategically.
“It’s been chaotic. There was a first round of tariffs, the market went haywire and then they were paused, and the president promised he would have 90 deals in 90 days. We’ve seen a handful of deals,” Baldwin said.
Baldwin worries the new across-the-board tariffs on more than 60 countries and the European Union will hurt American workers, businesses and consumers — leading to higher costs for everyday Wisconsinites.
She said a blanket approach to tariffs hurts Americans and instead should target problems as they occur.
“I think we should be very specific about our goals, what we want to achieve and where we want dominance. Right now, that’s not what President Trump is doing, but it’s what I would do,” she said.
Business leaders Baldwin met with also shared their concerns. The CEO of Hinterland Brewery is worried about the cost of aluminum, barley and hops. He said they may have to start raising prices.
“We’re just not sure where things are headed and that’s a tough place to be. It’s like bringing us right back to the COVID years, where one day things are this price, the next time they’re this,” Hinterland Brewery CEO Bill Tessler said.
The future of manufacturing is another concern. Some businesses worry continued tariffs will drive manufacturing out of the country, despite a goal to increase it in the U.S.
“Essentially, what’s been created here is an incentive for manufacturers to move to Mexico,” VP of Supply Chain and Sourcing at AriensCo Marc Durant said. “Being able to avoid 50+ percent tariffs on 40% of that value is a significant cost disadvantage.”
Trump posted on Truth Social Wednesday night about the reciprocal tariffs taking effect.
“Billions of dollars, largely from countries that have taken advantage of the United States for many years, laughing all the way, will start flowing into the USA,” he wrote.
In a separate post, Trump said, “Tariffs are flowing into the USA at levels not thought even possible.”
Republican Rep. Tony Wied, 8th District, said in a statement:
President Trump has made it abundantly clear from the beginning that he will no longer allow the United States to be taken advantage of and will use smart tariffs to negotiate free and fair trade deals. If countries want to avoid steep tariffs, they’ll come to the table to make a deal.
Baldwin said it’s her goal to try and push the Trump administration away from using broad tariffs. Trump believes tariffs will eventually lower costs and expects the EU, Japan and South Korea to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the United States.
Comments