FRI AM News: WisBusiness: the Podcast with Ben Wehmeier and Deb Reinbold, Jefferson County; Talking Trade with Nick Baker, FTI Consulting

November 8, 2024

— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Jefferson County Administrator Ben Wehmeier and Deb Reinbold, president of Thrive Economic Development.

The podcast focuses on economic development in the county and the Madison-Milwaukee corridor more broadly, which Wehmeier calls “the crossroads of the state.” The area’s key industries include agribusiness, advanced manufacturing and food and beverage production, as well as biomedical sciences, he said.

He highlights a number of major investment projects happening in the area, including a $560 million plant being built in the county by soy sauce maker Kikkoman.

“Our board thought it was a great strategic location for a company like this to bring forward that investment,” he said. “So working with the city, working with WEDC, that project came to fruition and they’re in the midst of building that right now.”

Meanwhile, Nestle Purina is investing at least $195 million to build out a factory nearby, though Wehmeier expects that total to be higher as the project proceeds.

Reinbold shares details on Thrive Economic Development, a private entity that supports economic development work for the county, with a focus on attracting, retaining and expanding business as well as workforce, housing and other issues.

“I think that there’s additional opportunities with the growth of these businesses within the county, that means that we’re getting additional supply chain as well,” she said, pointing to efforts to connect the companies with local farmers as one example.

Wehmeier underlines the importance of utility access for landing these projects, as well as efforts to boost housing development in the region to support the growing regional workforce. The county has a local development fund offering gap financing through revolving loans, which now has nearly $9.5 million available, he said.

Reinbold added a number of housing developments are in the pipeline for the area.

“We’ve got a lot of interest, and actually we created the fund with support of WEDC,” she said. “They offered us a capacity building grant of $50,000, and that helped us to get a lot of the legal fees and some of the consulting fees covered as well, so we could create this program.”

Listen to the podcast and see the full list of WisBusiness.com podcasts.

— In the latest episode of “Talking Trade,” FTI Consulting Managing Director Nick Baker says trade tensions with China are “guaranteed” to escalate going forward.

Baker, a licensed customs broker with the Washington, D.C.-based advisory firm, weighs in on the impacts of ongoing tariffs on Chinese goods. He predicted trade conflicts between the United States and China would continue to rise.

The interview was done before the election. Speakers from FTI Consulting are set to address an upcoming Madison International Trade Association event on Tuesday, being held in Pewaukee.

“The primary question is, how quickly, to what extent, and whether these are broad-stroke measures or more targeted,” Baker said.

He noted Donald Trump has established “very clear” tariff goals related to China.

“He is not shy about using the word tariff. I think on a recent podcast he said it’s his favorite word, maybe more favorite than the word love, which I thought was extreme,” Baker said. “But he’s been consistent in that messaging, and tariffs are his preferred negotiating tool.”

Trump has mentioned targets of 10% across all goods and 60% on all goods coming from China, Baker said, adding “you have to take these threats and comments seriously” given his track record on tariffs.

The United States currently has a trade-weighted average import tariff rate of 2% on industrial goods, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative says. A variety of Chinese goods including solar panel cells, critical minerals, battery parts and more face tariffs ranging from 25% to 100%, according to an overview from New York-based international law firm White & Case LLP.

While Congress has authority to levy duties and tariffs and set rates, legislation has shifted more of that power to the executive branch over time, according to Baker. He said mechanisms for enacting Section 301 tariffs in particular have “proven very effective.”

Under part of the Trade Act of 1974 focused on “unfair trade practices,” often just called Section 301, the United States can enact trade sanctions on countries that violate trade agreements or otherwise engage in “acts that are ‘unjustifiable’ or ‘unreasonable’ and burden U.S. commerce,” according to an overview from the Congressional Research Service.

“It does require an investigation by [the U.S. Trade Representative,] so there’s some administrative process behind it, but the support for those allegations can be very broad,” Baker said, adding “there’s a high likelihood that Trump will use 301 to expand the scope and degree of tariffs on products from China.”

He expects Trump will take actions under other trade acts to increase tariff rates while also pressuring other trade allies to “put similar pressure on China under the threat of retaliation.”

The interview also explores the potential for Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum to be used in further negotiations with trade partners and allies. Baker says threats of expanded tariffs in this area could be used “to negotiate other national security-related concessions,” such as restricting the flow of materials to China that could be used in making semiconductors, AI technology and renewable energy products.

“Trump is more likely to take aggressive measures, including initiating new and expanded 232 [tariffs,] which could go well beyond steel and aluminum,” he said. “Doing away with the exclusion process, or even renegotiating the existing relief with partners like Korea, Australia, EU, to get a ‘better’ deal.”

Talking Trade is hosted by E.M Wasylik Associates Managing Director Ken Wasylik and M.E. Dey & Co. President and Managing Director Sandi Siegel.

Watch the full episode here.

“Talking Trade” is now available in audio form on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. Subscribe and find more episodes here.

— U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, fresh off his reelection this week, faulted the Dem-controlled Senate for delays in a new farm bill and said his first priority is getting the legislation passed.

“If something’s not done by Jan. 1, we revert back to permanent law, and it’s going to have a devastating effect on our agriculture industry,” Van Orden said. “And the … first one on the firing line is the dairy industry, and I’m unwilling to allow the dairy industry to fail in the state of Wisconsin and the country.”

Van Orden, who is on the House Agriculture Committee, said the Republicans will be “working vigorously” to get the job done.

In response to a WisPolitics reporter’s question about potential progress on the farm bill after Dems sought to tie him to the legislation during his reelection campaign, Van Orden pointed to the U.S. Senate and noted the House approved the legislation in committee.

“The reason the farm bill is not done is because Chuck Schumer’s Senate has not given us the text to the bill, and if you want, ma’am, we can put a link to ‘Schoolhouse Rocks’ on WisPolitics so you can figure out how the government works. Knock this stuff off,” Van Orden said.

The full House has not voted on the bill. The Senate has released frameworks for the legislation, but the chamber has yet to release full bill text.

Van Orden said he is “very confident” that Republicans will hold, if not grow, their majority in the House after securing control of the U.S. Senate.

The former Navy SEAL also said with Trump back in the White House, Republicans would work on “getting rid of people who are not focused on helping the veterans” at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“My primary concern as a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee is that our veterans who served our nation honorably have every single benefit that we can give them to make sure that they’re taken care of, and their families, through the life cycle of the veteran,” he said.

— UW Health researcher Dr. Laura Bozzuto is studying treatment options for estrogen-related cancers in younger patients, in hopes of improving survival rates and better managing side effects.

The health system this week released details on her work, which focuses on two different methods for treating “estrogen-positive” cancers that are influenced by the hormone. After initial measures such as surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, longer-term treatments are done to reduce the risk of the cancer reoccuring.

One method involves injections to medically induce menopause, given for up to five years to stop the body from producing estrogen. The other approach is to surgically remove the patient’s ovaries to stop estrogen production, according to the UW Health release.

Bozzuto, a breast surgical oncologist and OB-GYN at the UW Health Carbone Cancer Center in Madison, says “there have not been a lot of studies” on the differences between the surgical and medication-based approaches.

“I think it is important to understand how these treatments impact people’s quality of life and how we potentially help them,” Bozzuto said in a statement. “That, ultimately, may help their ability to stay compliant with the medications and improve their cancer outcomes.”

See more on her work in the release.

— Madison-based Voximetry has been approved for an audit program certificate that will help the company reach new markets in Canada and Australia.

The company recently announced it has received a Medical Device Single Audit Program Certificate, which allows qualified auditing organizations to conduct a single audit of a medical device manufacturer that clears its product for multiple regulatory jurisdictions, according to the FDA.

Voximetry’s Torch Dose Assessment software is meant to support personalized treatments for late-stage cancer. It’s focused on radiopharmaceutical treatment planning, or RPT, helping clinicians develop treatment options for individual patients.

“Access to new markets is key to Voximetry’s mission of making personalized care available to every patient and care provider,” Voximetry CEO Sue Wallace said in a statement. “Securing MDSAP certification is an important milestone in successfully navigating the commercial growth phase.”

The company also announced it’s poised to be cleared for European commercialization in early 2025.

See more at Madison Startups, and find more details on the MDSAP certification here.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

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