MON AM News: MMAC leader says Trump ‘just wrong’ on tariffs; Alliant Energy filing shows large donations to advocacy organizations, Dem, GOP groups

July 21, 2025

— The head of MMAC says President Donald Trump is “just wrong” on tariffs as trade with key partners takes a hit amid uncertainty about U.S. policy.

Dale Kooyenga, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, weighed in Friday on the latest global trade policy developments during a webinar hosted by the Wisconsin Policy Forum.

Citing those close to the president and Trump’s own remarks, Kooyenga said Trump truly believes tariffs are a positive economic tool.

“Similar to how some Democrats believe in university research funding leads to economic growth, he believes that tariffs lead to economic growth, so that’s not a bluff. And he’s just wrong about that,” said Kooyenga, a Republican who previously served in the state Senate.

He pointed to a “large consensus” of mainstream economists across the political spectrum who say more free trade is better than tariffs.

The effective U.S. tariff rate is currently set at the highest level in generations, around 18%, according to figures presented by WPF before the discussion. But that could change in the weeks and months to come as Trump threatens even higher tariffs in some cases.

Earlier this month, Trump said he will impose a 35% tariff on Canadian goods starting in August. The threat comes as Wisconsin’s largest commercial shipping hub, Port Milwaukee, is seeing lower activity overall and in key commodities coming from the United States’ northern neighbor.

Port Director Jackie Carter said salt shipments coming from Canada are 59% lower than at this point last year, which was already a down year due to more typical market factors. Overall tonnage through May is 30% lower over the year, she said.

“Some of that has to do with what we had, you know, in stock and where we don’t have space to replace those cargoes,” she said Friday. “But a lot of that has to do with a slower start to the year because of all the uncertainty.”

Kooyenga pointed to the port figures as an area of concern, noting “we don’t have salt mines in Wisconsin.”

Meanwhile, Canadian Consulate General in Chicago Aaron Annable stressed the “stable, reliable” trade relationship between Wisconsin and Canada and said his government wants to expand that going forward. He noted the state has a $2 billion trade surplus with Canada, due largely to Wisconsin’s “very powerful” manufacturing sector.

“If I look at what I think the U.S. administration is trying to achieve with its trade policy actions, it’s, you know, bringing manufacturing back and reducing trade deficits,” he said. “In some sense, Wisconsin kind of epitomizes this with Canada with this trade surplus.”

Annable noted the efforts Canada has made to build integrated trade relationships with many U.S. states including Wisconsin, and emphasized the importance of cross-border supply chains for both economies.

“That’s something that’s built up over time, and with the uncertainty around these tariffs … some of that may be at risk, including from companies on both sides of the border, not really sure if that relationship can continue,” he said, adding “at the end of the day, that is what is at stake.”

While government-level decisions are shaping businesses’ import and export choices, Kooyenga noted governments themselves “rarely trade” with one another.

“It is individuals and businesses that are trading, and why are they doing that? Because they like each other most of the time and they’re offering something of value,” he said. “And when government is putting a tariff on top of that, they are inserting themselves in that relationship.”

— Alliant Energy provided an unusually detailed accounting of its recent political activity in a new filing requested by the Public Service Commission, including six-figure donations in each of the last three years to an issue advocacy group that backs Republicans.

Along with the $300,000 in donations to the Jobs First Coalition, the utility has also donated $250,000 to the Democratic Governors Association and $200,000 to its Republican counterpart.

The disclosure is part of a request to hike energy rates by 8.3% in 2026 and 5.7% in 2027, which amounts to an increase of nearly $200 million. Alliant Energy isn’t seeking reimbursement for the political donations. But the PSC asked the utility to detail all “governmental related expenses,” including lobbying and political activity, as part of its review of a request to have customers cover association dues.

Alliant has indicated it is seeking to pass onto customers nearly $1.5 million for dues it largely pays to two groups that represent the industry.

See more in the latest WisPolitics Friday Report.

— Madison Gas & Electric has announced plans to lease land from the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District to build a new solar array near an existing treatment plant.

Plans for the Nine Springs Solar project put it just south of the Nine Springs Wastewater Treatment Plant in Madison, according to a release from the Madison-based utility. MGE plans to build, own and operate the solar project with at least a 20-year lease period.

The utility expects to start construction on the 8-megawatt project in spring 2026 with energy production starting in 2027.

MMSD Executive Director Eric Dundee notes the district is a substantial energy user and the project “allows us to be part of the solution” by contributing to renewable energy production.

“And it’s a triple-win for the environment: clean energy production, preservation of farmland and improved water quality through phosphorus reduction — all of which help, in their own way, support the work of the District,” Dundee said in a statement.

See the release.

— Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin is touting a new record-high membership of 1,072 companies.

The trade association on Friday announced the membership record after adding nearly 100 new members so far this year. ABC of Wisconsin President Kelly Tourdot says “it’s exciting, but not surprising” to see the group’s membership grow.

“Our apprenticeship programs are in high demand,” she said in a statement. “We’ve also expanded our safety team to meet the growing demand for training statewide.”

See the release and listen to an earlier podcast with Tourdot.

— Marquette University Prof. Lee Za Ong is getting a $2.4 million federal grant for a workforce training project focused on clinical mental health counselors.

This grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services helps continue work previously funded by a $1 million Health Resources and Services Administration grant from 2021, according to the university’s announcement.

The effort aims to “work toward meeting the high need and high demand” for mental health care for children, adolescents and other youth at risk of behavioral health disorders, Ong noted in the release. She said the behavioral health workforce is facing several challenges that the project is seeking to address.

“We are also supplying what is currently an insufficient workforce of master’s level counselors and counselors with diverse backgrounds who specialize in child and adolescent counseling and one that lacks capacity to train clinical supervisors to support behavioral health trainees,” she said.

Marquette’s College of Education has the state’s only clinical mental health counseling program with a child and adolescent specialization, according to the release. The grant will expand the program and open up opportunities for students that plan to work in underserved areas through stipends for qualifying recipients.

Ong’s team will also use the funding to pay supervisors to provide training on ethics, supervision skills, telehealth practices and ways to prevent burnout.

The grant comes from the HRSA’s Behavioral Health Workforce and Education Training program.

See the release.

— U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden is touting legislation to expand VA coverage of non-opioid paid medications for veterans.

The Republican congressman, a former Navy SEAL, says the “NOPAIN for Veterans Act” will provide safer and more effective pain treatments, arguing veterans “must have access” to comprehensive medical treatment plans.

Under the bill, the Department of Veterans Affairs would be required to furnish and cover non-opioid pain drugs under VA pharmacy benefits if they’re covered by Medicare, according to a release from the lawmaker’s office.

“I thank the VA for taking the issue of opioid administration mismanagement seriously and the great strides they have made over the years to improve care for our vets,” Van Orden said in a statement.

See the bill text and see more in the release.

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