THU AM News: Businesses already raising prices in anticipation of tariff impacts; WMC slams federal government for increasing uncertainty

October 2, 2025

— Wisconsin businesses have already started raising their prices in anticipation of tariffs driving import costs, experts told an audience in Ripon.

The comments came during a Ripon College Center for Politics and the People panel discussion. Ken Wasylik, managing director of E.M. Wasylik Associates and co-host of the “Talking Trade” podcast, said several of his clients have already begun noticing to major retailers and suppliers that they’re instituting a 90-day price adjustment in response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

“So it takes multiple years to find new sources, and so we have clients that are looking for various sources, whether it’s in Mexico or Latin America, or China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand,” he said. “We have clients where their sourcing guys are flying all over the place trying to find new suppliers. But at the end of the day, tariffs will increase the costs.”

Wasylik described it as a “battle going on very much so between suppliers and buyers” as the tariffs take effect, driving prices up. When the prices to produce goods goes up and there are few alternate avenues to reduce those costs, producers are forced to increase prices for consumers and retailers, he added.

“But just like the first time around, when President Trump put the aluminum and steel imports, I had a client that was manufacturer, stainless steel fabricator down in Milwaukee,” he said. “In one year, they raised prices three times, and it was 33% over those three increases. They lost business, yes, but they’re not going to lose money.”

Despite the fact that business have started to increase prices, Sandi Siegel, president of M.E. Dey & Co. and fellow co-host of the podcast, said: “I don’t think we’ve really felt the effect, and I think we’re gonna feel it big in the fourth quarter.”

Most companies stockpiled inventory as the tariffs were being floated at the beginning of the Trump administration, allowing them to avoid the impacts tariffs have on their margins, Siegel said. The pause on tariffs also helped ease the pain, but the pauses and the stockpile only last so long.

“You know, obviously some countries negotiated. In August is when we really realized the increased tariffs on all these IEEPA duties,” she said. “So now is where we’re going to see those real price increases and people making some tough decisions on passing it on.”

The International Emergency Economic Powers Act is what Trump invoked to impose tariffs on goods from several foreign countries. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments Nov. 5 on whether IEEPA gives the president power to use it to impose tariffs.

— Farms of all sizes are taking big hits this year, Wisconsin Farmers Union’s Joshua Mechaelsen also said at the event.

He said farm bankruptcies are up about 95% compared to last year, new equipment sales have been down for about 25 straight months and “the Rural Mainstreet Index is pretty bleak for, kind of, the economical outlook for rural America at large.”

Land prices have also been declining for about 16 months straight, and land equity is what a lot of family farms rely on to stay afloat, he said.

“And so land prices can only go so far down before they’re at risk of bankruptcy and foreclosure,” Mechaelsen said.

Watch the event.

— Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce slammed the federal government for adding uncertainty to an already unpredictable economic environment.

The federal government yesterday morning shut down for the ninth time this millennium as Congress failed to pass a funding package to keep operating. Many have been scrambling to determine the impacts on government services and employees, but the shutdown is also making things harder for private businesses.

“If Washington operated with the same efficiency and accountability as Wisconsin’s business community, we’d see progress instead of uncertainty,” WMC Communications Director Jacob Fischer told WisBusiness.

The shutdown came days before the U.S. Department of Labor was scheduled to release Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs data on Friday. But that’s unlikely to come now considering there’s no clear path in sight for a government funding bill to pass before the end of the week.

“Wisconsin businesses and manufacturers work hard to create stability for their shareholders, employees, and the communities they serve, which is no small feat in today’s unpredictable economic environment,” Fischer added. “Government shutdowns only add to that uncertainty.”

— Wisconsin would join nearly every other state in legalizing cryptocurrency staking, under a bill introduced this week.

Rep. Adam Neylon, R-Pewaukee, introduced Assembly Bill 471, the Crypto Clarity and Innovation Act. The bill seeks to define key cryptocurrency terms, establish guardrails to prevent political subdivisions — such as municipalities, counties and state agencies — from hindering cryptocurrency use, and formally allow staking on blockchain networks. It would also allow residents to have self-custody and hold their digital assets.

Cryptocurrency staking is legal in every state except California, Maryland, New Jersey and Wisconsin. Staking lets cryptocurrency holders lock, or commit, their tokens to a blockchain. Doing so helps to validate transactions and secure the network. In exchange, owners of the crypto can earn rewards similarly to earning interest on a savings account or receiving a stock dividend.

The legislation received a public hearing today.

“The bill limits the ability of state agencies, county and local governments from regulating digital assets like blockchains and cryptocurrency,” Neylon told State Affairs. “It also clarifies digital asset-related activities that are permissible by law, the basic framework for how digital assets operate, and one of those is staking, which is how you hold onto crypto.”

“This is a way of clarifying in law what’s permissible but also limiting the ability of state agencies, counties and local governments from regulating, creating a different patchwork of rules throughout Wisconsin,” Neylon said.

The bill’s proponents say it gives Wisconsinites the same opportunities to participate in the digital economy as residents in the majority of the country. They also say it will spur economic growth as it has in Wyoming, which recently launched the first ever state-launched stablecoin, and Arizona, which is in the process of creating a state-level strategic bitcoin reserve.

Supporters also say the bill will establish Wisconsin as a crypto-friendly state. State agencies and political subdivisions would not be able to prohibit or restrict someone from accepting digital assets in exchange for legal goods and services or from holding digital assets in self-custody.

Wisconsin law is currently murky on whether individuals who self-custody their cryptocurrency are considered money transmitters and thus need to be licensed by the Department of Financial Institutions. This is a common gray area in state law for crypto holders.

Proponents of digital assets say it should be no different than holding hard cash in a leather wallet, but others disagree. Pennsylvania in July updated its Money Transmitter Act to include virtual currencies, making the licensing standards the same as for traditional fiat transmission.

Wisconsin law does not define “money” as including virtual currencies. But some say it should be included and that individuals who self-host cryptocurrency, or hold it on their own wallets instead of relying on a third-party custodian, are transmitting money. If passed, state law would be clarified to conclusively establish that individuals self-hosting digital assets are not money transmitters and do not need to be licensed by the DFI.

Neylon said he spoke with crypto holders who felt they needed to move out of the state because of the lack of regulatory clarity. He also said he heard from business owners who were facing roadblocks when trying to innovate and receive payment for their goods in crypto because of the current regulatory landscape in Wisconsin.

“There are ways that we could be friendly to the crypto community and those that want to utilize blockchain in innovative, new types of businesses,” Neylon said. “There is a kind of push-pull in crypto policy when it comes to balancing consumer protections and allowing for innovation in the space.”

A Wisconsin bill to bolster consumer protections for cryptocurrency kiosks, also known as bitcoin ATMs, was introduced in August. Neylon at the time told State Affairs he was working on the cryptocurrency framework that he just introduced.

Neylon said he himself is still skeptical of digital assets, but recognizes the necessity of having a clear regulatory framework in place.

“It’s here, and a lot of people want to innovate in the space,” Neylon said. “As a government, we should be providing these businesses and these entrepreneurs some level of certainty that a local or county government or even state agency won’t come in and not allow them to build using digital assets because they dislike it or misunderstand.”

— AG Josh Kaul and a group of 15 states and DC touted a court’s ruling that blocks the U.S. Department of Energy from imposing a new cap on reimbursements for state energy programs.

The DOE earlier this year implemented a policy that capped reimbursement costs at 10% for state energy programs for administrative costs to run federally funded energy programs and fringe benefits for employees. Kaul said the cut would have reduced Wisconsin’s share of federal funding from DOE to $130,000 from $370,000, disrupting local projects and state resilience, among other things.

“Wisconsin’s state energy program shouldn’t be undermined by unlawful action by the Trump administration,” he said. “This ruling is a win for that program.”

See the release.

See the complaint.

— Gov. Tony Evers is touting an average $174 per month savings on child care for thousands of families as Wisconsin Shares subsidy boosts went into effect yesterday.

Wisconsin’s most recent biennial budget included over $123 million for the Wisconsin Shares Child Care Subsidy Program. The governor’s office and Department of Children and Families argues amounts to an average savings of $174 per month for the roughly 15,000 families enrolled in the program.

Evers, who declared 2025 as “the Year of the Kid,” argued the move helps stabilize the child care industry, and makes child care more affordable and accessible.

“Giving working families a little breathing room in their household budgets while making sure providers stay open, kids are cared for, and workers remain in our workforce is a win-win-win for Wisconsin.”

See the release.

— Evers and the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection also announced applications are open for the Food Security and Wisconsin Products Grant Program.

The program is meant to help fund nonprofit food assistance organizations and stock their shelves to bolster the state’s food security network while supporting food producers and processors statewide.

“Wisconsin is a leader in food production and processing, and it’s unacceptable that any Wisconsinite should go hungry,” DATCP Secretary Randy Romanski said.

See more info on the program here.

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