FRI AM News: WisBusiness: the Podcast with Buckley Brinkman, Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing & Productivity; WPF report details export trends amid tariff uncertainty

April 18, 2025

— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Buckley Brinkman, executive director and CEO of the Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing & Productivity.

He discusses how manufacturers are faring amid tariff-related economic uncertainty, noting he’s been “a little bit surprised” that opinions on the policy are fairly mixed.

“The room is really split,” he said. “I mean, there are some manufacturers that are really being helped by the tariffs right now … they’ve seen an uptick in their business and they’re really, I won’t say happy about the tariffs, but they’re certainly in favor of them because it’s improving their own business.”

Meanwhile, other manufacturers had finally gotten their supply chains sorted after pandemic-era disruptions, “and these tariffs have come along to upset the applecart again.”

But just like when COVID-19 shook up international trade, Brinkman says he expects businesses will once again “find their path” as they adjust to the new complications.

“Just the overlying issue with everyone is just the uncertainty,” he said. “On again, off again, you have to have a scorecard to figure out which tariffs apply where, and they’re always changing. And business doesn’t react very well to uncertainty.”

Whether companies are looking to build a new production facility or install major equipment, “the best environment to do that in” is one where the next several years are relatively predictable.

He also shares some top takeaways from the group’s latest Wisconsin Manufacturing Report, which tracks the industry’s perspective on workforce issues, new technologies, economic growth expectations, profitability and other trends.

“Workforce is the critical issue facing manufacturers,” he said, adding businesses are exploring tech applications such as AI and automation to overcome the “chronic” worker shortage.

At the same time, “retention has become very key, and manufacturers’ flexibility in actually keeping the workers that they have in-house, productive and growing,” he said.

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

— The slow decline in Wisconsin exports over the past dozen years “may be cause for concern” as tariff-related uncertainties dominate, the Wisconsin Policy Forum reports.

The value of state exports was about $27.5 billion last year, or 7.8% of Wisconsin’s GDP, marking a decline of $4.2 billion from the peak in 2012, adjusted for inflation. After a three-year period of rapid growth ending in 2012, the value of state exports “plateaued” then declined slowly before the sharp dip in 2020 caused by the pandemic.

In the years since then, state exports had a quick recovery but declined again in 2023 and 2024, with a $500 million decline in unadjusted dollars between those two years.

As a result of these trends, Wisconsin has fallen from No. 19 to No. 21 among U.S. states for exports between 2013 and 2024, and makes up a smaller share of overall national exports.

Report authors note the importance of both manufacturing and agriculture to the state economy, as both sectors rely heavily on access to export markets while also importing important parts and other goods from other countries.

“This means that Wisconsin businesses and residents have a lot to gain or lose from trade policy decisions made at the federal level,” they wrote.

The state’s top export categories include industrial machinery, electrical machinery, and medical equipment and supplies, while food and agricultural products collectively make up a substantial portion as well. Its top export markets — Canada, the European Union, Mexico and China — have all been targeted in recent weeks with tariffs and related threats by the Trump administration, the report notes.

WPF weighs the potential upsides and downsides of tariffs on domestic manufacturers, noting the policy could benefit them if it results in other countries reducing their own tariffs or other trade barriers.

Tariffs could also “insulate” Wisconsin manufacturers from competition by other countries’ industries, authors note. And if the value of the U.S. dollar falls, American-made products would be cheaper elsewhere, “which could benefit manufacturers.”

But at the same time, buyers in other countries could begin to look elsewhere as their governments impose reciprocal tariffs on U.S. goods, WPF says. Citing a New York Times analysis, the group says Wisconsin workers are “among the most vulnerable” to retaliatory tariffs.

And Wisconsin companies’ reliance on imported raw materials, parts and other goods could be an issue, as tariffs could make many of those products more expensive.

“For example, if the cost of steel or aluminum needed to produce heavy machinery rises, then Wisconsin producers would need to account for that by raising the price of their products, cutting costs elsewhere, or reducing their profits,” authors wrote.

See the report and check out a recent “Talking Trade” episode focused on tariffs.

— In the latest episode of “WisBusiness: the Show,” Chris Yates of Abingdon Health USA discusses the company’s efforts to make rapid health tests more accessible.

“The way we achieve that is through supporting customers taking projects from idea all the way through to commercial success,” he said.

Yates is the chief operating officer for Abingdon Health, based in the U.K., and president of its American subsidiary that’s setting up shop in Madison. The company recently held a ribboncutting event to mark the opening of its facility in University Research Park.

“We’ve built within Abingdon all the different pieces of the jigsaw that you need to take an idea and transfer that through development, scale it up to manufacture and ultimately commercialize it,” Yates said.

The business is focused on “rapid lateral flow” tests, which are designed to detect various substances within a liquid sample. Examples include home pregnancy tests and COVID-19 rapid tests. These tests have been around since the mid-1980s, and Yates says they’re now widely used in the clinical market, animal health, plant pathogens and environmental testing.

The podcast highlights some of the company’s advances in this space, including a patented smartphone app that can read lateral flow tests and record results.

“If everyone recalls, you know, COVID tests and the plastic housings, we’ve done a lot of work innovating to replace that plastic housing with plant-based alternatives,” he said.

Watch the show here and find more episodes here.

— Froedtert ThedaCare Health is apologizing after a Milwaukee Police officer dressed in uniform and carrying a department-issued gun was denied care.

Twenty-five GOP lawmakers this week signed a letter to express outrage over the denial due to the office’s weapon.

“Denying care to a uniformed law enforcement officer in need of treatment is not only indefensible — it is dangerous,” the lawmakers wrote, adding it appeared to be a “troubling pattern of disrespect toward law enforcement.”

The letter demanded a public apology.

In response, the provider’s South Region President Bryce Gartland wrote that the Froedtert is committed “to ensuring a safe care and work environment for all who visit our facilities” and making clear that authorized security and law enforcement officers with weapons are permitted on its property.

“We are working to clarify our policies and educate our team members to help ensure this does not happen again,” Gartland wrote, adding the officer and the Milwaukee Police Department have been contacted directly following the incident.

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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— Rep. Dave Armstrong told a Senate committee his bill to expand housing programs Gov. Tony Evers signed last year will help communities bring down infrastructure costs and incentivize more developments.

Armstrong added he’s seen significant support from municipalities, lawmakers from both parties and housing groups.

“I’ve never had a meeting in Madison where everybody in the room agreed this needed to be done,” the Rice Lake Republican said.

The Senate Committee on Insurance, Housing, Rural Issues and Forestry heard testimony on SB 180 which would raise the limit on loans to developers under the Infrastructure Access Program from 20% to 33% of total project costs, and the loan to municipalities from 10% to 25%.

For another loan program to improve workforce housing units, the bill would allow up to $50,000 in loans per dwelling unit or 33% of the total cost, whichever is lower. This is up from $20,000 or 25% of total project costs.

The bill would also allow tribal housing authorities or businesses created by a tribal council to receive loans as developers.

See more at WisPolitics.

— Wisconsin’s unemployment rate held at 3.2% in March as the state added 11,500 private sector jobs over the month, the state Department of Workforce Development reports.

State unemployment last month was 1 percentage point below the national rate of 4.2%, DWD’s figures show. Meanwhile, the state’s labor force participation rate rose slightly to 65.6%, but remained 3.1 percentage points above the national rate.

DWD Chief Economist Dennis Winters says national economic uncertainty has yet to be reflected in the state-level numbers the agency is seeing.

“Wisconsin job numbers hit another high, historic unemployment numbers remain low, and at this point with the data we have … the economy looks to be in pretty good shape,” Winters said yesterday during an online briefing.

Still, he noted many businesses are waiting to see how tariffs might affect their operations, customers and supply chain.

“Within the normal trend we normally see, we haven’t seen a lot of drastic action at this point,” he said. “Pretty much what we’re seeing and hearing is it’s kind of a wait and see, and they would love to have a little more information on what they could do for planning.”

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