WED AM News: Trump tariffs top-of-mind at German trade show, WEDC leader says; State joins multi-state lawsuit against HHS over cuts to public health funding

April 2, 2025

— The Trump administration’s tariffs have been front-and-center at the Hannover Messe industrial trade show in Germany, where state officials and Wisconsin businesses are visiting this week as part of a WEDC trade mission.

That’s according to Missy Hughes, secretary and CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. In an interview from Germany yesterday, she said tariffs have featured prominently in conversations with state and local German officials, and the trade show’s opening ceremony included multiple speeches that referenced them.

“The resounding thing that we hear, that I always hear from business, you know, is we need predictability and stability in order to be really successful,” she said. “And so there’s real concerns about how the tariffs will create unpredictability. And as we’ve seen, one day they’re on, one day they’re off, so that’s really difficult for businesses to be able to plan around.”

Still, she added the state’s delegation led by Gov. Tony Evers is hearing “a lot of appreciation for our willingness” to travel to Germany and build the relationships that underpin international commerce.

“Business endures politics, and relationships between people endures, so folks are really happy to have Wisconsin here,” Hughes said.

Hannover Messe, one of the world’s largest trade fairs, typically attracts as many as 200,000 visitors per year. It showcases a wide range of industrial technologies and products for advanced manufacturing. Hughes says it was the main draw for the four Wisconsin companies that joined the trade mission.

These include: Advanced Ionics, based in New Berlin; Scanalytics Inc. in Madison; Sabhya Technologies of Brookfield; and Dedicated Computing, based in Waukesha. The New North Inc., a regional economic development group based in northeastern Wisconsin, is also participating, according to a WEDC spokesperson.

The fair offers these companies an opportunity to form connections with potential partners from across the world, Hughes noted. Each of the Wisconsin businesses on the trade venture are in the manufacturing space in some capacity.

With help from WEDC’s market experts, participants select markets to visit that offer the greatest opportunity. The business leaders are meeting this week with potential distributors or customers, and while new deals often arise as part of the trade missions, Hughes said the real value comes from building lasting relationships overseas.

“Really, it’s about making those connections and understanding that the opportunities in the global marketplace are really plentiful, and that businesses should be exploring those,” she said.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation yesterday announced it will launch a “digital twin” industrial modeling capability at Hannover Messe this week. Its Emulate3D Factory Test is used for factory-scale virtual controls testing, which manufacturers can use to test automation systems before deploying them.

Along with Hannover, the trade mission also includes stops in Berlin and Wisconsin’s sister-state of Hessen, as well as parts of France.

“We have very, very deep ties to Germany,” Hughes said. “We have many companies that both sell their products to Germany but also German companies that have invested in Wisconsin. One of the things that we make a point of doing when we come to visit Germany is visit those companies.”

After the industrial trade show, Evers, Hughes and representatives of Madison-based BioForward will make a stop at DMEA, which is touted as the world’s largest digital health trade show. Hughes said state officials will take the opportunity to spread the word about Wisconsin’s designation as a regional Tech Hub around personalized medicine.

Hughes said they will ensure that attendees “understand that the biohealth industry in Wisconsin is just growing and growing, and there’s a real opportunity to plug into that industry if you’re doing that in Germany, or anywhere else in the EU.”

See more on the trade mission here and Evers’ related comments here.

— Wisconsin has joined a lawsuit with 23 other states suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for cutting $11 billion of public health grants to states, the state Department of Justice announced.

According to filings from the state Department of Health Services, the federal government terminated six awards totaling over $225 million in Wisconsin. State health agencies rely on these grants for public health needs such as infectious disease management, emergency preparedness, mental health and substance abuse services and modernizing public health infrastructure, DOJ said.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced these grants would be terminated last week “for cause” because the COVID-19 pandemic is over. The state DOJ claimed Congress had continued to approve funding for the grants to be used for other critical health services since the pandemic, and that Kennedy had “no legal authority” to cut off funding.

“These massive, sudden cuts would significantly ratchet up the Trump administration’s attack on programs that support the health and well-being of the American people,” Attorney General Josh Kaul said in the release. “It should go without saying that sacrificing our health to help fund tax cuts for the wealthy is deeply wrong.”

Gov. Tony Evers blasted the cuts last week and yesterday when the lawsuit was announced, saying it would negatively impact critical funding for the state’s mental and behavioral health services, prevention and response to the opioid epidemic and local emergency medical services.

“President Trump and Elon Musk are recklessly trying to gut funding Wisconsin is depending on to help make our kids, families, and communities healthier and safer to help pay for tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires,” Evers said in a statement.

WisGOP Rapid Response Director Anika Rickard said in a statement to WisPolitics earlier this week that these funding cuts will not harm Wisconsin.

“These funds are COVID-related grants that the state NEVER used,” Rickard said. “They are not necessary to any of the funding items Evers mentioned. Tony Evers is again using his platform to create fear for his own political gain. As a Governor, he should be working for the people and providing the truth, not creating instability.”

— GOP lawmakers are circulating legislation that would allow out-of-state care providers to offer telehealth services in Wisconsin, with some restrictions.

Sen. Rob Stafsholt, R-New Richmond, and Rep. Nate Gustafson, R-Fox Crossing, recently sent a co-sponsorship memo to other lawmakers seeking support for the bill.

It would require the state Department of Safety and Professional Services and any other applicable credentialing board to register someone from outside Wisconsin as a telehealth provider if they meet certain criteria. These include being credentialed in another state and having a “clean” disciplinary record.

DSPS would also be required to post online a list of all providers registered to offer telehealth under the bill, including details on their occupation, training, licens and disciplinary history, as well as any medical malpractice insurance policy information.

According to analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau, providers registered to offer telehealth in the state under the bill wouldn’t be allowed to open an office in Wisconsin or provide in-person care to patients in the state unless they obtain credentials in the state.

The legislation would also require those qualifying to provide telehealth from outside the state to notify DSPS or the relevant credentialing board about restrictions placed on their credentials or any disciplinary actions within five business days. And it authorizes disciplinary action if the provider fails to do so.

The co-sponsorship deadline is noon Friday.

See the memo.

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.

Sign up here.

— Researchers at Marquette University have found an antibiotic widely used in agriculture has damaging effects on honeybee behaviors.

Chelsea Cook, an assistant professor of biology at the university, and Justine Nguyen, a graduate researcher in the Cook Bee Research Lab, recently published their findings in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. The study focused on oxytetracycline, which is used to treat infections in farm animals as well as honeybees, which play a role in pollinating crops.

Honeybees that were treated with the antibiotic moved faster but also didn’t participate as much in a “critical social behavior” that helps keep hives cool during summer months, the university says. This process of “fanning” the hive circulates air within the structure, and can also help evaporate water from stores of nectar.

“Honeybees are an excellent model system for social behavior and are so important for our agricultural system — they pollinate many crops that we eat and export,” Cook said in a statement. “This work helps us to understand how common treatments that beekeepers use might impact their ability to work together and keep themselves healthy.”

See more in the release.

— UW-Madison’s Center for East Asian Studies is holding an event Thursday on U.S.-China relations featuring remarks from one of the editors of The Economist, David Rennie.

The event in Madison is part of the center’s CEAS Professional series, which highlights perspectives on East Asian issues outside of the typical academic context. The talk will focus on why China’s leaders are “bracing for a historic confrontation” with the United States and the path ahead.

See event details here.

Wisconsin among states suing Trump administration over COVID-era funding cancellations by HHS

In home state of water skiing, wake boats stirring up controversy

TOPICS

AGRIBUSINESS

– Trade wars and their toll on farmers

– Election for Wisconsin Cranberry Board positions in 2025

ENVIRONMENT

– Author shares lessons learned from fishing in northcentral Wisconsin lakes

HEALTH CARE

– Milwaukee research lab aims to improve wheelchair experience

– Wisconsin helpline will shut down, citing federal health grant cuts