Alliance meets with leaders in D.C. on trade, tariffs and other international issues

Alliance staff joined a group of 30 business and chamber leaders from around the state for the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce D.C. Fly-In on Feb. 12 and 13. The focus of this year’s trip was on international issues, including the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), trade and tariffs, international aid and immigration. The two-day fly-in included briefings from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers and Alex Latcham, Special Assistant to the President and Regional Political Director/U.S. Trade Representative.

In meetings with the Alliance’s congressional delegation, including U.S. Senators Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin, and U.S. Representatives Bryan Steil and Jim Sensenbrenner, the Alliance conveyed the importance of trade and exports and emphasized how critical they are to Wisconsin, and Waukesha County, because of our strong manufacturing base.

Click here for a fact sheet on USMCA’s affect in Wisconsin.

Read more about Wisconsin’s manufacturing facts.

Staff also participated in a briefing from Kellyanne Conway, Counselor to the President, who discussed the effects of opioid abuse in the U.S. and what is being done at a national level to direct resources towards addressing the problem.

Ambassador Mark Green, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, and Jason Gross, Executive Director, U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, both spoke to the group about international aid efforts and why those efforts are important, highlighting that trade has tripled as a share of the U.S. economy in the past 40 years, and half of U.S. exports now go to developing countries. Eleven of America’s top 15 trading partners were once recipients of U.S. foreign aid.

Read more about why foreign assistance is important.

Click here for more information on Wisconsin exports.