MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee's iconic Rockwell Automation hosted G20 trade ministers for a closed-media tour of its industrial automation facilities Wednesday, while local labor leaders just blocks away called for fairer trade policies they say would protect American workers.
Milwaukee Iron motorcycles were out front as police escorted G20 delegates on buses to the Rockwell facility to see how industrial automation is changing American manufacturing.
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William McClaren, president of IATSE Local 18, was among the labor leaders pushing back on what has been described as decades of unfair trade deals that have cost American workers their jobs.
"That's a long shot. I don't think they look down this far, honestly. I think they look within their own corporate bank accounts and what's best for them," McClaren said.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the Milwaukee meetings would include conversations about countries like China that dump excess capacity, as well as broader discussions on trade and tariffs.
"The tariff program is working," Greer said on Fox Business.
Greer said President Trump's tariff policies are driving down trade deficits and bringing manufacturing and jobs back to America. He pointed to a Wisconsin example to illustrate his point.
"A good example right here in Wisconsin: Asahi, a (Japanese) brewer, is coming in from another country, and they said the reason we're coming in is because of the tariffs. We don't want to face a tariff, so we'll just brew right here in Wisconsin," Greer said.
Not everyone shares that optimism. Dale Kooyenga, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, which represents 2,000 members, expressed concern about the broader impact of tariffs.
"Tariffs are complicated, but generally speaking, tariffs do not work," Kooyenga said.
Kooyenga said tariffs present challenges for Wisconsin businesses and their ability to compete.
"We also are a place that traditionally people have come from around the world to join our economy to be part of that economy and so it's complicated," Kooyenga said. "But this is why manufacturing is competitive in Wisconsin and tariffs, although intended to help manufacturing, for the majority of companies we speak to ... has hurt their ability to be competitive."
This story was reported on-air by Charles Benson and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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