Several local officials, including Manitowoc Mayor Justin Nickels, are criticizing President Donald Trump’s trade policies and the impact they’re having on Wisconsin. Nickels toured the Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry plant and met with company CEO Sachin Shivarim and United Steelworkers Local 125 Vice-President Marcos Alfaro to discuss the impact of the current trade climate on the local economy.
WAF produces aluminum pieces primarily for gas and oil, farming and automotive equipment. The purchasers are said to be selling less, due to the tariffs which in turn is reducing consumption of foundry products. Shivarim stated, “the challenge today is things have changed so dramatically in the last year with things slowing down to the point of us having to lay off about 8% of our workforce. He added, we never thought we’d be in that position.”
Alfaro said, “when you affect the American people, the working everyday people, then the whole nation is going to struggle. He said, “my message to them (people in office) is to do what they were elected to do which is represent the people.”
Mayor Nickels issued a statement saying “a lot of our businesses in Manitowoc are supplying to Caterpillar, John Deere, GM, so it’s their products that have seen the effects of the trade war. There are quite a few companies in town where the tariffs are hurting them directly because our trade partner is China.”
