Good morning.
Sunday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 89. Sunrise is 5:41 and sunset is 8:20, for 14 hours, 39 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 8.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1866, the first permanent transatlantic telegraph cable is successfully completed, stretching from Valentia Island, Ireland, to Heart’s Content, Newfoundland.
President Donald Trump’s tariffs are making it harder for Wisconsin businesses to predict the price of raw materials and are straining decades-long relationships with trade partners — and more tariffs are expected to take effect next month.
Many businesses have been hesitant to speak out. But Dale Kooyenga, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, said on Friday that the “vast majority” of businesses in the Milwaukee area have expressed concern about tariffs. He said the companies that “think this is good” represent a minority of businesses.
Kooyenga, a Republican former state lawmaker, said they raise the cost of raw materials manufacturers need to make their goods. And the uncertainty around when new tariffs will be implemented or delayed makes it nearly impossible for businesses to make financial forecasts.
“You have to be a psychiatrist that’s intimately familiar with Trump’s head to know exactly how you are going to forecast the price of copper or aluminum,” he said.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced plans to implement a 50 percent tariff on copper imports. In June, the White House also said it was raising tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from 25 percent to 50 percent. This summer, the administration announced the framework of a trade deal with China that keeps tariffs on that country high at 30 percent.
See Joe Schulz, Trump tariffs are straining Wisconsin business relationships, price predictability (‘Tonnage through the Port of Milwaukee shrunk through early 2025 compared to last year, port director says’), Wisconsin Public Radio, July 22, 2025.
Car explodes in Virginia and fire spreads to other vehicles: