WASHINGTON — An advocacy group that opposes President Donald Trump’s trade policies has a question for Michigan motorists and football fans: What’s worse than Ohio?

The answer: Tariffs, according to a series of billboards going up in southeast Michigan beginning Sept. 15.

The group, Small Businesses Against Tariffs, is spending $1 million on an advertising campaign targeted at seven Midwestern states, including Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. The campaign includes 143 roadside billboards and a 30-second video ad that will appear on digital platforms.

The 20 Michigan billboards are concentrated around Detroit and Ann Arbor.

The Ann Arbor area billboards play more to the sensibilities of University of Michigan fans, who often jab at arch-nemesis Ohio State University by referring to the school simply as “Ohio.” Similar billboards in the neighboring state will display an anti-Michigan football message.

The group’s Detroit area billboards target fans of the Lions, who play most of their games on Sundays: “What’s worse than losing on Sunday?” those signs ask. The answer is the same: Tariffs.

The ad campaign, SBAT said in a press release, is specifically aimed at states like Michigan that could be especially vulnerable to an escalating trade war with Canada. The group did not mention Trump specifically, but it did point out recent U.S. moves to impose 50% tariffs on select Canadian goods and impending import bans on others.

“When goods come into this country, it’s the importer who pays the tariff. Canada doesn’t write that check,” said Kimberly Daniels, the Washington, D.C.-based CEO of Mercantile Logistics & International Trade Inc. and a participant in the Small Businesses Against Tariffs campaign.

“Those costs put pressure on small businesses to raise prices. And it’s hard to plan your next shipment when the tariff rules keep changing,” Daniels added.

A recent Detroit News/WDIV-TV (Channel 4) poll found that Trump’s tariffs and trade conflict with Canada are unpopular among Michigan voters.

Less than one-third (29%) of the 600 likely general election voters in Michigan who were surveyed said they approve of the Republican president’s decision to impose 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, including cement, wine, dairy and hockey sticks. Nearly two-thirds (64%) said they disapprove.

The overwhelming majority of Democratic (93%) and independent (73%) poll participants opposed the tariffs. Most Republicans support the import taxes, though there is division within the party.

About 1 in 4 (24%) of base GOP voters indicated they disapprove.

gschwab@detroitnews.com

@GrantSchwab

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: ‘What’s worse than Ohio?’ Michigan business billboards say tariffs

Reporting by Grant Schwab, The Detroit News / The Detroit News

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