Frederica Freyberg:
Foxconn’s recent acknowledgment that their Racine County operation will be scaled down from the original proposal convinced Governor Tony Evers that they will not come through with the 13,000 jobs the tech giant promised. The governor is so convinced he’s considering renegotiating the state’s multi-billion dollar contract with the Taiwanese company. The governor’s announcement this week sparked a sharp reaction from Republican leadership, including Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, who said, “This completes the original narrative that the governor has wanted to undermine the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation from day one. If the state is willing to renege on its commitment to Foxconn and open up a contract without agreement by both parties, then what guarantee can Wisconsin make to any other company that wants to expand here?
We checked in with Beijing-based Political and Economic Affairs Commentator Einar Tangen for this thoughts on the latest Foxconn saga. Tangen formerly lived in and worked on economic development issues in Wisconsin. When asked what he thought about Governor Evers’ plan to renegotiate with Foxconn, he said that plan would be, “Dead on arrival, gives Terry (Gou) cover to either sue or back out of the deal.” He went further. Tangen said, “In the event the state starts legal action against Foxconn for any reason, legitimate or illegitimate, Foxconn has the perfect excuse to withdraw from a project which was more political in nature than economic.” As for the political optics and all of this in Wisconsin, Tangen had this to say, “If Foxconn backs out, Trump and the Republican Party will use the issue to portray Democrats as inept bumblers who snatched failure from the jaws of victory.” Tangen added about the Wisconsin-Foxconn project, “As a pure bottom line play, it never penciled out.”