By Kaylee Remington
cleveland.com
(TNS)
(Sept. 16) COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio football fans may have a new reason to root against tariffs this fall.
Small Businesses Against Tariffs launched a $1 million billboard and digital advertising campaign Wednesday across Ohio and six other states, using football rivalries to highlight the group’s concerns about the economic impact of tariffs.
In Ohio, billboards ask, “What’s worse than Michigan?” and “What’s worse than Pittsburgh?” The answer to both is “Tariffs.”
The group said there are 143 billboards across Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Iowa and Illinois. They can be located on the group’s website.
The campaign comes amid an escalating U.S.-Canada trade dispute and as college and professional football seasons get underway.
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In Ohio, Canada accounted for nearly one-third of the state’s exports in 2025, according to the US Trade Representative. The country bought $18.3 billion worth of goods last year alone, exceeding what Ohio sold to its next four largest foreign markets combined.
Other versions of the billboards ask what is worse than losing on Saturday or Sunday, with “tariffs” as the answer.
Small Businesses Against Tariffs said the ads are intended to draw attention to the costs tariffs can impose on small businesses, workers and consumers.
“Families and businesses in states with deep trade ties to Canada are struggling badly right now, and tariffs are directly affecting their pocket books,” the group said.
The organization describes itself as a public education initiative that opposes tariffs and provides information about their effects on the economy. Its website includes a timeline of U.S. tariffs over the past 100 years.
Photo credit: Small Businesses Against Tariffs
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