Ripple effect
Trade war uncertainty continues to plague farmers, businesses

Unless revoked or substantially reduced to what they are now – 30% for 90 days – President Trump’s tariffs will still wipe out the investments made in our small family business and kill our manufacturing plant, here in Boise. When I talk to my friends and neighbors about the continuing uncertainty, I hear similar expressions of frustration about the impact of tariffs on American businesses.

For decades, my husband has specialized in producing high-quality health products, from protein or energy powders to supplements with vitamins and custom ingredients. We sold our products in the United States, but as the market became saturated, we exported to Poland, Brazil, Thailand and Australia. Margins were tight, but we paid above-average wages to the four employees we depend on.

A few weeks ago, a Chinese company requested products from us that it was unable to make. Despite the trade war, many Chinese consumers prefer American foods and supplements because they view them as superior in quality. But Trump’s ever-changing tariffs killed the deal – a 145% tariff coming in, 125% tariff when exported. 

That wiped out the profit we needed and seemed certain to put us out of business. 

Agriculture in Idaho now faces similar problems, especially because of tariff uncertainty. Economist Brett Wilder, of the University of Idaho, told Boise State Public Radio: “We’re in this window where people are deciding what crops they’re going to plant. People have to make that decision right now and live with that decision through the rest of the year, even if something changes next week.”

Idaho ranks third in the United States in dairy production and grows two-thirds of sweet corn seed worldwide, along with potatoes, wheat – 50% of which is exported – onions, food trout and barley. USDA data reported by the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation shows that from 2016-19, Idaho’s agricultural exports grew each year. 

But in 2018, Trump added tariffs for China, and China reduced its purchases of American soybeans, corn and pork, mostly grown in the Midwest. Many farmers lost their land, while others received some of the $23 billion in subsidies that the first Trump administration doled out, courtesy of taxpayers like you and me. 

But ask any farmer, and they’ll tell you they’d rather grow food than take welfare. 

It’s been hard to keep track of which tariffs are on and which are off, but Trump has eased many tariffs from most countries, including Mexico and Canada, for 90 days. Yet he initially increased tariffs on most Chinese products, causing China to retaliate. Negotiations to temporarily ease tariffs started up this past weekend, but these latest tariffs need to be reduced substantially before business with China will be rational again.

Even though Mexico and Canada receive the greatest share of Idaho’s farm products, in 2022 China accounted for 8% of Idaho’s agricultural exports, or $231.2 million. Our biggest ag export to China is whey from Idaho’s dairy farms. These new tariffs will hurt.

“The Farm Bureau supports the goals of security and ensuring fair trade, but farmers and rural communities often bear the brunt of tariffs and tariff retaliation,” Sean Ellis, spokesman for the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation, said. “We’re hopeful President Trump can limit trade disruptions, and at the very least, make sure farmers who are already operating on thin margins aren’t caught in the crosshairs.”

President Trump has offered varying justifications for imposing tariffs on some 90 countries around the world – now “paused” – but his basic explanation is that they will “bring manufacturing back home.” That will take time. Meanwhile, the world economy has become less stable, and predictions are for much higher prices here at home. I am afraid that from cars to appliances, we will all be shocked at how much more everything will cost.

Meanwhile, I’ve been calling and writing my Idaho members of Congress: Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo, and Rep. Mike Simpson, all Republicans. I ask them to stand up for my family, other Idaho families and our farmers. 

As for my family, without our Idaho-based manufacturing company, three generations of my family will be scrambling to keep our homes. It’s a blow, and it’s no joke to say that many businesspeople are feeling what I can only call “tariffied.”

Crista V. Worthy is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. She writes in Idaho. ■