© 2024 Boise State Public Radio
NPR in Idaho
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Apple's latest iOS (17.4) is preventing our livestreams from playing. We suggest you download the free Boise State Public Radio app & stream us there while we work to troubleshoot the issue.

Escalating Trade Tensions With China Threaten Idaho's International Exports

BXGD
/
Flickr

The escalating trade tensions with China are not only impacting the national economy – they’re hitting Idaho businesses.

Gem State industries are feeling pressure from the tit-for-tat tariffs China and the U.S. continue to impose on one another. A 10% retaliatory glass tariff put in place by China is hitting local winemakers. According to the Idaho Press, big wineries are now buying up the domestic supply of wine bottles leaving smaller, local operations with few options.

In the beef industry, every head of cattle could decrease in value by more than $20 by the year 2023 if tariffs remain in place. With over a million head of cattle in the Gem State, that could cost ranchers more than $20 million over the next four years.

Credit Idaho Department of Commerce

Data from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce finds more than $289 million-worth of Idaho exports are threatened by the ongoing escalations between the United States and China. Whey and modified whey exports to the Middle Kingdom account for more than $35 million in Gem State exports. Those are at risk, as are more than $21 million-worth of exports in electronics equipment.

According to the Idaho Department of Commerce, China is the Gem State’s largest international trading partner by volume. In 2018, over $400 million in Idaho goods were exported to China. On its website, the department has an exhaustive, 26-page list of all the products impacted by the Trump Administration’s global trade policies.

For more local news, follow the KBSX newsroom on Twitter @KBSX915

Copyright 2019 Boise State Public Radio

You make stories like this possible.

The biggest portion of Boise State Public Radio's funding comes from readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

Your donation today helps make our local reporting free for our entire community.