The New Uncertainty
Trump Policies Put Colorado Businesses At Risk
The Colorado way of life is defined by our independent nature, and our economy is built upon the entrepreneurial spirit and hard work of people all across this great state. It is a large part of the reason why the chaos coming out of The White House doesn’t resonate here. Twitter tantrums and international disputes often feel distant and irrelevant in a state like ours that has fought hard to keep its head above the public spectacle that is our national politics.
While that fight is a simple one to maintain when the topic of the hour resembles the plot of a TV drama, the stakes change when the well being of our state’s economy is at stake. The tariffs imposed on China are not just signs of a trade war, they are acts of hostility against those whose businesses are the backbone of the Colorado economy.
From the onset of 2018, President Donald Trump has imposed a series of tariffs on everything from solar panels, to steel and aluminum, to washing machines. This evolving economic policy has encouraged some of Colorado’s most frequent and profitable trading partners to leverage similar, retaliatory tariffs, with our state caught in the middle.
Colorado’s small and medium-sized businesses, whose products have found themselves subject to the newly imposed tariffs, will have to make decisions that could potentially decide whether or not they can keep their doors open. Some business owners face hundreds of thousands of dollars in duty fees as the situation between the United States and China escalates. Other business owners have no choice but to adapt to the new business environment by passing the costs of tariffs on to consumers.
The shortsightedness of this policy has shaken Colorado farmers particularly hard, as the agricultural industry finds itself as one of the main targets of China’s response to the tariffs. Thousands of people across this state depend upon the export of our wheat and our beef, and the hardworking people of Colorado’s agricultural industry will be left scrambling to find new revenue streams as China halts the importation of these products. While they seek out new ways to make up for their losses, they will also face increased competition from neighboring farming states, which have no choice but to also adapt to the chaos.
I was raised on a farm in rural Oklahoma, where I learned quickly that the biggest challenge we faced would be uncertainty. I carried that lesson from my childhood with me to Colorado. As a small business owner, I understand that the uncertainty of the future can keep you up at night. Farmers and small business owners from all corners of Colorado understand that instability can come with their profession at times. As tariffs are imposed overnight, markets drop in the blink of an eye and the costs of operation begin to rise, putting family farmers at risk.
As a state senator, I understand the responsibility that comes with the ability to make public policy. Bad decisions can leave a lasting legacy, and it is clear to me that the trade war with China has not been waged with care. The uncertainty I faced as a young girl on a farm in Oklahoma is not the same uncertainty that our small business owners and farmers face today.
The effort to start what appears to be a global trade war suggests that our President is much less a captain steering a ship through turbulent times, and much more a political weathervane, implementing policy in whatever direction the wind and his impulsivity blows him. Profits can change drastically with the weather, but global economic policy should not, and our small businesses of all kinds deserve to have a future to which they can adapt.
Angela Williams represents District 33, which includes Park Hill, in the Colorado State Senate. She can be contacted at 303-866-4864.