Portland clothing retailer Wildfang was waiting for a shipment from China to land in the U.S. this month when President Donald Trump levied a more than 100% import tax on the close trade partner.
Luckily, Wildfang’s shipment made it to Long Beach, Calif., less than two days before the tariff went into effect. CEO Emma Mcilroy said the company was facing $178,000 in import taxes.
“We got extremely lucky,” Mcilroy said. “If that had arrived 48 hours later, it would’ve been absolutely crippling to our business.”
Mcilroy was among a number of business representatives ranging from fishing to winemaking to apparel who told Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek that tariffs are hurting their businesses. At a roundtable in Salem on Wednesday, companies said the changes to international trade are happening too fast, and in many cases there’s no domestic alternative for the imported parts and goods.
They said the damage could have lasting effects on the state’s trade relationships. The high prices could force companies out of business.
“We all know the cost of living is high, people are struggling,” Kotek said at a press conference following the roundtable. “This is not what we need right now. And I heard loud and clear from businesses that they are concerned there’s impact today. They’re going to need help. We’re going to try to work together and find those solutions.”
Kotek said Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency, is surveying businesses across industries in hopes of finding ways the state can alleviate tariff pain.
Oregon is considered a trade-dependent state. In 2024, companies imported just over $28 billion worth of goods and parts, and exported more than $34 billion to global markets. Some of the state’s biggest trade partners are affected by the highest tariffs, including China, Mexico and Canada.
In many cases, businesses told the governor they’d like to find domestic sources, but they just don’t exist. Mcilroy said even if Wildfang was able to sew its clothing in the U.S., it would still need to import the fabric.
Representatives from Oregon’s food and farming sectors echoed this sentiment. Critical elements such as fertilizer, equipment and packaging materials tend to be imported or have imported components.
“We can’t buy everything in the United States,” Trey Winthrop, CEO of Milwaukie-based Bob’s Red Mill, said. “We actually import from 31 different countries. These are commodities that U.S. farmers just don’t grow. We’re talking things like coconut, tapioca starch – quinoa only grows above 13,000 feet; we do not have the ability to grow quinoa in the United States.”
Winthrop said not only are tariffs making these things more expensive, but they’re also damaging relationships the company has with other countries. Whole grain products from Bob’s Red Mill can be found in 65 different countries, he said.
“Once the dust settles on the tariffs so we understand what our costs are, we’re still going to have lasting damage to our export markets,” Winthrop predicted.
“We will not have the same countries wanting to buy our products.”
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
