Virginia

Virginia's economy straddles two worlds: the federal government/defense complex in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, and the agricultural/manufacturing economy of the rest of the state. The Pentagon and intelligence agencies provide economic stability, but Virginia's massive private defense sector — Huntington Ingalls' Newport News Shipbuilding (the only yard that builds nuclear aircraft carriers), General Dynamics IT, Leidos, SAIC — imports specialty steel and components subject to tariffs. Newport News Shipbuilding alone needs 47,000 tons of steel per aircraft carrier; at 25% tariffs, that's tens of millions in additional costs per ship. Virginia's agricultural sector is more diverse than many realize: the state is a significant tobacco exporter (retaliatory target), soybean grower, and poultry producer (the Shenandoah Valley's poultry industry is massive). The Port of Virginia in Norfolk is one of the East Coast's largest and deepest, handling $90B in annual trade; tariffs affect every container. Amazon's HQ2 in Arlington is less directly exposed but represents the tech economy that depends on imported hardware. Virginia's wine industry in the Piedmont faces EU retaliatory tariffs, and the state's coal industry in Appalachia competes in export markets complicated by trade barriers.