West Virginia

West Virginia's tariff story is one of mixed signals for an economy already in transition. The state's coal industry — still the economic backbone of southern counties — sees some benefit from tariffs that raise costs on competing imported coal, but the bigger threat is retaliatory tariffs from India and other Asian nations on metallurgical coal exports. West Virginia produces 80% of US metallurgical coal (used for steelmaking), and Asian markets are critical buyers. The state's chemical industry along the Kanawha Valley — Dow, Union Carbide legacy operations, specialty chemical firms — faces tariffs on imported feedstocks while retaliatory measures threaten exports. Toyota's Buffalo plant and the Procter & Gamble facility in Berkeley County depend on imported components and materials. West Virginia's hardwood lumber industry is among the nation's finest — Appalachian hardwoods are prized worldwide — but Chinese tariffs on American hardwood exports have hit sawmills across the state. The state's emerging technology sector (NOAA operations in Fairmont, FBI fingerprint center in Clarksburg) is less trade-exposed. West Virginia's low median income means even the relatively modest $1,450 per-household tariff burden represents a significant share of family budgets.