Idaho

Idaho's economy straddles two very different worlds — high-tech semiconductors and high-plains agriculture — and tariffs hit both hard. Micron Technology, headquartered in Boise, is America's only major DRAM memory chip manufacturer, competing head-to-head with Samsung and SK Hynix. Tariffs on semiconductor equipment and materials from Japan and the Netherlands increase Micron's manufacturing costs at a critical moment as it invests $15B in new Idaho fabs. On the agricultural side, Idaho's famous potatoes — the state grows 30% of the US supply — face retaliatory tariffs from Mexico and Japan that threaten processed potato exports (french fries, dehydrated products). Idaho's dairy industry, which has exploded in the Magic Valley, exports cheese and milk powder to Mexico and Southeast Asia, markets now complicated by retaliatory duties. Wheat from the Palouse region faces similar retaliation. The state's growing tech sector in Boise (HP, Clearwater Analytics) depends on global talent and supply chains. Even Idaho's timber industry, selling to Chinese construction markets, has seen demand drop under trade tensions.