The markets have been reacting to President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs all morning.
Sen. Steve Daines of Montana says that he has warned the Trump administration of the negative impacts these tariffs will have on his home state.
“I said, ‘Mr. President, look my Montana farmers and ranchers— these are your people. They voted for you last November, but I’ve got to tell you they are concerned right now about the impact of possibly reducing the ability to supply a very important market like Canada, not to mention the rest of the world. Montana is impacted more by Canadian trade disputes than any other state in the United States. We have a higher percentage of trade with Canada than any other state in the United States, and so this particularly hits home with us. The President understood my concerns. He heard it and I told him I want to stay in close contact with you because I’m listening to my farmers and ranchers. It’s our number one economic driver in Montana, and I’ll tell you if that starts to get hurt— we’ve got problems in our great state, and it hurts some of the best people in our state, and that’s our farmers and ranchers.”
State data shows that in 2021, Montana led the U.S. in exporting live non-purebred cattle to Canada. It was valued at $144 million. Last year alone, all Montana cattle going to Canada totaled 322,000 head.
