In April 2025 President Trump issued a slew of tariffs to catalyze new trade deals. The move led to increased costs and shrunken markets for key Montana agricultural exports like wheat.
Montana producer Ben Peterson spoke on a panel organized by the group Tariffs Cost Us, which highlights the impacts from tariffs on U.S. businesses. Peterson explains the market turbulence has made planning nearly impossible.
"Large corporations may be able to take advantage of this kind of volatility. Independent farms like mine cannot."
Peterson says for 2026, he’s playing it safe. That means delaying upgrades for important equipment like tractors. He may even idle some of his land.
"That means I'm not making money on that ground. I'm possibly losing money on the ground. But I'm losing a whole lot less money than if I was planting wheat," Peterson says.
Congress retains the authority to designate tariffs. Trump’s use of the presidential emergency declaration to set tariffs has faced legal challenges. Three lawsuits are under consideration by the Supreme Court.
Their outcome will impact a case out of Montana, too.
Members of Blackfeet Nation filed a lawsuit against the federal government last year claiming the tariffs impedes tribal sovereignty and harm their businesses.
Plaintiff and State legislator Susan Webber says producers are just holding on.
"Now we’re just at a stalemate," Webber says. "We're just not doing anything, we're static."
The Supreme Court was expected to issue a tariff ruling last week. But Webber and her co-plaintiffs continue to wait for that decision.
