To help Idaho farmers, lift tariffs on ATVs and UTVs | Opinion
Before most folks in Boise finish their breakfast, farmers like my family have already been in Idaho’s fields, using essential working vehicles like ATVs and UTVs to do the quiet, demanding work that keeps America fed.
As we celebrated the Fourth of July and our nation’s 250th birthday, policymakers and citizens alike had conversations about what it means to put America first. From my perspective, this means ensuring policymakers in Washington understand how farmers do their job, the financial challenges they face and the importance of protecting farmers’ access to affordable equipment from harmful price hikes.
America’s strength rests on many world-class industries, but from its founding the bedrock has been agriculture. In our earliest days, the vast majority of Americans were farmers, relying on horses and hand tools to grow our emerging economy.
By the centennial, farmers’ use of mechanical cultivators and reapers converted our farms into commercial powerhouses. That trend has continued as advances in equipment have allowed us to achieve efficiency and yields our forefathers could not have dreamed of. At each step of the journey, the prosperity of America’s farmers has been tied at the hip to having top-notch tools.
On our farm, equipment is not a luxury, it is the backbone of our operations. Utility vehicles and ATVs allow us to get into hard to reach places, move supplies and cattle, maintain irrigation systems and respond quickly when something goes wrong.
Yet now these essential vehicles face tariffs — 15% on ATVs and 25% on some UTVs — that threaten to drive up costs on the tools America’s producers rely on daily. When equipment costs rise, farmers do what we’ve always done: stretch every dollar, delay upgrades and keep worn-out machines running far beyond their prime. But there’s a hard limit to how long we can keep doing more with less.
In Idaho, that limit is especially important because agriculture is not merely part of our economy, it’s the foundation of it. Agriculture is responsible for 17% of the state’s total economic output, supporting nearly 140,000 jobs across Idaho. The Gem State remains a national leader in producing commodities like potatoes, dairy, wheat and cattle that help feed Americans across the country.
When costs increase for Idaho’s producers, the impact goes far beyond the farm gate. Our agricultural economy has grown because farmers and ranchers are productive, resilient, and willing to adapt, but that can’t offset policies that make essential tools more expensive.
Fortunately, there is a practical solution to this issue, and the Trump administration has already started down the right path. In June, President Donald Trump adjusted Section 232 tariffs, reducing the rate for essential vehicles like ATVs to account for unintended harm to American industries and provide targeted relief where tariffs risk undermining our nation’s strength.
The next step is clear: Trump’s administration should expand that relief, mirroring for ATVs and UTVs the exemptions granted to motorcycles and e-bikes to ensure these critical tools remain affordable for the Americans who depend on them.
As we honor 250 years of American freedom, we should commit to doing everything in our power to support the people and industries that keep our nation independent and resilient. That starts with properly equipping the farmers and ranchers who feed our families, the land managers who protect our forests and the first responders who keep our communities safe. Extending targeted tariff relief to ATVs and UTVs to keep them affordable is a commonsense way to make America stronger and more secure.
America First means standing up for our own people and our capacity to provide, build, and defend. President Trump can continue to demonstrate his commitment to the citizens who fortify our nation by ensuring that working vehicles remain within reach of the Americans who rely on them every day.