Latest news with #Idahoan
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Idaho woman says tariffs would mean the end of her fruit business
Grove Fruit Growers imports mangos from Southeast Asia into the U.S. (Courtesy of Coree Carver) In November, Coree Carver finally signed contracts with retailers to sell her Southeast Asian-grown fruit into the United States. The Idahoan is the founder of Grove Fruit Growers, which grows mangos in Cambodia and processes them in Vietnam. After the COVID-19 pandemic brought her business to a halt, she moved her product to the Russian market — only to have to be forced out when Russia invaded Ukraine. Then as she worked to readjust her business plans, she was in a car accident that caused a brain injury. After years of disruptions, she finally solidified buyers in the U.S. But the Trump administration announced 49% tariffs on Cambodia and 46% on Vietnam — targeting the countries where her business operates. While those tariffs are paused until July, if implemented, Carver said it would result in the end of her business. Carver said she supports fair trade and believes the U.S. has not 'gotten a fair shake with China.' However, she said universal tariffs do not make sense. 'We don't even grow mangos in the U.S.,' she told the Idaho Capital Sun. 'So it's not protecting U.S. industry, because it's just been a blanket tariff put on most of the world. It really wasn't strategically looked at to say, 'What industries do we want to protect or support?' It's just thrown at mango farmers, which is so bizarre.' Before becoming the owner of a 110 acre mango farm in Cambodia, Carver lived in Taiwan and owned a small food distribution company exporting nuts and grains from the U.S. into Asia, while her husband worked for Micron. In 2018, after her children were assigned a book in school about the Khmer Rouge — Cambodia's brutal communist regime that killed most of the educated class between 1975 to 1979 and resorted to a rural agricultural society — Carver said she was in awe that this type of genocide had happened in her lifetime. This inspired her to visit the country with her family. Upon visiting, she noticed piles of mangos in the countryside. 'I asked why, and they said they can't find buyers,' she said. 'I have this food distribution company, so I was like, 'Oh, I can connect them to buyers.'' It took years of geopolitical hurdles and receiving funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development — which the Trump administration dissolved earlier this year — to get a hold on the U.S. market. She can finally sell frozen fruit to retailers, and she is in the process of meeting with dried fruit buyers from major retailers and small grocery stories alike. Carver, who has a master's degree from Harvard in sustainable global development, said her business is more than just about selling mangos. 'It's about development,' she said. 'It's about bringing people out of poverty in Cambodia, but also making a business case for me.' Retailers are interested in the mission behind her business, Carver said, but if these tariffs go into effect, then the business is done. 'I'm just so deflated,' she said. 'I've spent so much money. We've spent just under a million dollars on this project, just of our own money, not only from getting grants. So, I think I might just be done.' During Trump's first term, he began setting tariffs on China to punish it for what he called unfair trade practices. So who won that trade war? It wasn't the U.S. or China — it was Vietnam, according to Rob Dayley, a political economy professor and Southeast Asia expert at the College of Idaho. 'Those first term tariffs merely incentivized companies to move production from China to other low-cost production countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia, countries that then were not in the crosshairs,' Dayley told the Idaho Capital Sun. To close that loophole in 2025, the Trump administration chose to implement universal tariffs on nearby countries to China. Because those tariffs were so high and disruptive in global confidence of the U.S., President Donald Trump backtracked from his 'Liberation Day' tariff rates, Dayley said, adding that the broader promises of the tariff policy — reducing deficits, bringing manufacturing back to the U.S., and lowering inflation — is 'just not going to happen.' There is no historical data to support that tariff policies will produce those positive outcomes, he said. 'The idea that manufacturers of shoes, toys, clothing, and other low-skill products would somehow decide to reshore production to Des Moines or Boise because of some import tariffs was unrealistic during Trump's first term and remains unrealistic in his second term,' Dayley said. While it makes sense to protect national security industries, such as semi-conductors or other defense-related technologies, Dayley said it doesn't make sense to punish fruit industries that are not grown in the U.S. If farms, like the Grove Fruit Growers, cannot make a profit, they'll stop sending their products to the U.S. market, he said. 'If Americans only want to exclude all foreign pineapple or mangos from our U.S. grocery stores (be it fresh, canned, or frozen), then prepare to eat Hawaiian pineapple or mangos at much higher prices,' he said. 'When supply goes down, prices go up. It's that simple.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How two powerful, polar-opposite Republicans are paving the way for Trump's big, beautiful sprint
Two top Republicans working together isn't usually a compelling story. Mike Crapo and Jason Smith, two powerful stylistic opposites on either side of the Capitol, are an exception. The reserved Idahoan senator and fiery Missourian congressman, chairmen of their respective tax-writing committees, share a challenging goal this year: bridging the sometimes-huge divides between the House and Senate to shape a tax deal that President Donald Trump can sign. But as recently as 2024, the duo were at odds over substance. Crapo, who wasn't yet Senate Finance chair, did not support Smith's bipartisan tax deal with Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. The resulting Republican filibuster of Smith's work led to some bad blood with the House. Now, though, that's all in the past. Smith, the Ways and Means Chair, said on Wednesday that Crapo 'was the last person I spoke to before I went to bed last night. … We're working hand-in-glove.' If there's a secret to their success so far, it's this: Rather than battling over particular policy provisions, they've focused their energies on process. Crapo convinced most Republicans that they don't need to pay for making Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent, while Smith got Republicans to roll the president's entire legislative agenda into one big bill. Bigger, unanswered questions await both of them, particularly around how to accommodate Trump's requested tax breaks on tips and overtime, as well as his recent desire for beefier corporate tax cuts. But the evident repair of Crapo and Smith's 2024 schism could help avoid a nightmare scenario for Republicans — a House vote for a tax plan that can't pass the Senate. 'Obviously, Crapo wasn't on the same page' last year, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told Semafor. 'But I sense that things are completely different now, and I think it's driven by the realization that it's an absolute necessity that we be successful here.' Smith and Crapo now talk almost daily, while meeting regularly with GOP leaders and top Trump administration officials and juggling bicameral coordination with their own members. Smith holds lunches for Ways and Means members most weeks while Crapo huddles with his Finance Republicans every Monday. In Crapo's best-case scenario, the Senate makes only minor changes to the House's tax bill. 'It's very possible that we could have some big differences,' Crapo told Semafor. 'Our hope is to minimize the differences.' Just one year ago, Smith and Wyden linked an expanded child tax credit with benefits for small businesses. But Crapo and Senate GOP leaders blocked it on the floor last August. With Republicans now in full control of Washington this year, failure isn't really an option: The tax bill is tied to the debt ceiling deadline, meaning avoiding default could require a tax deal. 'As of today — I don't want to talk about anything in the past, or what happened last year with the tax bill and all that, but — I think there's real cohesion between the two of them,' said Rep. Darin LaHood, 73, has served in Congress since 1993; Smith, 44, arrived in 2013. Crapo operates largely behind the scenes, while even senators who don't know Smith personally see him on cable news. The contrasts don't end there; Smith is preparing to hold a public committee vote soon on his tax legislation, but Crapo said he wasn't sure whether his committee would do the same. 'They are very different personalities,' said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., who served with both. 'Mike has the full trust of every Republican senator. Jason, I don't know how you can do better than he's doing with his colleagues, but he's got a bigger challenge.' Smith is pushing through it with a deliberate show of stamina, convening days-long meetings in the Library of Congress where committee Republicans weigh various tax provisions and emerge tight-lipped. He peppers the airwaves with staccato and blunt warnings that the Senate's original two-bill plan for Trump's agenda (border first, then tax) was 'foolish.' Members and aides say that Smith has some flair, too. The House chair has posted photos with 'friend' Paris Hilton and provides witnesses who testify before his committee with custom water bottles emblazoned with his seal. When it comes to Ways and Means members themselves, 'he's been very generous with swag,' LaHood said. 'He's a great gift-giver — maybe the best in Congress, actually,' said House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, who serves on Smith's committee. Smith beat Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., out for the gavel in a relative upset, but he's set to be the special guest at a fundraiser dinner for Buchanan in late June, a person familiar with the plans said. One former senior leadership aide observed that Smith's ability to keep his members — and K Street — happy shields him from criticism: 'You're not hearing from people because they're being listened to.' 'The fact that he's not playing whack-a-mole a week out [from a possible markup] is shocking,' the aide added. Crapo is comparatively sphinx-like, often declining to publicly weigh in on strategic disagreements (he was agnostic on the agenda strategy that Smith felt so strongly about). Several senators told Semafor that Crapo rarely speaks up in party meetings — but when he does, people listen. The Finance chief does his fair share of listening, too. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., buttonholed Crapo about a particular tax provision this week in the GOP cloakroom and described his receptivity as a refreshing change from chairmen 'who act like they discovered gravity. Mike's not like that.' 'He's a guy that can sit and tolerate beratement against him and not retaliate … there's a lot of thin-skinned people around here,' said Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, who often votes in lockstep with Crapo. 'He is not one of them.'There's no daylight between Smith and Crapo now — but this is the beginning of the road for them. It's easy to stay in lockstep before any details of the tax bill are locked in. And Trump remains a wild card. Smith and Crapo are putting as much effort — if not more — into coordinating with the administration as they are with each other. As remarkable as their strong working relationship looks now, it won't matter much if they can't produce something the president — even those like Wyden, who've worked closely with the two tax chairmen before — see little to celebrate. 'My job … is to work with everybody that wants to do the right thing and oppose everybody that's not doing the right thing. Jason Smith in the last congress was there for the right thing,' Wyden said. 'And now, Sen. Crapo looks like he's going to be the lead of an approach that would supercharge' the 2017 tax cuts, Wyden Crapo goes on TV, he likes to go on former Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow's Fox Business show — and advocate for permanent tax cuts. Smith Trump does not want the tax bill to become a health care bill.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Have thoughts on affordable housing in Idaho? Here's how to weigh in on U.S. Sen. Crapo's survey.
U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) (R) and Ranking Member Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) preside over a meeting as the committee votes to advance the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services on Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington, D.C. The full committee voted along party lines to advance the nomination to the entire Senate for confirmation. (Photo by) U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, is collecting Idahoans' opinions on affordable housing through a survey. The survey is meant to inform Crapo about common issues to possibly consider legislation, the senator's office announced in a news release in March. In 2014 and 2015, the senator's veterans' surveys led Crapo to introduce legislation that became law, his office said. 'A lack of affordable housing is the number one issue Idahoans raise with my staff and me in meetings across the State,' Crapo said in a prepared statement. 'Idaho is far from alone in this nationwide challenge, but Idahoans can be a key part in piecing together the housing puzzle as I continue to work to find collaborative solutions to this issue. I invite any Idahoan to complete the survey and share as much detail as they are willing and able to provide.' For two years in a row, Idahoans have listed workforce and affordable housing as their overall top budget priority for the Idaho Legislature, according to the annual Idaho Public Policy Survey by Boise State University. Almost a third of Idahoans, 32%, listed the issue as their top state legislative budget priority. Nearly half of Idahoans, 49%, reported feeling financially strained by housing costs, the survey found. Crapo's affordable housing survey, available online, is open through May 31. The survey is intended to hear feedback from homeowners, renters, insurance brokers, bankers, realtors, government officials and general contractors, Crapo's office said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Idaho joined a drug price settlement. Find out if you qualify for compensation.
People who purchased generic prescription drugs between May 2009 and December 2019 may be eligible for compensation in the settlement, the Idaho Attorney General's Office said. (Getty Images) Idahoans should see if they're eligible for compensation as part of a proposed settlement over an alleged conspiracy to inflate generic drug prices and limit competition, Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador said. Idaho is among 50 states and U.S. territories that are seeking preliminary approval for the $39.1 million settlement with drug manufacturer Apotex in federal court in Connecticut, the Idaho Office of the Attorney General announced in a news release. A coalition of states last fall also announced a $10 million settlement with Heritage Pharmaceuticals. 'When companies conspire to fix prices, real people pay the price — especially Idaho families who rely on affordable prescription drugs,' Labrador said in a prepared statement. 'I encourage every Idahoan who purchased generic medications during the covered period to review their eligibility and seek compensation if you qualify. Our office will continue to defend the integrity of the market and ensure Idahoans are protected from corporate misconduct.' People who purchased generic prescription drugs between May 2009 and December 2019 may be eligible for compensation in the settlement, the Idaho Attorney General's Office said. Here's how to find out if you're eligible: Visit which lists generic drugs involved in the settlements Email info@ Call 1-866-290-0182, a toll free number SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump re-appoints former Idaho lawmaker as top federal prosecutor in state
Bart Davis, a former Idaho Legislator and former U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho, listens to a redistricting meeting on Sept. 2, 2021, at the Idaho Statehouse in Boise. (Jim Max for the Idaho Capital Sun) President Donald Trump has nominated longtime Republican Idaho state lawmaker and attorney Bart Davis to return to his role as U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Davis would be returning to a position he previously held, in the first Trump administration, as the top federal prosecuting attorney in Idaho. 'It's an honor. It certainly is,' Davis told the Idaho Capital Sun in a phone interview Tuesday. 'I really, really, really enjoyed my service as the U.S. Attorney. Idaho has a remarkable U.S. Attorney's Office.' New presidents often replace U.S. District attorneys upon changes in administration. In February 2021, Davis resigned as U.S. Attorney for Idaho — a position he'd served in since 2017 — at the request of the Biden administration, the Post Register reported. Idaho's most recent U.S. Attorney, Josh Hurwit, ended his service in February, the office announced. Hurwit was nominated by former U.S. President Joe Biden. Davis's re-appointment was first reported by the Idaho Statesman. The current acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho is Justin D. Whatcott, a longtime Idaho prosecutor. Before Davis became Idaho's top federal prosecutor, he served for nearly two decades in the Idaho Senate — including over a decade as the Senate majority leader. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Davis's term as U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho would be four years. The White House announced Davis's nomination on April 1. His nomination has been referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. In an interview, Davis praised the office's staff as solid and 'a pleasure to work with.' And he said the office's relationships with federal law enforcement, and state and local partners, have helped make the office 'very effective in the work that they do.' 'It's going to be quite a privilege to go back and work with those people,' he added. Davis is the fourth Idahoan nominated to positions in the Trump administration. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
