Colorado is on track to phase out the last of its coal-fired power plants by 2031, or less than a decade from now. If successful, that would be a truly remarkable feat. In 2000, coal generated 80% of the state’s electricity. Today it still generates around 40%, according to preliminary 2021 data from the U.S. […]
trade wars
Posted inBusiness, COVID, Growth, News
First the trade war, now the coronavirus. Jefferson County gets new tool to tackle international trade
With the ongoing woes of an international trade war and now a global pandemic brewing, Dino Dardano, president of Hestra Gloves, is ready to try a new tool available to him as a business in Jefferson County: foreign trade zones. The county became the latest Colorado community awarded the special designation, which lets businesses postpone […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Growth, News, Politics and Government
Colorado farmers hopeful as revised free-trade deal with Mexico and Canada approved
Colorado farmers finally see some certainty in their future after two major trade deals passed this week. The U.S. Senate approved the new North American trade deal — the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement — on Thursday and President Donald Trump signed an agreement with China a day earlier. “It gives us assurances where we can go […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Congress needs to have a vote on tariffs
Tariffs are taxes by another name. Sen. Michael Bennet recently had it right: “This is a tax on our workers, this is a tax on our farmers, this is a tax on our ranchers.” Last year, he introduced legislation to give Congress the opportunity to vote on reversing the tariffs placed on steel and aluminum […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Politics and Government
Why Colorado’s corn farmers are getting hurt by China’s soybean tariff
When China added a 25% tax on soybeans in retaliation to U.S. tariffs last year, Colorado’s farming community shrugged it off. Soybeans aren’t much of a crop here. But nationwide, large patches of Midwestern soybean farmland switched to corn. That, in turn, meant more corn would stay in the U.S., driving down prices for Yuma […]
Posted inBusiness, Politics and Government
Colorado companies struggle in search for exclusions to Trump’s tit-for-tat tariff war with China
As Nite Ize legal operations manager Kelly Von Letkemann sifted through legal decisions to learn how to best persuade the federal government to exempt tariffs on products the Boulder company makes in China, some actions made sense. Some made no sense at all. She pointed to Sea Eagle Boats, for example. The family-owned New York […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Politics and Government
Adjusting to life under tariffs, Jefferson County and Grand Junction are pursuing a solution that’s still proving itself in Colorado
Jefferson County and Grand Junction are seeking to become free-trade zones in an effort to attract more business, add jobs and help local companies offset some of the rising cost of international trade. Their applications would provide the regions with a spot for companies to store imported goods and defer or bypass tariff-duty payments. There’s […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Outdoors
China tariffs are translating into higher prices, strategic shifts for the outdoor industry. But “it’s not something you can do overnight.”
The ongoing tariff war is riling the outdoor industry, with gear makers and brands deploying a variety of strategies to handle the Trump administration’s plan to raise tariffs on more than $200 billion worth of Chinese-made products to 25% from 10%. The additional tariffs on things like backpacks, sports bags, ski gloves, kayaks, bikes, camp […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Politics and Government
It’s not just China: The United States’ global trade war has Colorado companies seeking — and finding — workarounds
BROOMFIELD — Colorful spools of thread made and imported from Germany will soon leave this Broomfield warehouse and head to Mexico, skipping any payment of U.S. tariffs. It’s not a random loophole. Part of Amann USA’s facility is located in a Foreign Trade Zone, a property designation that allows manufacturers to defer import taxes until […]
Posted inBusiness, News
South Korea, home of Hanwoo and bulgogi, is now largest importer of Colorado beef
Last year, the Republic of Korea became the top international buyer of Colorado beef. And no, its rise in the rankings did not have to do with the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China. The small East Asian country, known for its homegrown Hanwoo cattle and grilled sweet BBQ beef, knocked Japan and […]