Tariffs that remain in effect after yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision are hurting, and stand to hurt further, companies operating in the hemp fiber sector. Industry executives say the added costs are forcing them to delay investments, raise prices, or scale back plans as Trump administration trade policy remains unpredictable.
The Supreme Court agreed to fast-track a major legal challenge to the tariffs, including a baseline 10 percent duty on most imports, raising costs across many industries and heightening concerns about long-term competitiveness.
The tariffs hit harder in hemp, where businesses are still building the foundations of a new sector.
Major investments affected
Mattie Mead, CEO and founder of Idaho-based Hempitecture, said capital equipment is his company’s greatest tariff exposure.
“Our industry requires foreign technology to get off the ground. Importing machinery gives us a level playing field in an international market,” he said.
Hempitecture, which produces insulation for the building sector, has faced a 10 percent tariff on machinery imported from Europe this year, with the possibility the rate could rise to 15 percent.
“If we import $1 million worth of machinery, we planned on spending $100,000 to $150,000 for installation and commissioning. When we were unexpectedly hit with a 10 percent tariff, that was $100,000 out of our budget,” Mead said.
Mead argued that manufacturing equipment should be exempt from tariffs if policymakers want to strengthen U.S. industry.
Textile imports hit
For California-based HempTraders, tariffs have made imported textiles and raw materials significantly more expensive. President Lawrence Serbin said his company is now paying 55 percent in tariffs on hemp products imported from China, including fabric, yarn, twine, rope and seed.
“All our products are more expensive now, making it even more difficult to get hemp into the markets,” Serbin said.
He noted that tariffs also affect small items, such as sample fabrics sent by courier, and have complicated export shipments.
“It is frustrating for me to hear people say the tariffs are paid by the exporting countries rather than the American people,” Serbin said. He warned that uncertainty over changing trade rules discourages companies from making long-term investments in U.S. hemp textiles.
Exports decline
Robert Jungmann, founder and CEO of Washington-based clothing maker Jungmaven, said tariffs have raised the cost of imported yarn from China and caused exports to Canada to drop by nearly 80 percent year over year.
“Our industry depends on stability and consistency to plan production and investments. Right now, policy feels unpredictable and driven more by emotion than strategy,” Jungmann said.
Jungmann added that while U.S. customers have not yet faced higher prices, the company expects to raise them in 2026. He said predictability in trade policy and support for domestic hemp and textile manufacturing are key to keeping the industry competitive.
Trump’s tariffs
The broader U.S. tariff regime underscores hemp stakeholders’ concerns. Along with the sweeping baseline tariffs of 10 percent, and a doubling of steel and aluminum duties to 50 percent, higher levies are hitting goods from Canada, Mexico, China, and Europe. Economists estimate the measures are among the largest effective tax increases on U.S. households in decades, raising business costs and reducing growth.
Critics had argued that the president exceeded authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Oral arguments are scheduled for early November, and despite lower courts ruling the tariffs illegal, they remain effective pending the Supreme Court’s decision.
For hemp, an industry still building out its infrastructure, the effect of the tariffs is magnified. While many hemp advocates promote building out local value chains around industrial hemp – the most economical way to build a hemp industry – industry leaders stress that global trade connections are necessary in the short term.
As Mead put it: “The bottom line is this—building a new industrial bioeconomy will always require international collaboration. Tariffs that ignore this reality will only slow down innovation and progress.”