U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Sweeping Trade Tariffs
Tariffs invalidated: The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 20 ruled that global tariffs imposed by President Trump are illegal. The case, The Wall Street Journal reported, involved two categories of tariffs. Trump imposed one category on most countries, ostensibly to repair trade deficits. He imposed the other on Mexico, Canada and China, ostensibly in response to the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. The court ruled that neither category is authorized by the 1977 law the president used to impose them, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Unaffected tariffs: The ruling does not affect tariffs imposed under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 involving steel, aluminum, autos, auto parts and various copper products, according to the Tax Foundation. The president also has threatened – but not yet imposed – tariffs on other products under this authority, including semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.
Alternative authorizations: The president can use other laws to justify tariffs, but these feature procedural constraints and may not allow him to replicate the expansive tariffs imposed under IEEPA. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which discussed the ruling during a Feb. 20 webinar, the president could use the Trade Act of 1974 to impose tariffs of up to 15% for as many as 150 days. Shortly after the ruling, he did, in fact, announce that he intended to impose a global tariff using this authority.
What about refunds?: The Supreme Court did not provide guidance on how an estimated $133 billion in illegal tariffs paid by businesses might be refunded, according to The Wall Street Journal. But companies already have filed hundreds of lawsuits seeking to preserve their ability to claim refunds. An interesting Planet Money podcast unpacks the refund question a bit.
Business group responses: In a statement released immediately after the ruling, U.S. Chamber of Commerce called it “welcome news for businesses and consumers” and noted that “swift refunds of the impermissible tariffs will be meaningful for the more than 200,000 small business importers in this country and will help support stronger economic growth this year.” The National Retail Federation said the ruling would provide “much-needed certainty for U.S. Businesses and manufacturers” and urged lower courts “to ensure a seamless process to refund the tariffs to U.S. importers. The refunds will serve as an economic boost and allow companies to reinvest in their operations, their employees and their customers.” The National Association of Manufacturers, meanwhile, urged “policymakers to work together to provide a clear and consistent framework for trade.” OBI is the Oregon affiliate for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Retail Federation and the National Association of Manufacturers.
Learn more: The court’s ruling can be found here. OBI’s federal resources web page contains links to tariff and news-release pages maintained by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Retail Federation.
Oregon Goods Imports Topped Exports in 2025, Ending Trend
What happened: According to federal data released Feb. 19, Oregon goods imports topped exports in 2025 for the first time since at least 2008 (see chart). Goods exports fell by roughly 17% in 2025 while imports rose by about 9%, producing a goods trade deficit of about $2.7 billion. In 2024, Oregon’s goods exports exceeded imports by about $5.7 billion. On a nationwide basis, meanwhile, goods exports increased in 2025 (5.8%) by a larger percentage than imports (3.1%).
Change not surprising: The Portland Business Journal sounded the alarm in January by reporting that exports through the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro area had dropped nearly 19% through the third quarter of 2025, the biggest drop among 40 tracked metro areas. Among the contributing factors, according to the Business Journal, were decreases in semiconductors and other electronic components as well as auto parts.
Why it matters: Oregon is one of the nation’s most manufacturing dependent states, ranking 19th nationally for the sector’s share of state GDP, according to OBI’s 2024 manufacturing report. Manufacturing jobs also pay well, with a median income that exceeds that in other sectors by nearly 17%. And exports bring money into the state, which supports employment, investment and local businesses.
Concern, not panic: Oregon’s manufacturing sector has struggled in recent years, underscoring the importance of policies that support manufacturers. The state lost thousands of manufacturing jobs in 2025, extending what the state economist has referred to repeatedly as a manufacturing recession. However, as Business Oregon economist Damon Runberg told the Portland Business Journal back in January, exports do tend to fluctuate, and 2024 saw a large surge in exports from Oregon. He said it’s more useful to track exports using a three-year average.
Bragging rights lost: For nearly 20 years, Oregon belonged to an enviable club: states with export surpluses. In 2024, it was one of 11 states whose goods exports exceeded their imports. In 2025, the list shrank to 10, and it doesn’t include Oregon for the first time in nearly two decades.
Learn more: For more Oregon data and competitiveness rankings, visit the Oregon Scorecard.
Oregon Business Matters Talks with Deschutes Brewery CEO
In the latest episode of OBI’s Oregon Business Matters podcast, host Angela Wilhelms talks with Peter Skrbek, CEO of Bend-based Deschutes Brewery, about the iconic craft brewer’s history, its approach to product innovation, its partnership with Costco, its connection to Central Oregon and much more.
In case you missed them, check out our recent episodes with Oregon Entrepreneurs Network President and CEO Cara Turano, Tax Foundation Senior Fellow Jared Walczak and a joint interview with Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and Portland Metro Chamber President and CEO Andrew Hoan.
These and other episodes can be found on OBI’s website here and on major podcast platforms, including Apple, Spotify and YouTube.
Policy and Rulemaking Updates
Disconnect bill passing: SB 1507 has passed the full Senate on a 17-13 vote with Sen. Mark Meek, D-Oregon City, voting with Republicans in opposition. The bill would disconnect Oregon’s tax code from the provisions of H.R. 1 promising businesses accelerated depreciation of equipment and machinery along with a Clinton-era provision meant to encourage investment in startups. The House Committee on Revenue promptly rubber-stamped the bill, voting it out of committee one day after holding a hearing in which stakeholders received only two minutes to make their case and committee members were unable to ask questions. During the hearing, OBI asked the committee to consider making the bonus-depreciation disconnection temporary in order to provide certainty for businesses investing in Oregon. The committee disregarded the request. The full House is likely to consider the bill on Feb. 24. OBI will continue to fight this bill while also working toward a possible sunset.
Insurance bill dies: On Feb. 18, HB 4098, which would allow private rights of action against insurance companies under Oregon’s Unlawful Trade Practices Act, failed to pass the full House. A procedural motion kept the bill alive temporarily. But it died on Feb. 19, when House leaders conceded that it lacked the votes to pass. Its passage would have created the most punitive insurance regulatory scheme in the nation, increasing litigation, raising prices for Oregonians and prompting insurers to leave the market.
Oregon JOBS Act: SB 1586, the Oregon JOBS Act, had two public hearings last week, and a third is scheduled to happen Feb. 23. Legislators from both parties have testified in support, but the bill’s prospects remain uncertain due to Democratic reluctance to address land limitations in Oregon’s Silicon Forest. SB 1586 is the only bill this session that specifically targets Oregon’s ongoing manufacturing recession, and the reluctance of some legislators to support it is disappointing.
Governor’s development bill: HB 4084, Gov. Kotek’s economic development bill, has been heard and worked in the House Committee on Revenue. The bill would improve Oregon’s enterprise zone program, invest $40 million in industrial land and provide targeted regulatory and permitting process improvement. Sen. Khan Pham, D-Portland, submitted an amendment to prevent enterprise zones from being used for data centers in rural Oregon. Fortunately, that amendment was not entertained. The bill now moves to the Joint Ways and Means Committee and remains in play for the end of session.
Transportation referendum bill: The clock is ticking on Democratic leaders’ effort to change the date of the transportation referendum election from November to May, SB 1599. According to the secretary of state’s office, Gov. Kotek must sign the bill by Feb. 25 for the referendum to appear on the May primary ballot. The Senate has repeatedly delayed a vote on the bill amid rumors that it may not have enough support among Democrats to advance. Sen. Mark Meek, D-Oregon City, has indicated he will vote no. OBI remains opposed to the bill because it contains language that erodes citizens’ rights by removing a critical procedural step in the ballot title drafting process: the ability to appeal draft ballot titles to the Oregon Supreme Court for review.
Kitzhaber affordability roadmap: On Feb. 19, the House Rules Committee held a public hearing on HCR 202, a resolution that sets a goal of a more affordable and accessible state health care system by 2033. The resolution is part of a broader effort by former Gov. John Kitzhaber and the Health System Sustainability Group to evaluate several aspects of the state’s health care landscape, including Oregon’s Medicaid program, provider systems, and health care sector business climate. Democratic leadership could take a page out of the Kitzhaber playbook and acknowledge that Oregon’s difficult regulatory environment and poor business climate drive up health care costs. OBI has provided testimony in support of Kitzhaber’s resolution, which can be found here.
Advance notice bill: HB 4021 would require advance notice of regulatory changes before they become effective. The intent is to provide adequate notice to businesses and other regulated entities so they can prepare for new compliance obligations. The bill passed the House and has been referred to the Senate Rules Committee. This concept is part of OBI’s Oregon Competitiveness Agenda, and OBI testified in support.
Tax bills: The House Revenue Committee has passed a handful of bills that would raise taxes, and two of them would affect the state’s lodging industry. HB 4134 would increase the statewide transient lodging tax and dedicate new revenue to wildlife preservation. HB 4148 would change transient lodging tax revenue allocations, giving some funds currently protected for local tourism activity to local general funds. Both are now before the full House for consideration, and both upend a decades-old industry compromise with state and local governments regarding the allocation of transient lodging tax revenue. The committee also passed HB 4014, which as amended would study how Oregon attaches to federal provisions on international taxation. Testimony in support of that amendment made it clear the task force is nothing more than a procedural step toward a substantial increase in business taxes. The bill now heads to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, where OBI is working as part of a coalition to kill it.
Recreational liability bills: The Legislature appears reluctant to fix Oregon’s outlier status with respect to the validity of liability waivers for recreational businesses. The Senate Committee on Commerce and General Government has unanimously passed SB 1593, which would overrule an extreme Oregon Supreme Court decision that invalidated liability waivers for recreational activities throughout the state. A bill with this level of bipartisan committee support should move through the legislative process, but Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, is using his authority to hold it. Meanwhile, the full Senate is scheduled to consider a deeply flawed bill, SB 1517. It borrows general protections from SB 1593 but includes many exemptions that make those protections largely unusable. OBI and Oregon’s outdoor recreation industry coalition support SB 1593 and oppose SB 1517.
Wage claim penalties: As introduced, HB 4089 would make failure to pay wages subject to criminal penalties as well as current remedies through the Bureau of Labor and Industries and the courts. An amendment adopted by the House Labor and Workforce Development committee tempered the bill significantly. The amended bill clarifies the existing crime of theft of services to include intentionally failing to pay full or partial wages. The remaining portions of the bill focus on construction labor contractors and would impose new liability for contractors who use unlicensed labor contractors. The bill is now in the House Rules Committee, where it is scheduled for a hearing and committee vote on Feb. 24.
Immigration retaliation: HB 4111 was intended to prohibit discrimination or retaliation against employees for updating certain information, including name, Social Security number and employment authorization documentation. OBI negotiated changes that protect employers from unlawful practice claims if, for example, employers must act in response to federal employment authorization requirements. The bill passed the House 34-19 and is scheduled for a hearing and committee vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Notable News
PGE expansion: Portland General Electric announced Feb. 17 that it will buy most of PacifiCorp’s utility assets in the state of Washington for $1.9 billion, including two wind farms, a natural gas-fired power plant, 4,500 miles of transmission and distribution lines, plus about 140,000 customers (The Oregonian).
Oregon unemployment: It’s decisively more difficult for Oregonians who are out of work to find jobs than their U.S. counterparts. So reports the Oregon Employment Department, which based its findings on surveys of private employers from all industries (Portland Business Journal).
Retail theft indictment: Multnomah County officials on Feb. 19 announced the indictments of five people in connection to what they described as a “massive” retail theft ring that operated across Oregon for several years. They face a combined 150 charges including money laundering, organized retail theft and identity theft (The Oregonian).
Animal rights initiative: Animal rights advocates are moving closer to getting a radical initiative onto Oregon’s November ballot that would criminalize almost all activities that injure or kill animals (The Oregonian).
Portland treatment plant: The costs of Portland’s new water filtration plant will rise an additional $450 million, running the total to more than $2.5 billion, water officials said Feb. 19. Completion of the Bull Run plant also will be delayed by two years, the officials said, largely because the city had to pause construction while it faced an appeal from neighbors and other critics (The Oregonian).
Knight hospital donation: Phil and Penny Knight have given $75 million to the Providence Heart Institute and Providence St. Vincent Medical Center. The gift means that the Knights have given nearly $200 million to the heart institute over 10 years, the health system said in a release (Portland Business Journal).
Lawmaker complaint: Two days after a gun rights advocate filed an official complaint claiming that a powerful state legislator had appeared to “verbally abuse” and “intimidate” another lawmaker into changing her vote on a gun control bill, that lawmaker says she indeed thinks that the legislator “created a hostile work environment.” Democratic Rep. Thủy Trần of Portland told The Oregonian/OregonLive that she has “a great deal of respect” for Democratic Rep. Jason Kropf of Bend, but “his management of events” made for a less than ideal situation during a Feb. 16 meeting (The Oregonian).
Alaska Airlines project: Portland city councilors voted unanimously Feb. 18 to temporarily exempt a proposed Alaska Airlines maintenance hangar at Portland International Airport from property taxes (The Oregonian).
New Seasons layoffs: New Seasons Market has laid off several dozen employees, attributing the cuts to rising costs following a new labor agreement. The layoffs affected 95 employees (The Oregonian).
PGE power line: Portland General Electric is back at City Hall with its plan to cut down trees and build new power lines and towers in Forest Park, eight months after the City Council unanimously rejected the project (Portland Business Journal).
Portland budget deficit: Portland’s budget woes are worsening, and this raises big questions about how the city pays for programs that address homelessness. On Feb. 18, the city’s budget office announced the city needs $169 million in additional money to keep current programs running in the next fiscal year, which begins on July 1. This is far higher than the roughly $67 million anticipated shortfall outlined in December (Oregon Public Broadcasting).
Data broker bill: When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents want to find out where people live, work, travel or go about their daily life, they often no longer need a warrant or a judge’s approval. In many cases, the agency can simply buy that information from commercial data brokers. A group of Oregon lawmakers wanted to stop the practice as federal agents increasingly rely on digital surveillance tools — including massive commercial databases — to detain hundreds of people across the state (The Oregonian).
Sollman opponent: An experienced Oregon education specialist whose sister serves in the Oregon House is seeking to unseat one of the most influential moderate Democrats in the Senate. Education consultant Myrna Muñoz, related to Rep. Lesly Muñoz, D-Woodburn, announced on social media that she’ll run in the Democratic primary Oregon’s 15th Senate District, challenging Sen. Janeen Sollman, D-Hillsboro (Oregon Capital Chronicle).
Rep. Greg Smith: A second Republican group has called on state Rep. Greg Smith to resign over ethical lapses. The Sherman County Republican Central Committee issued its call on Feb. 9, reporting a unanimous vote by 10 members (Salem Reporter).
Check Out OBI’s Member Benefits
OBI offers members a range of programs that can save money or help small businesses offer benefits normally available only to much larger companies. Benefit programs include:
- HealthChoice: Helps businesses with fewer than 100 employees offer comprehensive health-care benefits through our partnership with Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon.
- Partners Retirement Plan: Allows multiple employers to offer a 401(k) benefit to employees through a group structure while maintaining individual company design and control over the benefit – such as eligibility, employer match, and vesting.
- CompSAFE: Helps eligible companies enjoy workers’ compensation discounts through SAIF Corporation.
- Fuel Program: Helps members save fuel costs through our partnership with Ed Staub & Sons.
- LegalPLUS: OBI members receive 15 minutes of free legal consulting per month from Innova Legal Advisors.
Go here to learn about all of OBI’s member benefits.