Small-business confidence has been sliding nationwide, and across Nebraska — home to over 181,000 small businesses making up 99% of all employers in the state — the reason is not hard to find. Tariffs have turned an already tough operating environment into a guessing game.
I am proud to call myself a small-business owner. My favorite part of the job is serving customers well while growing steadily and employing Nebraskans. But when input costs jump overnight and supply chains scramble, my job suddenly becomes harder. Unlike bigger companies, I can’t shrug off price hikes on key components or easily switch suppliers across continents. My only options are bad ones: Eat the cost and stall growth, or raise prices and lose the customers whose trust I’ve earned.
The impact is already showing up on the ground. Nebraska’s manufacturing exports fell 12.6% in the first nine months of 2025, and our state’s economy has been lackluster. Corn, one of Nebraska’s most important commodities and a crop worth more than $8 billion a year, is found in the crosshairs, and farmers, manufacturers, and Main Street shops are all paying the price.
I’m all for trade that’s fair and supports domestic industries. But what we have now is chaos, not a strategy. Nebraska’s small businesses deserve predictability, not trade policies that change by whim. I hope our congressional delegation in Washington will push for a course correction that protects our state economy and Nebraskan jobs.
This article was originally published in Omaha World-Herald on August 12.