Beaverton's biggest employer faced a $1.5 billion annualized tariff bill last year. Nike has since recovered most of it, but the broader damage to Oregon businesses is piling up.

A state economists' report released Monday, Aug. 3, puts hard numbers on the toll: Oregon importers paid $2.89 billion in tariffs between March and December 2025, exports fell 17.3% (a $5.8 billion decline), and the state missed an estimated $442 million in tax revenue, according to OregonLive.

The report, produced at Gov. Tina Kotek's request by the Office of Economic Analysis, Oregon Employment Department, and Business Oregon, surveyed 870 businesses statewide. More than half reported higher costs because of tariffs.

"Changing tariff rates have upended supply chains, stoked price pressures, and impaired business confidence," state chief economist Carl Riccadonna said in the report's release. "The expected benefits — such as bringing supply chains back to the U.S. and boosting related employment — have not materialized in a measurable way."

Nike's tariff whiplash

Nike disclosed a $1.5 billion annualized tariff bill in September 2025. The company then booked a $986 million refund tied to the expected recovery of International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs in its fiscal fourth quarter ended May 31, 2026, according to Nike's earnings release.

That one-time refund added roughly 900 basis points to Nike's quarterly gross margin, lifting it to 49.2%, and contributed $0.52 to diluted earnings per share of $0.72. Without it, Nike would have earned $0.20 per share for the quarter.

The state report calculated tariffs paid on goods imported into Oregon, not tariffs paid by companies headquartered here. That means Nike's $1.5 billion bill is separate from the $2.89 billion statewide figure.

CEO Elliott Hill acknowledged on Nike's Tuesday, June 30 earnings call that "overall, the results aren't there yet," though the company reported double-digit growth in its running category for five consecutive quarters. Nike has scheduled an investor day for Nov. 16–17, its first since 2017.

Small businesses absorbing costs

The report found Oregon has performed worse than other trade-dependent states since April 2025 in economic and employment growth. For smaller companies without Nike's scale, the cost squeeze has meant delayed hiring and thinner margins.

Hood River Distillers, a privately owned Oregon spirits company, paid higher prices for bottles in 2025 due to tariffs and had to absorb the costs rather than pass them to customers. That delayed adding new employees, CFO Erica Mitchell said.

AG files third tariff lawsuit

The same day the report dropped, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York, joining 24 other states in challenging the Trump administration's latest Section 301 forced-labor tariffs of 10–12.5% on goods from more than 60 trading partners.

The states argue the new tariffs were a pretext to replace earlier IEEPA tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court in February 2026. Rayfield's office has already won tariff cases at the Supreme Court and the Court of International Trade.

"We're all paying the price for these unlawful tariffs, not foreign governments," Rayfield said Monday.

Separately, the administration imposed a 50% import tax on most Canadian goods. Canada is Oregon's fourth-largest export market, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Nike's investor day on Nov. 16–17 will be the next window into how the company plans to navigate tariff uncertainty heading into fiscal 2027.