Fireworks on the Fourth of July are about as American as the sound of a line drive off a wooden bat, the tart taste of sliced Granny Smith apples complimented by cinnamon and sugar in a homemade pie and the American flag softly waving next to the porch swing. It’s hard to imagine the holiday without them. But as the country begins to plan for the huge 250th anniversary celebration in 2026, Chris Good has been on a roller coaster of emotions.

To have everything needed for Independence Day celebration sales for 2026, Good needs to order his shipments in the next couple months. More than ever, due to tariffs on Chinese products, Good is concerned about prices. He had ordered five giant cargo containers of fireworks earlier this year, but then paused the purchases in April due to tariffs on his purchases would have cost 152% of the order.

“We make our order in July or August of the previous year, and then after you order it they build it all year long, because China doesn’t have what you think of as warehousing like this. They build it and ship it as they make it,” he said. “I’ve talked to Sen. (John) Barrasso a couple of times because he’s in Trump’s ear. And I support what’s going on, for sure, but when it hits you in the pocketbook, it’s personal.”

If Good had to pay 152% tariffs on his 2026 order and then the two countries came to an agreement (like the recent pause or the reduction of tariffs down to 30%) after the shipments arrived, he could lose his shorts trying to compete with other companies that either had more “old-rate” stock or somehow were able to time purchases at more advantageous rates.

“We typically move about maybe 20,000 cases of fireworks a year out of here to our own stores, plus the people we wholesale to as well,” he said, adding that business is expanding around the country. “We go clear down into Missouri with some of the products.”

However, according to the National Fireworks Association, while the reciprocal tariffs on all goods from China — including consumer and display fireworks — has been temporarily paused for 90 days, the fireworks industry remains in a highly fragile state.

“We urge you to support the industry by reaching out to your elected officials,” the association told their customers. “We must act swiftly and decisively. The livelihoods of thousands of Americans and the future of the fireworks industry depend on it.”

Now, after some negotiation between the two superpowers, the tariffs stand at about 37% for the owner of Pyrotech Professionals, the area’s largest display fireworks company, and Western Pyro Enterprises, a consumer fireworks and import company. The business is the home of Cowboy Brand, its own line of fireworks.

While Good supports the Trump administration, his business was more profitable under the 19% import fees he paid prior to the last election cycle. The margins for his businesses are thin. It would be impossible for Good to eat the nearly 20% increase (as of May 22) and still make payroll. With three stores in Powell alone (including the new Cowboy Country Fireworks on Mountain View run by his son and son-in-law), the stress is building as Good plans for 2026’s huge celebration.

Luckily, July 4 falls on a Saturday next year. But not so lucky, tariffs won’t only affect fireworks. There are many area businesses that are having to make important decisions in the near future.

Price hikes likely

Big box stores and national retailers have been warning customers of their need to raise prices. Walmart is one of the latest corporations to warn that select goods could soon cost more, an announcement resulting in anger from the Trump administration. Trump lambasted the world’s largest retailer and the largest independent employer in the U.S. on Truth Social on May 17, accusing Walmart of unfairly blaming tariffs for their price increases and commanding them to “eat the tariffs.”

While Park County doesn’t have many big box stores besides Walmart, the number of 11-county vehicles heading north to Billings is evident most weekends. Shopping at the majority of the national retailers will cost more soon, according to the Allianz Group, one of the leading integrated financial services providers worldwide.

“Sweeping import tariffs recently announced by the U.S. government have sent shockwaves across the world and disrupted an already volatile global economy,” the company said in an April report. “This change in approach means many nations will be impacted by a new baseline 10% tariff on goods sold in the U.S., while other economies, such as the European Union and China, will be subjected to even higher rates.”

“Monthly business surveys … do indicate that companies will eventually pass on most of the tariff increases by the summer,” he said.

Everything from clothing, food and toys to new vehicles and auto parts will be affected, the company said in its report.

To take some of the worry out of the effect of tariffs on the auto industry, Fremont Motors General Manager Mike Hobbs suggests those thinking of buying a new vehicle lock in at current prices. Not wanting to second guess what will happen in the industry due to the erratic financial situation, he said today is always the best day to buy when shopping for commodities.

“Everything that is a commodity increases in price over time. So right now is always the best time to buy,” he said. “There are a lot of changes that may or may not be coming our way. However, we are going to adapt with them as they happen.”

The Trump administration’s plan to place tariffs on imported automobiles is causing uncertainty among carmakers and is unlikely to force swift changes on an industry with deeply complex supply chains, said Wharton management professor John Paul MacDuffie, who is director of the school’s Program on Vehicle and Mobility Innovation.

Auto industry

A 25% tariff on imported autos is expected to begin this week, adding to a 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum that the administration implemented in March. The levies are intended to bring manufacturing back to the United States, but MacDuffie doesn’t see that happening quickly.

“If [automakers are] going to be making decisions about where to source stuff, much less where to build future plants, they need some certainty and some time frames that match the general clock speed of their industry,” he said recently on the Wharton Business Daily podcast. “The uncertainty is paralyzing for the industry, for sure.”

Auto manufacturing requires a multiyear planning process with supply chains that crisscross the globe. American automakers source about 45% of parts from Mexico and about 10% from Canada. Japanese, Korean, and German automakers with plants in the U.S. also source from Canada and Mexico.

“Everyone who builds cars in the U.S. is going to be taking a hit from this, but it definitely hurts the American manufacturers,” MacDuffie said. “In the short term, they’re probably frantically stockpiling inventory so they’re not dealing immediately with how the tariffs affect their costs.”

As for parts needed to repair used vehicles, The Automotive Service Association warns tariffs will force auto parts retailers, distributors, and even domestic parts manufacturers to make tough choices.

“Some [service departments] may choose to absorb the tariff costs to keep the price unchanged for their customers. This course of action is unlikely. More likely, they will pass the cost on to their customers,” the association said in a press release earlier this month.

Service departments could also opt to source the parts from different producers who are subject to lower tariffs, or even no tariffs. But, in all likelihood, this decision would still lead to higher prices for customers because these new sources no longer have to compete with cheaper alternatives. At the same time, retaliatory tariffs imposed by China, Canada, and Mexico on American exports could reduce American parts manufacturers’ access to those countries’ markets.

Hobbs and Fremont Motors, which has been in Powell for close to a quarter-century, have been through adverse times before and will survive this time of uncertainty as well, Hobbs said.

“The difficulty is that [costs] change — it ebbs and flows continually and constantly, as part of the theory behind the madness. But at the end of the day, I really think that the best policy for a consumer is what you know right now,” he said.

Manufacturing

The theory of tariffs, according to the Trump administration, is to bring back manufacturing to the U.S. Yet, manufacturing companies are also affected by tariffs due to sources for raw materials and, when competing with countries with lower wage expectations.

A new report from Wells Fargo analysts is forecasting that bringing back offshored manufacturing jobs will be an “uphill battle.” The report attributes the potentially low factory job growth largely to high labor costs.

“Higher prices and policy uncertainty may weigh on firms’ ability and willingness to expand payrolls,” the report suggested. “An aim of tariffs is to spur a durable rebound in U.S. manufacturing employment,” Wells Fargo analysts wrote in the report. “However, a meaningful increase in factory jobs does not appear likely in the foreseeable future, in our view.”

At Production Machine in Powell — seemingly the kind of manufacturing business the theory of tariffs seeks to protect — company President Tate McCoy said the increased cost of raw materials due to tariffs will hurt, but “It’s a double-edged sword,” he said.

“I like the sound of reciprocal trade, and if things are made equal, and the competitors — importers — have to compete on the same level as American producers. I’m all about America, but it’s not equal,” he said. “It’s a start, you know, but it’s not quite that simple in my opinion,” he said. “I have a hard time seeing where that’s even possible because of our high salaries.”

That said, Production Machine has thrived in Powell for more than 50 years and McCoy thrives to give his customers the best price possible.

“I try to buy American when I can, and I’m trying to move that direction, but in order to stay competitive, I sell what the customers are asking for,” he said.

At the end of the process, McCoy is proud that company employees are taking their wages and spending them in local communities.