Montana is expected to be acutely affected by tariff uncertainty into 2026 with an economic slowdown likely on the horizon, a top state economist reported Thursday.

“Probably the biggest issue with the tariffs right now is this volatility,” Dr. Jeffery Michael, director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana, said at the 2025 Midyear Economic Update at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kalispell.

According to Michael, damages to the U.S. economy brought by tariffs have been overstated, “However it’s also my view that they’re somewhat more damaging to Montana than they are to the economy as a whole."

Montana’s robust construction sector is expected to be hit the hardest, he added, because builders rely on sourcing materials globally.

“It’s sort of a cost sit

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