Utah's defense industry finds opportunity amid tariff uncertainty

SALT LAKE CITY — Former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson replaced former Rep. Chris Stewart as chairman of Utah's defense and aerospace association earlier this month as huge shifts in American foreign policy present challenges and opportunities for the quickly growing industries.

Wilson, who ran for U.S. Senate in 2024, was announced as chair of 47G on April 22. Wilson's predecessor had held the volunteer position for less than two years, beginning just after he resigned from Congress and shortly before the Utah Aerospace and Defense Association was rebranded as 47G.

As chair, Wilson said he will prioritize maintaining open communication between Washington, D.C., state officials and industry leaders to help 47G's 174 member businesses navigate "the uncertainty around tariffs" and take advantage of the Trump administration's renewed focus on domestic manufacturing.

"There's no doubt this current emphasis and interest in ensuring that our defense and aerospace industries are as independent as possible, and are as U.S.-based as possible, provides opportunity for us," Wilson said in a Deseret News interview. "But I think we have a lot to still sort out."

An opportunity for Utah industries

There is consensus that President Donald Trump's goals of shortening international supply chains, decoupling manufacturing from foreign adversaries and revamping domestic production is important for national security, according to Aaron Starks, the CEO and president of 47G.

"Everyone agrees with that," Starks said.

The Trump administration has begun to implement a series of executive orders that work toward these goals.

Starks highlighted an order from April 15 that requires federal agencies to streamline the procurement process for businesses to secure government contracts. New technology takes several years to introduce into the Department of Defense because of "red tape," Starks said.

Members of 47G, which merged with Utah's Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Initiative in 2024, may also benefit from Trump's move to create an energy dominance council to oversee critical mineral permitting reform and to fast-track critical mineral projects.

47G has already entered into conversations with the Department of Defense and affiliated agencies about Utah's readiness to fill critical mineral gaps, Starks said.

Since December, China has announced export bans on more than a dozen of the 50 critical minerals that are deemed essential to national defense. China is the dominant producer of many of these and the only source for several materials necessary for advanced technologies.

In an interview with the Deseret News, Stewart, a former U.S. Air Force pilot, said the U.S. needs to become less dependent on China for pharmaceuticals, computer chips, drones and critical minerals, even if the economic effects of tariffs do end up being "a wash."

"We still need to do this," Stewart said. "It's just foolishness to put ourselves where an industry such as aerospace and defense is reliant on a foreign adversary who, at a moment of conflict, is going to cut off all that supply to us."

Stewart said he believes that "the Trump policy is going to drive innovation and manufacturing here to the U.S." and that Utah could be ready to pick up some of the slack that comes from a trade war with China as companies find it more profitable to expand their processes in the U.S.

One international survey found that Utah is the best place in the world for mining investment. The state is home to 40 of 50 critical minerals. It already produces five of them and could potentially produce eight more if the U.S. government can assure Utah companies that it will be a "firm buyer," Starks said.

"We're open for business," Starks said. "This is the time; we're leaning in."

Concerns about Trump's foreign policy

However, without a more concrete idea of where Trump's foreign policy is going, many of these plans will remain in limbo, Starks said.

Since entering office, Trump has announced a worldwide 10% tariff, coupled with 145% tariffs on Chinese goods, temporarily paused reciprocal tariffs on other top trading partners, and targeted tariffs on steel, aluminum and cars.

This disruption has introduced a huge dose of uncertainty into markets, Starks said, causing capital to run, encouraging customers to hold on to their cash and leaving many Utah manufacturers unsure of what's coming next.

"Right now, they are worried," Starks said. "And they will continue to worry until a firm baseline is established."

Trump's effort to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war will also have a significant impact on Utah's defense industry.

Trump has repeatedly called for a rapid end to the war that would include territorial concessions by Ukraine. On Sunday, Trump suggested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could give up Crimea if Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a deal.

"We've invested billions into Ukraine to help them protect their country," Starks said. "If we then give up Crimea after having spent billions and settle with Putin, and he ultimately gets what he wants, which was Crimea, then that was a waste of money."

A mutually beneficial deal would look more like previous proposals, Starks said, that depended on Russia backing off and would guarantee continued U.S. support if the U.S. can extract rare earth elements from Ukraine.

It is important to be fiscally responsible, Starks said, but he believes that spending less than 1% of the U.S. defense budget to wear down one of the strongest militaries in the world has been a good investment.

Congressionally approved aid to Ukraine has often returned to U.S. businesses, Starks pointed out, including $150 million in sales from Utah businesses to Ukraine since the outbreak of the war.

Looking to Utah's future

The companies represented by 47G, which include Northrop Grumman, Rio Tinto and Raytheon, have a disproportionate impact on the Beehive State's economy.

Utah's aerospace, defense and space exploration industry is the fastest-growing in the country, accounting for nearly 20% of the state's economic activity, $100 billion in annual revenues and over 500,000 jobs, according to a recent industry analysis by the Economic Development Corporation of Utah.

Read the entire story at Deseret.com.

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