Hickenlooper: “We’re sustaining losses here that are needless, and they’re going to be long lasting, and they affect every aspect of our country.”
WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper recently chaired a field hearing of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee in Denver to underline the strain the outdoor recreation industry is facing under the Trump administration’s chaotic tariffs.
Watch the full field hearing HERE
During the hearing, Hickenlooper emphasized that the Trump administration’s blanket tariffs are disproportionally hurting working people across the country:
“Certainly, the people that are going to elegant dinners in Mar-a-Lago or anywhere, this isn’t as much of an issue for them,” Hickenlooper said at the hearing. “But many small businesses are really caught up in this storm and struggling to survive.”
Hickenlooper was joined by witnesses representing three Colorado outdoor recreation businesses including Travis Campbell, the owner and CEO of Eagle Creek, an adventure travel gear company based in Steamboat Springs; Mike Mojica, the Founder of Outdoor Element, an adventure gear company based in Englewood; and Trent Bush, Founder and Co-CEO of ARTILECT Studio, a performance apparel studio based in Boulder.
“In our 50th year of operations we could be possibly put out of business through these ill-conceived tariff plans,” said Campbell. “Eagle Creek immediately took dramatic steps to stay afloat. We froze salary increases that we had just implemented to our teams, we halted the hiring of two exceptional new people that we planned to bring on board, we cut spending across the board…”
“We just came off our best year ever. And then, a couple months ago happened. Overnight, tariffs on our core products jumped to 145%…What I thought was an approachable path to the American dream has suddenly turned into quicksand,” said Mojica. “We had to pause production — tell factories to hold the goods and not ship them…I’ve lost a wholesale account, I had to lay off team members, I’ve asked others to work less hours…”
“I held on to producing in the U.S. as long as I possibly could. And I feel I’ve done everything I was asked to do since, including moving production out of China six years ago,” said Bush. “Now even those staggering high tariffs outside China may force my business to close. This just isn’t the American dream I’ve believed in and I’ve tried so hard over all those years to achieve.”
Check out the coverage below:
Colorado Sun: Colorado outdoor companies limping through uncertainty in trade war
Hickenlooper’s committee hearing — held at History Colorado and titled “Beyond the Trailhead: Supporting Outdoor Recreation in an Uncertain Economy” — included Mike Mojica, the founder and CEO of Outdoor Element, which designs adventure survival equipment in Englewood, and outdoor apparel veteran Trent Bush, the founder and co-CEO the new Artilect Studio in Boulder.
Mojica, a mechanical engineer who fine-tuned his survival gear business in theMoosejaw Business Accelerator program in 2022, said his company posted a record year in 2024.
“What I thought was a path to the American dream has become quicksand,” he said of tariffs that have forced him to sell his gear for zero profit. “Trade policy is supposed to provide business with the certainty we need to make long-term decisions and right now that certainty is missing. I’m no longer trying to thrive. I’m trying to survive.”
AXIOS Denver: Colorado’s outdoor industry suffering from trade war
Travis Campbell shelled out an additional $580,000. Mike Mojica raised prices and laid off workers. Trent Bush is worried he may go out of business.
What they’re saying: “When you add that all up, the [impacts of tariffs] mean lower wages, fewer jobs and less spending in the economy,” Campbell said at a congressional hearing Friday in Denver hosted by U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper. “I don’t think that’s what we’re aiming for.”
E&E News: Outdoor recreation field hearing to focus on tariff impacts
The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee will hold a hearing in Colorado on Friday focused on the outdoor recreation economy in tough times.
Titled “Beyond the Trailhead: Supporting Outdoor Recreation in an Uncertain Economy,” the hearing will focus on ways Congress can support the outdoor recreation industry, which is valued at more than $1 trillion and has grown significantly since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The field hearing, hosted by Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), will hear testimony from three outdoor recreation retailers that have been saddled by the Trump administration’s tariff regime.
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