Hawaii lives on a knife’s edge. It is an island state in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that depends almost entirely on imports.

The University of Hawaii at Hilo estimates the state imports 85 to 90 percent of its food. Hawaii Business Magazine reports that more than half of its oil comes from countries as far away as Russia and Libya. The Observatory of Economic Complexity notes that China exports $206 million in consumer goods, machinery and electronics to Hawaii.

If shipping stopped, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency estimates Hawaii could only feed its population for about a week. The other 49 states rarely confront this reality because they sit on a continent with farmland, resources and infrastructure to endure disruptions.

Hawaii’s geographic isolation doesn’t just increase dependence on imports, it magnifies the harm of federal policies like tariffs and the

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