Normally, the production of Christmas goods would be well under way by now. But thanks to Trump’s tariffs, orders are being frozen, shortages and higher prices are probably on the way and some businesses are preparing to go under altogether, The New York Times reported.
Mr. Trump’s 145 percent tariffs have caused a drastic markup in costs for American companies. Most of the entrepreneurs that have shared their plans with The New York Times have not yet canceled their orders. They hope that the president will back away from the tariff brinkmanship.
But the alarm in the industry is palpable, with the companies predicting product shortages and higher prices. Some business owners, citing how crucial holiday sales are to their bottom lines, are consulting bankruptcy lawyers.
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In a Toy Association survey of 410 toy manufacturers with annual sales of less than $100 million, more than 60 percent said they had canceled orders, and around 50 percent said they would go out of business within weeks or months if the tariffs remained.
Susie Madrak has already written about product shortages already on the way, thanks to the “great businessman” in the Oval Office. But even if Trump provides tariff relief tomorrow, that will probably not be enough to save Christmas for many, if not most Americans.
More from The Times:
But even if Mr. Trump grants importers temporary relief, significant disruptions will occur as companies rush to fulfill orders. Shipping costs are expected to surge, similar to the frenzy during the Covid pandemic, when a shortage of shipping containers led in some cases to a tenfold increase in freight prices.
Remember when Fox News claimed Donald Trump saved Christmas from the Woke War? There was never any war on Christmas and they all knew it. But don’t expect to hear about the real war now. That is, unless they can blame Joe Biden or some other Democrat.