Dem
47
GOP
53
In the original 1957 version of the Dr. Seuss book, the Grinch stole a town's Christmas presents, but later repented and gave them back. In this year's version, Donald J. Grinch may not give them back.
The problem is that 75% of all the toys sold in the U.S. are made in China, and are about to go up in price by 145%. Supply chains are long and complicated, and large retailers have to start making decisions about what to buy for Christmas shopping (which starts in November) now. The tariff is paid when the products actually arrive and that won't be for a few months.
That said, if a toy that used to sell for $20 will now have to be sold for $49 to cover the 145% tariff, the store has to place an order based on its best guess on how many can be sold at that price. To avoid getting stuck with merchandise it can't sell at the price it has to charge to cover the tariff, the store will probably order fewer items. This could mean that popular items sell out by Dec. 1, even if the tariffs go down, unless that happens fairly quickly. If toy companies in China produce fewer items due to smaller orders, at a certain point we will have passed the point of no return. The point of no return may vary depending on how fast a particular toy manufacturer can handle an emergency order for another 100,000 units.
Could toys be made in America? In the long run, maybe, but not before Nov. 2025. The Chinese companies have very well-tuned supply chains for molds, dyes, labor, and safety techniques that can't be reproduced in the U.S. quickly. And even if they could, the end products would cost more, maybe even more than the Chinese products with the tariffs.
In short, for a lot of kids, especially poor ones whose parents cannot afford $20 for the cheapest Barbie doll, Christmas this year could be quite Grinchy. (V)