For Baby Strollers, There's No Way Around China Tariffs
Being an expectant parent has always come with a large helping of anxiety. Now, there is a fresh addition to the list of worries: tariffs on Chinese-made goods that are causing the price of big-ticket baby items such as strollers and cribs to surge.
Rayne Heath, a tech worker in Columbus, Ohio, who is six months pregnant with her first child, planned to wait until after her baby shower to buy a stroller. She was eyeing a Nuna model, with a height-adjustable handle and a car seat. The price: $1,200.
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Business Insider
15 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Global logistics giant bets big on African and Middle Eastern markets with €500m investment
DHL Group plans to invest around €500 million ($575 million) in healthcare infrastructure across Africa and the Middle East over the next five years. DHL plans to invest €500 million in healthcare infrastructure in Africa and the Middle East over the next five years. The investments aim to address growing demand for pharmaceutical logistics and involve key hubs in South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia. Focus areas include high-value, time-sensitive shipments like vaccines and stem cells, and ensuring product traceability. DHL Group plans to invest around €500 million ($575 million) in healthcare infrastructure across Africa and the Middle East over the next five years. The move is part of efforts to tap into growing demand, driven in part by China's expanding presence in the region, according to Bloomberg. Annette Naude, DHL's head of healthcare for Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), said the logistics giant sees strong growth potential in Africa, with a focus on high-value, time-sensitive shipments such as vaccines, stem cells, and cryogenic materials. 'We see America has come in and cut costs, but we do see other countries coming to the forefront and filling those gaps,' said Naude. 'I went to China and met with several investors who are going to make investments on the African continent. Chinese investment in the region is really big.' Africa, the world's fastest-growing continent by population, is witnessing a sharp rise in demand for pharmaceutical products. According to Grand View Research, the continent's pharmaceutical market is projected to generate $33.8 billion in revenue by 2030. Focus on healthcare As part of its strategy to tap into this growth, DHL is directing about 25% of its €2 billion global healthcare investment toward Africa and the Middle East, roughly €500 million over the next five years, said Annette Naude, head of DHL's EMEA healthcare division. The logistics giant's regional healthcare operations span warehousing, packaging, and supply-chain management, with key hubs in South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia. A major focus for DHL is ensuring that medical products, especially drugs and devices, are properly tracked from production to delivery. 'We've built specialized warehouses that support ultra-cold shipments and allow for product serialization,' Naude explained, underscoring the company's commitment to safety and traceability in the health-care supply chain. 'When a doctor issues medicine at the bedside of a patient he has to trust and rely on the network that medicine has been transported through,' Naude said. While tackling entrenched diseases like malaria remains a priority, Africa is also facing new healthcare challenges, said Annette Naude, DHL's head of healthcare for EMEA. One emerging trend is the growing demand for advanced insulin therapies from China, driven by their ease of use and longer-acting formulas that reduce the frequency of injections, a factor appealing to many governments across the continent. Naude also highlighted a recent collaboration between China and DHL to establish a medical devices facility in Kenya. The plant now exports equipment to markets in the Middle East and Europe, showing Africa's rising role in global health supply chains.
Buzz Feed
an hour ago
- Buzz Feed
Small American Business Owners Are Sharing How Tariffs Are Affecting Them
When tariffs on Chinese goods spiked dramatically — peaking at over 100% in some cases before recent reductions — small business owners across America found themselves facing an impossible math problem. From toy designers to computer repair shops, countless entrepreneurs discovered that products they depend on — and that simply aren't made anywhere else — suddenly became prohibitively expensive. When u/toymakerinchina, a manufacturer of indoor playground equipment, asked how US small businesses were handling these dramatic tariff increases, the responses painted a sobering picture of an economy under strain: "Honestly, they're not able to cope. I know two people in separate small businesses in this situation who were running the numbers at 104% yesterday. They're already in a place with not-high margins. They also have to get their product out to distributors and on to end consumers, and there is a markup at each step. They're trying to increase direct-to-consumer sales to get a bit more efficient, but that's really hard. It's more likely they'll go bankrupt unless things get fixed fast. There aren't any American alternatives for the imported supply, and there won't be in the future. They're doomed to fail." "I have a computer repair shop. Literally everything computer-related is made in China, with few exceptions — Taiwan and Mexico, sometimes. New computers are about to get real expensive. This will either surge my business, in which case we'll just lower our margin on parts and maintain labor cost, or people are going to pay out the nose for new computers." "I've just had to place an order for $80,000 worth of equipment to be produced. Specialized gear only made in China. The budget was around $110,000 total. Now maybe $150,000. It will hurt if this level — or worse — is in place when it's ready to be shipped. It will take about three months to fabricate it all. I don't know if I have any way to mitigate this." "Our selling prices are going way up. Our sales volume will suffer because our poorest customers won't be able to afford our product. It's an item for people with disabilities. It's sad." "My sister designs plush toys and runs her own business. She's a small operation, but it's been her full-time gig for almost 10 years. On average, her orders are around 2,000 to 5,000 toys at a time. Her latest order was flat-out cancelled by the supplier. She's completely screwed. There simply isn't a viable alternative company that isn't based in China." "The previous steel and aluminum tariffs from the pandemic were rough. This is on another level. I don't think most people understand how screwed we are. Currently, my suppliers are trying to raise prices slowly. They're playing chicken with each other. They know they can't raise everything overnight, as they're also competing with other suppliers, and they still need to move product in order to maintain cash flow. I've been hoarding lots of inventory in preparation, but how long will it take to move that product if the economy is slow due to overall inflation? Our costs are just one aspect of being in business. If our customers are squeezed from every direction by tariffs on everything, then they don't have cash to purchase things from us. Then toss in some idiotic DOGE nonsense, where you eliminate millions of people from viable employment." "I'm about to close shop after doing it as my exclusive job for 10 years. It's screwed." "I have a $48,000 order that I placed two days ago just before the latest China tariff increase. Haven't paid the deposit yet, and now reassessing the move. Considering 1) reducing the order size just to not have such a large bill come due in two to three months and start seeking other suppliers in lower-tariffed countries or the US — although I would expect that even if we found a US manufacturer, the price would work out to be the same if not higher; 2) keep the order, but start adding a tariff fee to invoices now; 3) do nothing and hope the jerk in charge changes this move before the goods hit customs. We've already negotiated a lower price with our supplier, so not much else to be done there. We just raised our prices for the first time in three years to finally pass along some of the cost increases we've incurred in that time. It looked like we'd finally improve our margins over where they've been the last few years. And now this." "My family runs a restaurant. If our prices for takeout containers and other small disposables skyrocket, we're going to put some behind a price instead of giving them out for free. Currently, a large takeout foam container is 20 cents. If it hits 40 cents or more, we will tack on a 25-to-50-cent fee depending on just how high it actually goes. Please, everyone, understand that a small mom-and-pop style restaurant only runs 3% to 6% pure profit if that — right now, we are at about 4%." "My partner had a bunch of inventory on hand pre-tariff so he's just selling that and not ordering anything for now. And he raised prices because he can. He's pointing out that price increases are due to tariffs to educate his red-leaning customers on what they voted for." "Our wholesale will probably shut down after the last of our inventory is sold. It was a good run of 10 years but the Chinese tariffs will make continuing business impossible." "I am a small business owner — I create medieval and costume artistic wigs from wig bases made in China. I will pass the tariff on to the customer as I have no other choice. The US will never make what I need, and other countries making wigs don't come even close to the quality of wigs that China makes, not to mention the trust I have with my years-long suppliers and whatnot. I have no solution because I feel like even if we find loopholes, they can be 'plugged' overnight by the Trump administration. I wish I could include the sum of what my customer pays on tariffs in my pricing separately. That's not going to happen, I know. I will have way fewer customers, lose competitiveness on international markets, and will have to start a second business on the side. I see all this as very pessimistic and feel sorry for all of us affected in the US as well as China." "We're exhausted. We're exhausted from running the numbers, coming up with a barely workable solution, only to have the goal posts moved and that solution obliterated again and again and again. My entire industry is imploding. Yesterday, my company laid off the entire team except for the founder, who is still trying to pivot and find yet another workable solution in hopes he can bring us all back before we find other, more permanent placements." "I have a couple retail stores, and I've received calls from multiple wholesale companies saying many items will get 20% to 50% price increases. This was before China's retaliatory tariff increase. I just won't stock any items that have increased by 50%, other than extreme cases. Any items that I continue to stock will get price increases slower than how much they got increased by tariffs. It's so that customers won't notice the sudden sharp increase in price and leave my business with a sour taste. I will eventually increase it to match the same profit margin in the end, but I will do it slowly, even if it eats away my profit in the short term, to stay competitive. If this tariff war continues, I would assume many retail stores in my industry, maybe even I, won't be able to stay afloat and will go out of business. My hope is that I can outlast the competition while this tariff craze is going on. I just hope I don't have to let go of my employees." "The tariffs pose a huge threat to my business. I have an art business in the US, and I print my artwork on various art and stationery products. All of my stationery is manufactured in either Canada or China. I also print on various specialty papers that are only manufactured outside of the US. I have done some preparation by buying a year's worth of supplies to continue printing some of my own products, but I will have to discontinue many of my items for the foreseeable future. I am a small business and can't afford to buy products at such high markups. If these tariffs last long, I will be forced to close my business. I am already preparing by looking for a part-time job to supplement the loss of income this will be for me. Plus, my customer base is not wealthy people. Even if I had the savings to afford 104% tariffs, my customers would not." "Many of my materials are imported because US manufacturers charge almost 90% more for a similar sheet of material. So now my competitors and I will have to pay more for the product. Then we will mark it up the same percentage. $50 with a 100% markup meant I sold it for $100, and the company earned $50. Now it's $75 per sheet, and I mark it up to $150, and the company makes $75. We're more profitable. Sure, we may lose a few sales here or there because people can no longer afford to buy a sign for their business or housing development, but during COVID when scarcity drove prices up, we never ended up in a worse position, so I doubt we will here since people need our products, just as I'm sure people need your products." Are you a small business owner dealing with the impact of tariffs, or do you have thoughts on how these policies are affecting the economy? Whether you've witnessed these challenges firsthand, have ideas for solutions, or simply want to share your perspective on what this means for American businesses, drop your thoughts in the comments — or anonymous form — below. Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity.
CNBC
an hour ago
- CNBC
China market rally and Hang Seng bull run are supported by fundamentals and sentiment: CIO
Jason Hsu, CIO of Rayliant Global Advisors says that some of the market's uncertainties around the Trump tariffs are starting to wane and that he would continue to buy the dips in the Chinese markets as negative sentiment surrounding the market continues to be "peeled away".
