Prices for common baby items are rising due to Trump's tariffs, congressional analysis says

NBC News

a day ago

The cost of some baby gear has risen in recent weeks due to President Donald Trump's tariff policies, according to a new congressional report.
The cost of five common items bought for babies has increased 24%, or by $98 combined, between April 1 — the day before Trump's sweeping April 2 tariff announcement — and June 9, according to the analysis by the Joint Economic Committee's minority arm.
The analysis tracked the prices of five popular baby gear categories: car seats, bassinets, strollers, high chairs and baby monitors. It leaned on data from baby registry website Babylist.
'New parents already have their budgets stretched thin by all the products that they have to buy for their child — the last thing they need is a new tax on babies created by President Trump,' said Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., ranking member of the committee, in a media release.
The findings come as companies grapple with Trump's ever-changing tariff policies. Some have said they will work to mitigate the impact of the levies and offset the costs to consumers, meanwhile, others, including Best Buy and Costco, have said they already raised some prices. Walmart and Target said they plan to hike prices on some items.
Baby gear sold in the U.S. is specifically at risk of tariff impact because 97% of strollers and 87% of car seats are manufactured in China, according to Babylist.
The committee's report tracked the prices of the most popular Amazon listings for products from five of Babylist's categories of baby goods. The Amazon bestsellers included items from brands Graco, AirClub, Summer by Ingenuity, Evenflo and HelloBaby. The report measured the price increases over time using the price-checking websites Keepa.com and Camelcamelcamel.com.
Of the five items studied, the Graco car seat saw the highest price increase. The Graco SnugRide Lite LX Infant Car Seat got 44.8% more expensive over the measured time period. Prices for the other products that were reviewed rose between 10% and 30%.
A spokesperson for Graco owner Newell Brands told CNBC in a statement that the report appears to have started collecting data on the Graco car seat during a period when retailers were running a promotion.
The spokesperson said the car seat was on sale on April 1, so the price was hiked by about $20, not by $43, as suggested in the report.
Executives from Newell said during an April 30 earnings call that the company had raised prices on its baby gear by about 20%. The company said at the time it was equipped to handle Trump's tariffs, excluding hypothetical further hikes on imports from China.
A broader Babylist analysis of 11 categories, including products like bouncers and diaper bags, found that costs increased by an average of $400 combined between March 10 and June 3. Those higher prices for new parent households in the U.S. amounts to $875.2 million in total additional costs, according to the analysis and based on data from the American Community Survey.
The study found particular risk for parents in California, with parents in that state collectively facing a potential $100.3 million in additional baby costs this year. That was followed by Texas at $85.3 million, Florida at $48.5 million and New York at $48.4 million, according to the report.
'Just in the last two months, the tariffs have made things even more difficult for new parents, forcing them to shoulder higher prices for car seats and other items that they absolutely need to keep their babies safe,' Hassan said in a statement to CNBC. 'And the tariffs are already forcing some businesses to choose between laying off workers, raising prices for customers, or closing altogether.'