First-year baby expenses already top $20,000, and tariffs are adding to the bill as China dominates key imports

Yahoo

06-05-2025

America's overwhelming reliance on China for certain baby-related products will increase cost pressures on parents as President Donald Trump's tariffs take hold. For example, 97% of baby carriages imported into the U.S. come from China, and companies are hiking prices.
Being a parent of a newborn means being forced to shell out for a wide array of essential products, and tariffs are making those costs go up.
Unlike a fancy wide-screen TV, which is something nice to have that can be put off, demand for baby gear is less flexible as frazzled parents worrying about their newborn's safety or looking for products to calm them down are unable to avoid those purchases.
The BabyCenter, a parenting site, tallied up the expenses related to a baby's first year and put them at $20,384, according to an estimate in February—before President Donald Trump unveiled his global "Liberation Day" tariffs and hit China with a 145% duty.
About half of those first-year costs are for childcare, but more than $2,000 comes from things that are largely imported, like baby gear, clothing, activity equipment, and toys.
In fact, 90% of core baby-care products and related components are made in Asia, with the vast majority of that from China, according to data from the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association cited by the Associated Press.
U.S. Census data shows that 97% of imported baby carriages come from China. Similarly, 99% of imported child safety seats, 96% of metal toddler beds, and 93% of infant shoes are from China, Jason Miller, a professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University, told CNN.
Babylist, an online baby registry, reported prices for strollers and infant car seats jumped by an average of 25% and 20%, respectively, according to CNN.
For some high-end stroller models, that translates to hundreds of dollars more. Uppababy hiked the price of its Vista V3 stroller to $1,200 from $900.
Meanwhile, China produces nearly 80% of all toys sold in the U.S., and retailers are warning shortages are already in the pipeline, putting Christmas "at risk."
Apollo Chief Economist Torsten Sløk noted China's dominance in other imports, including for fireworks. That's as more than 90% of fireworks used in the U.S. are imported, with 95% of those imports coming from China.
"Similarly, there are many different categories of products that are imported into the US where demand is inelastic, and China is the only provider of that product," he wrote in a note on Sunday titled "Will There Be Fireworks on the 4th of July?"