Retailers say they're not feeling China tariff disruptions. They will soon.

Boston Globe

09-05-2025

Local retailers say that they have enough inventory for now — and they're hoping the trade war subsides before they feel the full effects.
'Something's got to change,' said George Toma, owner of
Similar worries have beset retailers of every size throughout the United States. Many began buying extra quantities of foreign goods right after Trump's reelection.
'People were bringing in a lot of imports because once Trump got elected they said, 'Looks like tariffs are going to go up,'' said
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For example, Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles,
Toma said he's not panicking yet, 'because we have enough depth and bench strength with the inventory we have.'
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Toma belongs to the
A view of George Washington Toma TV and Appliances in East Weymouth in 2012.
John Tlumacki
Recently, the group has imported extra merchandise to help its members ride out the tariffs. 'We've been loading up inventory knowing this was coming,' said Toma.
But Toma does worry about what will happen if the tariff war drags on.
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With tariffs of 145 percent, a $1,000 Chinese-made refrigerator will now cost $2,450, making it unaffordable for many consumers. And 'buying American' won't entirely solve the problem, because so many made-in-USA appliances contain Chinese parts, also covered by the tariff.
'The problem is you don't know,' said Toma. 'They may assemble them here, but do the parts come out of China? You really don't know what's going to be affected.'
Say a $1,000 US-made refrigerator contains a $200 Chinese-made compressor. At the new tariff level of 145 percent, the appliance maker must now pay $490 for the compressor, a cost increase of $290. If there are other Chinese parts in the icebox, the price goes up still more. Meanwhile, the manufacturer must raise its price to the retailer, who in turn hikes the retail price.
Toma takes comfort in knowing that his competitors are in the same boat. 'The upside for us is people aren't going to go without appliances,' he said, 'and they're going to be the same price everywhere. It's not like they can go someplace else and get it cheaper. '
The tariff is also a menace for
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'Ninety-nine percent of our items are made overseas somewhere,' said co-owner Jerry Michelson, but they're stocked up for months to come. 'What we have for springtime and even for summer has already landed in the United States,' said Michelson. 'It's really going to be the fall and even the holiday season when we're going to be affected.'
Children's shoes are seen in the window display of Michelson's Shoes in Lexington in 2022.
Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Only about half of Michelson's shoes come from China. But even shoes from other countries such as Vietnam are subject to a 10 percent tariff that the Trump administration has levied on imports from any country. (Trump has also threatened an additional wave of 'reciprocal' tariffs, but has delayed it until July 10.)
Much of Michelson's autumn and winter inventory has already been ordered from about 40 US shoe importers, at pre-tariff prices. Now these suppliers are deciding how much of the tariff must be paid by the retailers.
At least one has said it will hike the price for pre-ordered shoes already in the pipeline, while a couple of others say they'll hold prices steady on pre-orders but will demand price hikes on future shipments.
Co-owner Eric Michelson, Jerry's brother, said that one distributor that buys shoes from China has halted all shipments while they wait to see if the United States and China can come to terms.
'The result of that is that your fall shoes are probably going to come late,' Eric Michelson said. 'We don't know what's going to happen. It's really a crazy frustrating problem, causing a lot of stress.'
It's just as stressful for model train vendor Charles Ro, owner of
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Ro remembers a time when model train makers like Lionel built their products in the United States, and most imported models came from Germany. But these days, 'almost all the hobby is made in China,' he said. 'As trains got more and more detailed…the costs went up, because of the amount of labor involved to put them together.'
Racks of repaired customer trains at Charles Ro Supply in Malden, a retailer of model railroading gear.
David L. Ryan/Globe Staff
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David Hampton, an employee at Charles Ro Supply in Malden, puts together wheel sets with rubber tractions.
(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)
Charles Ro Supply claims to be the nation's largest retailer of model railroading gear.
(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)
Another Ro-owned company,
Ro said the high tariff has priced Chinese products out of the US market. 'We have enough stock to weather it for awhile…maybe six to nine months," he said. Meantime 'the Chinese factories are going to bottle up with goods they can't deliver but they have to store.'
He warned of possible shortages during the Christmas season and said there could be a backlash from mothers who support Trump. 'If their kids don't get toys for Christmas, somebody will be shouting at the president,' said Ro, who wants the administration to slash the tariff on model trains to zero
Yet Ro supports what Trump is trying to do. 'I think we have to get manufacturing in the US ... We can't be a service industry and keep our wealth,' he said. 'Even though it's hurting right now, in the long run it'll be good for everybody.'
Hiawatha Bray can be reached at