05-03-2025
From groceries to toys: tariffs hit your wallet, but may be dialed down
MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) — Tuesday was the first day that tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump against the country's three biggest trading partners were implemented.
On day one, the impact of the 25 percent tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, along with the 20 percent tariffs on goods from China, is not yet known. However, what is certain, according to a wide variety of people, including the president himself, is that the tariffs will result in consumers having to pay more for many items they buy.
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That's one reason why the Trump Administration is already indicating that it may scale back some tariffs as early as Wednesday.
The higher prices would be across a wide range of goods. Paul Johnson, the executive director of Fordham University's Gabelli Center for Global Security Analysis, said that that range will be very wide, indeed.
'You won't see it right away,' Johnson said in an interview, 'but over the next four months, virtually everything you touch will have gone up in price.'
He said that the tariffs would have to be paid by importers, which are the companies that buy the goods from abroad.
'No importer is going to eat the tariff,' Johnson said. 'They 're going to raise prices, by definition.'
He said that simple economics means that prices will rise. For example, 63 percent of all vegetables sold in the U.S. are imported from Mexico. With the 25 percent tariff, it means that an avocado that had been $3.00 will cost $3.75.
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The current rate of tariffs will cost each U.S. household about $2,000 more every year, according to the Yale Budget Lab.
That impact is most likely to be felt over time, according to analysts. That means that between now and the end of the year, families may very well feel a financial pinch. That fact was evident at a location that's currently preparing for the year's end — the holiday season — in a big way: the Toy Fair at the Jacob Javits Center.
It's one of the world's largest displays of new and innovative toys. The 20 percent tariff on goods from China had people at the fair keeping a close eye on the international trade situation.
That's because the overwhelming majority of toys and their components are Chinese manufactured, as James Zahn, editor-in-chief of The Toy Book, the industry's trade publication, observed.
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'It can be anywhere from 75 to 85 percent,' said Zahn. He added that while the tariff on Chinese goods is 20 percent, that doesn't necessarily mean that the higher cost of the goods for each consumer will be quite as high.
'Maybe the manufacturer eats a little bit,' Zahn said. 'Maybe a retailer eats a little bit. If there's a distributor, they might take a little bit. But whatever is left over is getting passed along to the consumer.'
That same process of spreading the tariff cost out will presumably be the case for Mexican and Canadian tariffs, as well.
It's one reason why consumers like Efrain Montes, who'd just gone shopping on Tuesday afternoon are adopting a wait-and-see approach.
'We'll see how it's going to be,' he said. 'Right now, it's hard to tell.'
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