Sam Rutledge and his wife have A baby due In mid-July, they thought they had a few months to search and buy the equipment they will need.
But President Donald Trump pricing In early April, the couple’s slow march A sprint. In recent weeks, they have bought two strollers, a car seat, a nursery glider, a cradle and a high chair. All are made abroad.
“These are all quite expensive in normal conditions, but when he became clear prices to come, we decided to buy them in case they become prohibitive,” said Rutledge, who is a teacher of physics in high school.
Raising a child in America has never been cheap. In the first year only, it costs an average of $ 20,384, according to Baby Center, a parental website. But prices – ranging from 10% for imports from most countries to 145% for China imports – will make it several times more expensive For new parents.
Approximately 90% of the main baby care products and parts that enter manufacturing baby accessory – bottles and bucket buckets with strollers and seats – are Done in AsiaAccording to the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, an American commercial group. The vast majority comes from China.
“Manufacturing abroad has been the standard in our industry for decades,” said Lisa Trofe, executive director of the association.
It was not always that way. When Munchkin Inc.’s CEO Steven Dunn founded his company in 1991, he made baby bottles in California with New Jersey tools. But over the years, the manufacturers he has used have closed and the cost of doing business in the United States has soaked. Now, around 60% of Munchkin’s 500 products, a cup with $ 5 girouette, with a night owl stroller of $ 254 with headlights, are made in China.
In response to The pricesDunn interrupted China’s orders and has set up a job freeze at Munchkin’s headquarters in California, where 320 people are employed. Dunn expects Munchkin to lack certain products in the three months.
“There is no possibility of being able to transmit these prices” to customers in the form of price increasehe said.
Dunn said he had tried to reduce his dependence on China in recent years, transferring a certain manufacturing to Vietnam and Mexico. He also spent a year communicating with American manufacturers to see if we could do new mumon shield with Munchkin flow, which allows A breastfed mother To see if its milk flows. But most said they could not make the product in complex silicone, said Dunn. It is now made in Vietnam.
“There are not enough manufacturers of tools and expertise in manufacturing and automation and qualified labor in the United States to manufacture the thousands of products that the juvenile industry needs,” said Dunn.
Several brands and companies for babies contacted by the Associated Press did not respond or said they did not start the prices, notably Graco, Chicco, Britax, Nuna, Dorel Juvenile, Uppababy, Evenflo and Bugaboo.
Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association said it had asked the Trump administration to A price exemptionArguing that babies are essential for children’s well-being. Trump exempted certain products for babies, including car seats and high chairs, import taxes during his first administration. But he didn’t say if he would plan to start again.
The Associated Press left a message looking for comments with the White House.
Nurture &, a company that manufactures a popular nursery glider and other baby furniture, said it is trying to be transparent on the impact of prices.
In a recent e-mail, the company told customers that it had started to reduce prices on certain articles when the prices have reached. The company, which was founded in 2020, said that it would maintain these prices below April 30, but after that, it may not be able to absorb the full cost import rights.
“These are important purchases, these are investments, and it is a very sensitive stage of life,” said Nurture merchant and chief Jill Gruys. “We want people to make the best decision for their budget and their family.”
Elizabeth Mahon, owner of Three Littles, a baby store in Washington, said that she feared that the prices make essential products too expensive for certain families.
Mahon volunteers twice a month in the motor vehicle department, where she teaches people how to complete their children safely in car seats. Some families must still be convinced to use car seats, she said. Mahon fears higher prices would be another means of deterrence.
“No one dies if they cannot buy a toy, but if they do not have access to the car seats, children will be seriously injured,” she said.
In its own store, Mahon has opinions that some manufacturers plan to introduce high price increases in May. She feels lucky to be able to rent a storage installation and accumulate inventory before the prices. For many small businesses, she said, additional costs are “a death sentence”.
In the small sowing store in Ann Arbor, Michigan, owner Molly Ging said she would normally place Christmas orders during this time of year. Instead, she sorts up price opinions for most sellers with whom she works.
“It’s a lot to manage, and I have no idea how it will be playing,” she said.
Business is fast at the moment, customers hoping to beat prices related to prices. But Ging is worried about its 13 employees – all the mothers who bring their children to work – and if it can maintain enough inventory to meet future demand.
“Babies do not stop being born because there are prices,” she said.
