Month: November 2019

We were mentioned in the November 2019 issue of ASTRA’s Toy Times. The following excerpt can be found in page 10:

The on-again, off-again speculation about new tariffs on Chinese imports has been dizzying. For months, the President’s negotiations with China has had both the stock market, and consumers, in flux.

The President recently announced that he was delaying some new tariffs until December 15 in hopes of not disrupting the Christmas shopping season. Although the tariffs have been moved back, make no mistake – they’re still coming. The round of tariffs coming in December will cover $160 billion of imports. The bottom line is, for the first time, President Trump’s trade war with China will likely raise prices directly for U.S. homes on items like clothing, shoes, toys and electronics.

Only 18 percent of toys imported from China are being affected right now by tariffs, but that number will soar to 100 percent when the December 15 tariffs hit, according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PILE). Starting on December 15, U.S. companies will find that 100 percent of their imports from China, in nearly all product categories, are being targeted by Trump’s tariffs. That’s why many ASTRA toy stores around the country are stocking up on merchandise now to avoid the massive round of tariffs that loom in the coming weeks.

“What you’ll likely see is more inventory buildup in the middle, and towards the end of Q4 this year,” said Tony Nash, CEO at Complete Intelligence. Nash is an economist and expert on China who has been frequently featured on CNBC, Yahoo Finance and the BBC. “And then you’ll see imports to the U.S. from China, at least in regards to toys, slow in Q1. Even if the tariffs are lifted, it will still stay slow because the toy importers have already bought what they’re going to buy.”

ASTRA and the Toy Association have joined forces with a broad coalition of American businesses and trade organizations. The work continues in Washington to work on trade policy and other issues that impact the toy industry. The ultimate goal of the partnership and coalition is to make sure that voices are heard, business models are understood, and that the economic impact nationwide is recognized.

Read the ASTRA Toy Times November 2019 issue here.