President Trump on Wednesday said that children could have fewer toys while his administration puts high tariffs on trading partners, acknowledging that there may be shortages of goods because of his plan.
“They’re having tremendous difficulty because their factories are not doing business. They made a trillion dollars with [former President] Biden … selling us stuff. Much of it, we don’t need,” Trump said, referring to China, on which he has imposed an overall 145 percent tariff.
He added, “You know, someone said, ‘Oh, the shelves, they’re going to be open.’ Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally. But we’re not talking about something that we have to go out of our way. They have ships that are loaded up with stuff, much of which — not all of it — but much of which we don’t need. And, we have to make a fair deal.”
Retailers have been increasingly concerned about how the tariffs could impact the price of goods.
Last week, the CEOs of U.S. retailers Walmart, Target and Home Depot met with Trump, and they conveyed their fears of higher prices for consumers, including during the holiday season at the end of the year, The Hill learned.
Additionally, Amazon reportedly considered showing customers on its website how much the price of an item increased as a result of the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, a move that the White House on Tuesday called “a hostile and political act.”
Trump spoke with Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos about the reports, and the e-commerce giant pushed back on the news, saying Amazon Haul, a storefront that offers lower-priced products across various categories, considered the idea of listing import charges but that it wouldn’t be happening. Later in the day, Trump said Bezos handled the situation.
Trump was asked about his tariff policy in a 100-days interview with ABC that aired on Tuesday night and in particular for his response to economic experts who say his policies would lead to a rise in consumer prices.
“People are worried, even some people who voted for you, saying ‘I didn’t sign up for this.’ So how do you address those concerns?” ABC host Terry Moran asked Trump.
“They did sign up for it, actually, and this is what I campaigned on,” Trump replied. He added, when questioned about price increases on electronics, clothing and homebuilding, that “China probably will eat those tariffs.”
The administration has been negotiating deals with trading partners, but none have been announced since a 90-day pause on hefty “reciprocal” tariffs on all countries, other than China, went into effect on April 9.
