Business

How Trump’s Tariffs on China Are Affecting Toy Companies

Published

1 year ago

March 3, 2025

How Trump’s Tariffs on China Are Affecting Toy Companies

At the biggest toy industry trade show in the Western Hemisphere this weekend, toy makers, as usual, displayed seemingly endless rows of stuffed animals, action figures and puzzles, hoping to entice retailers to pick their products.

But this year, the chatter at Toy Fair New York was dominated not by the next Barbie, but a larger game, one of global tactics, that could make most toys more expensive for U.S. consumers.

Almost 80 percent of toys sold in the United States are made in China. Last week, just as toy vendors from across the United States and dozens of other countries started to flock to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center for the annual toy fair, President Trump announced a 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods that would come on top of the 10 percent he already imposed a month ago.

Companies big and small — from family-owned brands to household names — are trying to figure out how to manage the new costs related to tariffs. Stationed at a booth lined with plush stuffed animals, Linda Colson, the vice president of sales at Mary Meyer Corporation, said her company, based in Vermont, was in a state of paralysis over pricing. “We don’t know what to do,” she said. “I think a lot of people in this building are just waiting to see what everybody else is doing.”

Jay Foreman, the chief executive of Basic Fun, a toy manufacturer and distributor in Florida, sells to retailers including Walmart and Target. After Mr. Trump ordered the 10 percent tariff on China in February, Mr. Foreman started thinking of ways to avoid passing those costs onto his customers. So last Wednesday, he met with his company’s board of directors to devise a plan that would split the burden: the company, its factories in China and its retail customers would each absorb 3.5 percent of the added cost.

But just hours later, Mr. Foreman tuned into CNBC and heard Mr. Trump declare that new tariffs on China could jump to a total of 20 percent this week. The company’s plans “went right out the window,” said Mr. Foreman, whose company employs about 110 people in the United States and a total of 165 people globally.

“Now, those can’t be absorbed, and that additional tariff has to be passed onto the consumer,” he added. “It tipped the domino.”

The Tonka Mighty Dump Truck, which Basic Fun makes under a license from Hasbro, currently retails for $29.99. That price will probably increase between $5 and $10 for consumers, Mr. Foreman said.

Some of the bigger companies at the convention expressed confidence that their Chinese suppliers would absorb a portion of the added costs, as factories would not want to lose business.

Safari, which sells animal figurines, produces about 90 percent of its products in China, said Danny Falero, the company’s director of marketing, and manufacturers have said they are willing to make some concessions. He emphasized that his company did not intend to raise prices unless Mr. Trump’s policies went into effect.

“It’s slightly theater, so let’s see what actually lands, and then we’ll make adjustments based on that,” Mr. Falero said.

Looming tariffs were weighing heavily on Luis Prior, who owns Meavia Toys, a small company in Corbin, Ky. His three-year-old business designs sensory toys for children with special needs and are sold to teachers, hospitals and museums.

Mr. Prior said that regardless of whether tariffs on China stayed at 10 percent or doubled on Tuesday, he would have to raise his prices. But the uncertainty has made it impossible to make any specific pricing decisions, he said. When he returns home from the convention this week, Mr. Prior plans to go through his products, item by item, and reassess.

“Exhaustion,” Mr. Prior said. “That’s the only way I can describe it.”

Three billion toys are sold in the United States each year, generating $42 billion in sales and supporting nearly 700,000 jobs, according to the Toy Association, a trade group representing the U.S. toy industry.

The association has been lobbying for an exemption from Mr. Trump’s broad tariffs, pointing in part to the fact that small businesses make up roughly 96 percent of the industry, said Greg Ahearn, the group’s chief executive. During Mr. Trump’s first term in the White House, he had imposed 10 to 25 percent tariffs on many Chinese products — but he backed down from tariffs on toys, among other consumer goods.

While most toys are made in China, some manufacturing has moved to Mexico in recent years, but Mr. Trump also said that the 25 percent tariff he had imposed on Mexico and Canada would go into effect on Tuesday.

The Toy Association has been visiting senators’ offices and pushing to get its message to people inside the Trump administration, Mr. Ahearn said, as well as communicating with its members daily to share the latest updates on tariffs.

Mr. Trump’s announcement of an additional tariff on China coincided with Mr. Ahearn’s preparations for the Toy Fair. “It wasn’t good, and now it’s unbearable for us as an industry,” Mr. Ahearn said, adding that a 20 percent tariff will inevitably be passed onto consumers.

In an interview with CNBC on Monday, the White House trade adviser, Peter Navarro, doubled down on Mr. Trump’s tariff plans, saying their effect on consumer prices would be “second order small” when taking in account the administration’s simultaneous plans to deregulate industry, reduce the size of the federal government and expand energy production.

“I don’t see the president wavering on any of this,” he said.

Five years ago, Sharon Azula and her husband started a company called the Tooth Brigade selling tooth-fairy pillows. Last summer, they lowered the retail price for a pillow — a small stuffed animal with a tooth pouch — to $14, down from $16, which helped boost demand.

Tariffs, especially if they amount to 20 percent, are likely to force Ms. Azula to raise prices again, since everything they sell is manufactured in China. When they started the brand, she and her husband wanted to manufacture their products in the United States, but it was too expensive, she said.

Now, motioning to a pillow at her Toy Fair booth, Ms. Azula said she was worried that higher prices could sink the business.

“When I’m here, I try not to think about it,” she said, tearing up. “But when you try to think about what the future is going to be — I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

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Business

Disneyland Resort President Thomas Mazloum named parks chief

Published

9 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Disneyland Resort President Thomas Mazloum named parks chief

Disneyland Resort President Thomas Mazloum has been named chairman of Walt Disney Co.’s experiences division, the company said Tuesday.

Mazloum succeeds soon-to-be Disney Chief Executive Josh D’Amaro as the head of the Mouse House’s vital parks portfolio, which has become the economic engine for the Burbank media and entertainment giant. His purview includes Disney’s theme parks, famed Imagineering division, merchandise, cruise line, as well as the Aulani resort and spa in Hawaii.

Jill Estorino will become the head of Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. She previously served as president and managing director of Disney Parks International and oversaw the company’s theme parks and resorts in Europe and Asia.

Estorino and Mazloum will assume their new roles on March 18, the same day as D’Amaro and incoming Disney President and Chief Creative Officer Dana Walden.

“Thomas Mazloum is an exceptional leader with a genuine appreciation for our cast members and a proven track record of delivering growth,” D’Amaro said in a statement. “His focus on service excellence, broad international leadership and strong connection to the creativity that brings our stories to life make him the right leader to guide Disney Experiences into its next chapter.”

Mazloum had been about a year into his tenure at Disneyland. Before that, he was head of Disney Signature Experiences, which includes the cruise line. He was trained in hospitality in Europe.

In his time at Disneyland, Mazloum oversaw the park’s 70th anniversary celebration and recently pledged to eliminate time limitations for park-hopping, which are designed to manage foot traffic at Disneyland and California Adventure.

Mazloum will now oversee a 10-year, $60-billion investment plan for Disney’s overall experiences business, which includes new themed lands in Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World. At Disneyland, that expansion could result in at least $1.9 billion of development.

The size of that investment indicates how important the parks are to Disney’s bottom line. Last year, the experiences business brought in nearly 57% of the company’s operating income. Maintaining that momentum, as well as fending off competitors such as Universal Studios, is key to Disney’s continued growth.

In his new role, Mazloum will have to keep an eye on “international visitation headwinds” at its U.S.-based parks, which the company has said probably will factor into its earnings for its fiscal second quarter. At Disneyland Resort, that dip was mitigated by the park’s high percentage of California-based visitors.

Times staff writer Todd Martens contributed to this report.

Business

What soaring gas prices mean for California’s EV market

Published

21 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

What soaring gas prices mean for California’s EV market

It has been a bumpy road for the electric vehicle market as declining federal support and plateauing public interest have eaten away at sales.

But EV sellers could soon receive a boost from an unexpected source: The war in Iran is pushing up gas prices.

As Americans look to save money at the pump, more will consider switching to an electric or hybrid vehicle. Average gas prices in the U.S. have risen nearly 17% since Feb. 28 to reach $3.48 per gallon. In California, the average is $5.20 per gallon.

Electric vehicles are pricier than gasoline-powered cars and charging them isn’t cheap with current electricity prices, but sky-high gas prices can tip the scales for consumers deciding which kind of vehicle to buy next.

“We probably will see an uptick in EV adoption and particularly hybrid adoption” if gas prices stay high, said Sam Abuelsamid, an auto analyst at Telemetry Agency. “The last time we had oil prices top $100 per barrel was early 2022 and that’s when we saw EV sales really start to pick up in the U.S.”

In a 2022 AAA survey, 77% of respondents said saving money on gas was their primary motivator for purchasing an electric vehicle. That year, 25% of survey respondents said they were likely or very likely to purchase an EV.

As oil prices cooled, the number fell to16% in 2025.

In California, annual sales of new light-duty zero-emission vehicles jumped 43% in 2022, according to the state’s Energy Commission. The market share of zero-emission vehicles among all light-duty vehicles sold rose from 12% in 2021 to 19% in 2022.

“Prior to 2022, we didn’t really have EVs available when we had oil price shocks,” Abuelsamid said. “But every time we did, it coincided with a move toward more fuel-efficient vehicles.”

Dealers are anticipating a windfall.

Brian Maas, president of the California New Car Dealers Assn., predicted enthusiasm for EVs will rebound across California if oil prices don’t come down.

“If prior gasoline price spikes are any indication, you tend to see interest in more fuel-efficient vehicles,” he said.

Rising gas prices could be a lifeline for EV makers at a time when federal support for green cars has been declining.

Under President Trump, a federal $7,500 tax incentive for new electric vehicles was eliminated in September, along with a $4,000 incentive for used electric vehicles.

In California, the zero-emission vehicle share of the total new-vehicle market was 22% through the first 10 months of 2025, then dropped sharply to 12% in the last two months of the year, according to the California Auto Outlook.

Meanwhile Tesla, the most popular EV brand in the country, has grappled with an implosion of its reputation with some consumers after its chief executive, Elon Musk, became one of Trump’s most vocal supporters and helped run the controversial Department of Government Efficiency.

Over the last several months, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis have pared back EV ambitions.

Other automakers, including Nissan, announced plans to stop producing their more affordable electric models.

The Trump administration has moved to roll back federal fuel economy standards and revoked California’s permission to implement a ban on new gas-powered car sales by 2035.

David Reichmuth, a researcher with the Clean Transportation program in the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the shift in production plans will affect EV availability, even if demand surges.

That could keep people from switching to cleaner vehicles regardless of higher gas prices.

“This is a transition that we need to make for both public health and to try to slow the damage from global warming, whether or not the price of gasoline is $3 or $5 or $6 a gallon,” he said.

According to Cox Automotive, new EV sales nationally were down 41% in November from a year earlier. Used EV sales were down 14% year over year that month.

To be sure, oil prices can fluctuate wildly in times of uncertainty. It will take time for consumers to decide on new purchases.

Brian Kim, who manages used car sales at Ford of Downtown LA, said he has yet to see a jump in the number of people interested in EVs, hybrids or more fuel-efficient gas-powered engines.

Still, if the price at the pump stays stuck above its current level, it could happen soon.

“Once the gas prices hit six [dollars per gallon] or more and people feel it in their pocket, maybe things will start to change,” he said.

Business

Nearly 60 gigawatts of U.S. clean power stalled, trade group finds

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Nearly 60 gigawatts of U.S. clean power stalled, trade group finds

A total of 59 gigawatts of U.S. clean energy projects are facing delays at a time when demand for power from AI data centers is surging, according to a trade group study.

Developers are seeing an average delay of 19 months over issues such as long interconnection times, supply constraints and regulatory barriers, the American Clean Power Assn. said in a quarterly market report.

The backlog is happening despite the growing need for power on grids that are being taxed by energy-hungry data centers and increased manufacturing. The Trump administration has implemented a slew of policies to slow the build-out of solar and wind projects, including delaying approvals on federal lands.

The potential energy generation facing delays is the equivalent of 59 traditional nuclear reactors, enough to power more than 44 million homes simultaneously.

“Current policy instability is beginning to impact investor confidence and negatively impact project timelines at a time when demand is surging,” American Clean Power Chief Policy Officer JC Sandberg said in a statement.

Despite the hurdles, developers were able to bring more than 50 gigawatts of wind, solar and batteries online in 2025, accounting for more than 90% of all new power capacity in the U.S., the report found. Clean power purchase agreements declined 36% in 2025 compared with 2024, signaling that the build-out of clean power in the U.S. could be lower in the 2028 to 2030 time period, according to the report.

Chediak writes for Bloomberg.