Christmas Canceled Under Trump Says Who?

The head of the Toy Association warned Tuesday that President Trump’s new 145 percent tariffs on Chinese imports could seriously disrupt the upcoming Christmas season, putting both retailers and children at risk of disappointment as the trade conflict between the U.S. and China escalates.

Speaking on CNN’s The Lead, Toy Association President and CEO Greg Ahearn said the situation is dire for the toy industry, which relies heavily on China for manufacturing. “No toys are currently being produced in China. And there are reports that major retailers here in the U.S. are starting to actually cancel orders. So, Jake, Christmas is at risk,” Ahearn told host Jake Tapper.

He explained that U.S. companies simply do not have the infrastructure to scale up toy production domestically at the level required to meet holiday demand. With 96 percent of American toy companies categorized as small or medium-sized businesses, the production gap is substantial.

“There are some toys that are made here in the U.S., but they’re mostly paper goods or highly automated goods. And it represents a small portion of the toys that are manufactured,” Ahearn said.

According to him, building the necessary domestic capacity would take years. “It would take three to five years to be able to build out the capacity, the specialization,” he said. “A lot of the toys that are made in China, as you said, 80 percent are hand labor made toys. It’s the face painting on a doll. It’s the hair decorating. It’s placing them the correct way and packaging. A lot of this is hand labor that can’t be automated here in the U.S.”

Investor and billionaire Bill Ackman raised similar concerns this week, warning that small businesses are especially vulnerable under Trump’s tariff regime. “I am receiving an increasing number of emails and texts from small business people I do business with or have invested in, expressing fear that they will not be able to pass on their increased costs to their customers and will suffer severely negative consequences,” Ackman wrote on X.

Trump has since paused the reciprocal tariffs for 90 days for most countries but kept the full weight of the tariffs in place against China, where the bulk of the global toy supply is manufactured. Ackman praised the pause, but others argued that Trump may be exceeding his constitutional powers.

“Our system is not set up so that one person in the system can have the power to impose taxes across the world economy. That’s not how our constitutional republic works,” said Jeffrey Schwab, senior counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, which is now suing the administration over the tariff orders.

Despite the pushback, Trump has defended his actions as necessary to protect U.S. manufacturing and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers. “There’s no difference between China and any other country, except they are much larger, and China wants what we have, what every country wants what we have: the American consumer. Or to put it another way, they need our money,” Trump said recently, reaffirming his belief that countries will eventually seek trade deals on America’s terms.