The US Toy Association and exhibitors at its New York Toy Fair were deeply concerned about the effect of tariffs on the industry according to BBC news coverage and echoed by other news sources.

In February, Donald Trump raised tariffs on products made in China by 10%. Later, with little warning, he announced an additional 10% border tax, which has now come into force. It is worth noting at this point that the figures quoted and the sequence of events may already be out of date given levels of chaos running through US politics. 

In the toy industry, which estimates that about 80% of toys sold in the US are made in China, the rapid-fire announcements have stunned businesses, leaving them scrambling to figure out how to swallow a sudden 20% rise in cost. 

The top-rated comment under the BBC story said: “It’s going to cost Trump more to replace the toys he breaks each time he throws them out of the pram.”

More seriously, Jay Foreman, founder and CEO of Basic Fun, said at the show: “It’s the first thing we talk about and the last thing we talk about. The reality is that tariffs will raise the cost of toys for consumers. If a customer says, ‘Then I can’t buy it,’ then I can’t sell it, because I can’t produce to lose money.”

The reality is that tariffs will raise the cost of toys for consumers. If a customer says, ‘Then I can’t buy it,’ then I can’t sell it, because I can’t produce to lose money

Basic Fun makes 90% of its products in China and Foreman had been planning to counter the cost of the initial 10% tariff with a mix of higher prices for customers and lower profits, both for the firm and its manufacturing partners. He presented the strategy to his board before NY Toy Fair – only to have to rip it up the next day after Trump’s later announcement. 

The company will shoulder the tariff costs for products this Spring but will need to raise prices for many items by at least 10% later in the year. 

From other show stands, toymakers greeted questions about Trump’s moves with head shakes, grimaces and disbelief. 

Ada Luo, sales director for Wonderful Party, a manufacturer in Shenzhen, China, said: “20% is a lot. 10% maybe – between the supplier and the buyer we can share, but 20%? We don’t have a clue.”

Another exhibitor, Clixo COO Yaron Barlev, said: “10% – it’s something we can somehow live with. 20% is a different ball game.” 

Barlev also said he hoped Trump would offer some kind of reprieve for toys but was not feeling especially optimistic: “It’s much less predictable now than he used to be so I really don’t know.”

Trump has said his actions will help boost manufacturing in the US, by making it less cost-effective to make products overseas. But toymakers like Clixo, which had hoped to do its manufacturing in the US, say high costs and limited manufacturing capacity in the US make that idea unrealistic.

During Trump’s first term, China was the main target of the measures, with more than $360bn worth of products sent to the US getting hit by the measures. At the time, toys and many other consumer products were spared.

The latest move has led businesses to say the costs are getting too big to ignore.

The US Toy Association says it is trying to make the case to the White House and Congress that toys should be exempt from tariffs, as they were before, warning that higher prices won’t go unnoticed by a public already upset by the price jump in recent years. 

Greg Ahearn, Toy Association president, said members are largely small businesses with profit margins barely as large as the tariffs that are getting under way: “We think we have a very strong point to make and we’re hoping they’re going to be open to listening.” 

Ahearn concluded: “It’s killing our mojo,” noting that it was his members’ top concern.