Bearers of baby seats for sale in a Walmart store in Secaucus, New Jersey, United States, Tuesday March 5, 2024.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty images
The cost of certain baby equipment has increased in recent weeks due to President Donald Trump's pricing policies, according to a new Congress report.
The cost of five common items purchased for babies increased by 24%, or by $ 98 combined, between April 1 – the day before Trump's pricing announcement – and June 9, according to the minority arm of the joint economic committee.
The analysis followed the prices of five popular categories of babies: car seats, cradles, strollers, high chairs and babies. He relied on data from the Baby Registry Babylist website.
“New parents already have their budget stretched by all the products they have to buy for their child – the last thing they need is a new tax on babies created by President Trump,” said senator Maggie Hassan, DN.H., a committee classification member, in a press release.
The conclusions come as businesses attack the constantly evolving pricing policies of Trump. Some have declared that they would endeavor to alleviate the impact of samples and to compensate for the costs for consumers, pending others, including Best purchase And Costcosaid they had already increased certain prices. Walmart And Target said they planned to raise prices on certain articles.
According to Babylist, in the United States, equipment sold in the United States is specifically at risk of price impact, because 97% of strollers and 87% of car seats are made in China, according to Babylist.
The Committee report followed the most popular prices Amazon Product lists of five of the Babylist babies' product categories. Amazon's bestsellers included articles by Brands Graco, Air Club, Summer by Ingueity, Evenflo and Hellobaby. The report has measured price increases over time using Keepa.com price verification websites and camelcamelcamel.com.
Of the five articles studied, the Set of Auto Graco saw the highest prices. The headquarters for infants Graco Snugride LX LX cost 44.8% more expensive during the measured period. The prices of other products that have been examined have increased between 10% and 30%.
A spokesman for the owner of Graco Newell brands CNBC said in a press release that the report seems to have started collecting data on the SEires of Auto Graco during a period when retailers led a promotion.
The spokesman said that the car seat was on sale on April 1, so the price was increased by around $ 20, not $ 43, as suggested in the report.
Newell leaders said during a profit call on April 30, according to which the company had increased the prices of its baby equipment by around 20%. The company said at the time that it was equipped to manage Trump prices, excluding additional hypothetical increases on imports from China.
A wider analysis of babylist of 11 categories, including products such as bodies and layer bags, revealed that costs increased an average of $ 400 combined between March 10 and June 3. These higher prices for new parents' households in the United States amount to 875.2 million dollars in additional costs, according to the analysis and according to the data of the American Community Survey.
The study found a particular risk for parents in California, parents of this state being collectively faced with a potential of $ 100.3 million in additional baby costs this year. This was followed by Texas at $ 85.3 million in Florida at $ 48.5 million and New York at $ 48.4 million, report.
“Just in the past two months, the prices have made things even more difficult for new parents, forcing them to assume higher prices for car seats and other articles they absolutely need to ensure the safety of their babies,” Hassan said in a statement to CNBC. “And the prices already force certain companies to choose between dismissing workers, increase customer prices or close completely.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comments.