President Donald Trump’s tariffs have thrown Christmas into chaos, as prices on various decorative essentials look set to soar. Artificial trees are expected to see a price spike of around 10 to 20 percent, while lights could increase by as much as 63 percent, importers have warned. The U.S. makes few decorations domestically, and the cost of internalizing the means of production would be enormous. Artificial tree retailer Balsam Hill CEO Mac Harman stated that if factories were to be relocated to the U.S., the cost of trees would likely increase from around $800 to $3,000. “When we make Christmas trees, some of the equipment is the size of a U.S. football field,” he told NBC News. “There’s a ton of capital that’s invested in these factories, and the equipment’s so big you can’t even pick it up and put it on a container [ship] and transport it.” He added, “There are over 20,000 people in China that manufacture Christmas trees. Many of those people are the ones that are experts in stringing the lights, and they’ve done it for a long time. They’re very fast at it. They’re good at it.” The Trump administration’s tariffs with China have at times risen as high as 145 percent.
Read it at NBC News
