LEWES, Del. - Some small business owners and parents in Sussex County are feeling the pressure as tariffs drive up some costs of toys and gifts.
Previously, CoastTV spoke with some shoppers who say they're paying more for groceries, while others say their grocery bill hasn't changed.
On April 9, President Trump ordered a 90-day pause on new tariffs for about 60 nations.
President Trump says he's lowered the "reciprocal tariff" rate on all countries to 10 percent, while goods from China — the United States' third-largest source of imports — face 145% duties. There are also 25% taxes on imports of steel, aluminum, cars, and roughly half of goods from Canada and Mexico.
Michiko Seto, who owns several businesses in the county, including Lewes Gifts and Blooming Boutique, said she took a proactive approach earlier this year by stocking up on inventory before new tariffs took effect.
“We took very heavy in early this year just to be prepared and to be covered,” said Seto. “I did almost all my buying for the whole year in January. A lot of my vendors are holding their prices — they’re eating the differences.”
Still, she says the long-term future remains uncertain.
“My gift shops, everything, all my stuff — there’s not a lot made in the USA anymore,” Seto said. “Cost of labor and different things — it all affect all that here.”
According to the U.S. Commerce Department, more than 75% of toys sold in the United States come from China, making them particularly vulnerable to shifting trade policies.
For parents like Kristen Angelucci, she says tariffs are worrisome.
“I’ve already started to think about Christmas,” said Angelucci. "What are we going to do with the things she wants most for Christmas is something that is four times what it would have been last year."
Planning ahead, she says, isn’t easy.
"The tricky thing as a parent is you can't get out of the way buying your kid what they're going to want six months or a year from now because they don't know."