....China tariffs are threatening Christmas.

Toy makers, children’s shops and specialty retailers are pausing orders for the winter holidays as the import taxes cascade through supply chains. Factories in China produce nearly 80 percent of all toys and 90 percent of Christmas goods sold in America.

The production of toys, Christmas trees and decorations is usually in full swing by now. It takes four to five months to manufacture, package and ship products to the United States.

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Larry Gold, the store’s owner, said he had worked with a Chinese factory for many years to design Christmas trees. He places the order in January for shipment in June or July. This year, he planned to send seven 40-foot containers from China loaded with $600,000 worth of trees. The current tariff would require him to pay nearly $1 million at once.

Last year, the store sold seven-and-a-half-foot trees for about $1,000. Mr. Gold said he would have no choice but to pass on the tariff cost to shoppers, which would put the price of that same tree at more than $2,000. He said that price would in effect “kill the product.”

“I can’t believe anybody in this country who is buying trees from China will pay the 145 percent duty, because they’ll never sell them,” Mr. Gold said.

At this rate, he said, he will not bring in the trees, and his store, which has been open for decades, will have nothing to sell during the most crucial period of the year. He said he would probably be forced to close, costing his 40 employees their jobs.
“There won’t be a Christmas industry here,” Mr. Gold said. “The product all comes from China.”