If you plan to hit up the beauty supply store, wish to purchase a smartphone or plan to cop some new kicks, you better do it now because President Donald Trump’s brilliant idea to target China in his tariff war might just make it so you can’t afford them any longer.
Of course, Black folks will feel the sting of these tariffs disproportionately because not only does inflation shorten the power of our dollar, but lots of items that we buy in places like dollar stores, shoe stores and beauty supply joints are made in China.
And since the average household income for Black Americans is $44,000 a year, we wind up paying more for what we buy and having very little left over. So here’s a list of just some of those things and how tariffs will impact them. (For an explainer on how tariffs work, this link provides some excellent info.)
Hair extensions
Many who style their hair with extensions prefer hair that is shorn from other humans, and the biggest exporter of this product is China, where people happily put their hair on the market. Black people spend $2.8 billion on this item, and a possible 20% increase could be on the way.
iPhones
Did you stand in line for your latest phone? Well, expect to spend more time and more money to get your next one. A 128GB iPhone, which costs $799, because it’s made in China, will be going up possibly to more than $2,000. That’s important to Black folks because, according to current numbers, 92% of us own a cellphone of some kind. Now, Trump walked back reciprocal smartphone and electronics tariffs Friday night (April 11), but there’s no guarantee they’ll hold.
Sneakers
Because China, Vietnam, and Indonesia account for most shoes sold in the United States, expect those new kicks to double in price. Black people are expected to spend $70 billion on apparel and footwear by 2030, but that is going to sharply increase, according to Matt Priest, president and CEO of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America. 99% of the pairs sold in the U.S. are imports, so that $180 pair of sneakers could be $250.
TVs and Electronics
It can’t be overstated how many electronic goods are manufactured in China, so a $400 laptop might end up costing you nearly $1,000 on the retail end because of the math an importer must do to deal with both importing from one of the massive Chinese factories and making a profit. There’s no specific data on how much Black folks spend on their gadgets, but figures show that we’re more likely to consume content on tablets and smartphones, 23% and 43% respectively. Let’s hope Trump’s electronics tariffs hold, or we’re in for a world of hurt.
Toys
You’re lucky Christmas is over because all of the most in-demand toys are made in China. In fact, America bought $17 billion worth of toys, games, and dolls from China in 2020 of the $28.3 billion it spends annually. It’s not known exactly how much Black folks alone spend on toys, but Black consumer expenditures came to $835 billion in 2019, so we clearly show our kids how much we love them. But with a China tariff the cost of getting your little princess that stuffed panda could go from $32 to $80.
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Madison J. Gray is a New York-based journalist. He blogs at www.starkravingmadison.com.