Looks like President Donald Trump is finally getting his wish: Kids will be getting fewer dolls this year.
On Monday, Mattel—the maker of Barbie and Hot Wheels—announced it would raise toy prices in the U.S. in response to Trump’s sweeping tariffs. The warning came just one day after Trump doubled down on his claim that American children don’t need more than a handful of dolls.
While tariffs did not dent Mattel’s earnings in the first quarter of 2025, the company said it would begin “pricing action” in the U.S.—Wall Street’s way of saying to expect price hikes.
Mattel also joined a growing list of companies that have paused their full-year guidance, citing a “volatile macroeconomic environment and evolving U.S. tariff situation.”
“It is hard to predict consumer spending in our sales in the U.S. in the remainder of the year and the holiday season, so we are pausing guidance until we have sufficient visibility,” Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz said.
Translation: Trump’s erratic trade war could turn Barbie dolls into luxury goods.
His new 145% tariffs on most Chinese imports are hammering the toy industry. According to the Toy Association, roughly 80% of toys sold in the U.S. are made in China. Mattel says 20% of its toys sold here are China-made—but it’s scrambling to cut that to under 15% by 2026 and below 10% by 2027.
That doesn’t mean production is coming back to the U.S., as Trump might hope. Kreiz told CNBC on Tuesday that even with tariffs, it’s still cheaper to manufacture toys overseas.
Other toy makers are preparing for price hikes, too. Kreiz said Monday that he hoped 40% to 50% of Mattel’s toys would stay under $20, but he pushed back hard on Trump’s policies.
A display of Barbie Dream Besties dolls. Because of Trump’s tariffs, the cost of Barbies will also increase.
“Zero tariffs for toys gives the greatest number of children and families access to play,” he said.
Kreiz is pleading with a president who’s said—twice now—that kids can live with fewer toys. This, as Trump prepares a multimillion-dollar military-style birthday parade in Washington, D.C., for his birthday on June 14.
The Toy Association has warned of possible shortages before Christmas. A survey of nearly 400 small toy businesses found that 64% are canceling orders, and nearly half (46%) say they could go under within weeks or months if the tariffs stick.
Trump’s erratic tariff policies have been a mess of delays, walk backs, and wild additions, including a recent proposal to tax foreign films. And now the toy industry, once flying under the radar, is squarely in the spotlight.
“Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls,” Trump said at a recent Cabinet meeting. “And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.”
This comes from a man who campaigned on immediate economic relief—but now tells Americans to endure the pain of his economic experiments.
Toys are just one of many things getting more expensive. Cars, flowers, groceries—they’re all going up too.
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