US tariffs are increasingly affecting businesses, potentially soon driving up prices for American staples.
The stagflation economists feared would result from sharply higher US tariffs has yet to manifest, but some sectors are showing early signs of pressure: Retailers of baseball gear say they will imminently have to increase prices, The Wire China reported, while Christmas tree sellers say Americans will have less choice and must pay more than last year. “This is a happy industry,” the head of the US Christmas tree trade group told Bloomberg, “and this is a pretty unhappy time to be in it.” One beneficiary, however, has been the US Treasury: The tariffs are bringing in more money than initially expected.