ICYMI: Sen. Gallego, Whip Clark, Congressional Dads Caucus Chair Rep. Gomez, and Consumer Advocate Blast Trump’s “Baby Tax”

ICYMI: Sen. Gallego, Whip Clark, Congressional Dads Caucus Chair Rep. Gomez, and Consumer Advocate Blast Trump’s “Baby Tax”

Senator Gallego, Whip Clark, Representative Gomez, and consumer advocate Angela Hanks discuss how Trump’s policies are raising prices for parents

Today, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA), Congressional Dads Caucus Chair Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA-34), and consumer advocate Angela Hanks, held a press conference on how President Trump’s policies are placing a “baby tax” on parents and raising costs on essentials.

In addition, Groundwork Collaborative released a one pager on the price hikes that parents are facing as a result of Trump’s trade war. For example:

• Car seats: UPPAbaby, a major manufacturer of car seats and strollers, announced increased prices across most of its products beginning May 5. The price of the Clek Liing Mammoth Ziip Car Seat skyrocketed to $550, an over $200 increase from the price before tariffs. Cybex has increased prices by $100, Nuna has increased prices by $50, and Britax has increased prices by $30.
• Strollers: To put it in Trump’s words, prices are rising for “the thing that you carry the babies around in.” UPPAbaby’s popular Vista stroller just increased from $900 to $1,200. Or, for a cheaper option, Bombi’s flagship stroller now costs $225 instead of $199.
• Toys: About 80% of all toys imported to the U.S. come from China, according to the Toy Association. Mattel CFO Anthony DiSilvestro has warned of possible price hikes as 40% of Mattel toys come from China.

Angela Hanks, Chief of Policy Programs at The Century Foundation and former Associate Director of External Affairs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said:

“In the leadup to welcoming a child into your family, every parent feels the joy and anticipation, while doing everything in our power to ensure we are as prepared as possible to welcome our children into the world… President Trump’s erratic economic and trade policies have made the process much more difficult for new parents. In fact, his actions are placing nothing short of a ‘baby tax’ on new parents. This is a manmade crisis. Since Trump’s tariff announcement, companies have halted cargo shipments and raised prices.

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“Trump’s partial rollback of tariffs has not undone the harm to American families. From car seats and sippy cups to strollers and cribs, parents still face higher prices today than they did before his initial tariff announcement.

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“At a time when parents should be able to focus their full attention on their children, President Trump’s policies are making it harder and more expensive for us to raise them. The uncertainty and confusion around Trump’s tariffs also give corporations cover to charge parents more, even if the tariffs are lower than originally threatened.

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Instead of taking action to lower costs for families with young children, President Trump and Republicans in Congress are dead set on passing a tax bill that benefits their wealthy friends while actually raising costs for working families… Rather than imposing a ‘baby tax’ on working families, we should be promoting and enacting policies that give them some breathing room to make it easier and more affordable to raise a child.”