Families Brace for Economic Strain as Trump’s Tariffs Take Effect

• Trump’s tariffs send grocery staples and essential baby products skyrocketing

• Wholesale vegetable prices increased 38% in July, the biggest jump in nearly a century

• Costs of new baby essentials have risen 24% this summer with families spending an average of $400 more

Impact of Tariffs on Grocery Prices 

Raising a child in America has never been cheap — and now, it’s about to get even more costly.

From childcare and healthcare to food, clothes, transportation, school supplies, and everyday household essentials, nearly every aspect of family life will feel the impact of the Trump Administration’s newly implemented tariffs.

The first wave of tariffs has officially taken effect, raising prices on a wide range of goods — including grocery staples and essential baby products.

Items like coffee, tomatoes, bananas, rice, olive oil, cheese, nuts, chocolate, and fresh produce are all expected to jump in price. 

Already, the fresh government data this week showed an extreme 38% surge in the wholesale price of vegetables in July. The nearly 40% increase is the biggest one-month move for a summer month in almost a century.

The surge in vegetable costs is the effect of both tariffs and labor shortages. In recent months, President Trump’s efforts to deport undocumented people across the country have left many farm workers nervous to show up to work, resulting in a decrease of domestic food supply right as tariffs hit agricultural imports.

Overall, wholesale prices already surged 0.9 percent last month, the sharpest increase since June 2022. 

Impact of Tariffs on New Parents

New parents will feel a particularly heavy burden. Since the tariffs began, prices for key baby items have risen 24% — or roughly $98 — for five of the most commonly purchased products (strollers, car seats, cribs, high chairs, and baby monitors) on Amazon.

According to previously unreleased data from Babylist, families with newborns are now spending an average of $400 more across 11 categories of baby goods — including bouncers and diaper bags — since March. If those cost

increases continue, American families could pay a combined $875 million more in 2025 for essential baby items alone.

“New parents already have their budgets stretched thin by all the products that they have to buy for their child – the last thing they need is a new tax on babies created by President Trump,” said Senator Maggie Hassan, Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee. “Families should not have to pay the price for the President’s chaotic tariffs. Families need relief from rising costs, including child care, housing, and health care – instead, President Trump is making essential products even more expensive.”

And the financial pressure is still mounting. On Friday, President Trump stunned the logistics industry by expanding his steel and aluminum tariffs to include more than 400 consumer products containing those metals — including motorcycles, tableware, baby booster seats, personal care items, and cargo-handling equipment. Customs brokers and importers were given little advance notice before the rule took effect on Monday, with no exemptions for goods already in transit.

According to Jason Miller, a supply chain management professor at Michigan State University, the latest expansion now covers roughly $328 billion worth of goods — six times more than the amount affected in 2018 and a significant jump from the $191 billion previously covered.

For parents across the country, that means one thing: the cost of raising a

child is about to climb even higher.