(Yicai Global) July 26 -- The tariffs US President Donald Trump has threatened to levy on USD200 billion of Chinese goods and which will kick in in two months will greatly affect US retailers, said Hun Quach, vice president of international trade for the Retail Industry Leaders Association. "Retailers support a level playing field for America on the global stage but punishing American families and the millions of American workers whose jobs are supported by trade is not the way to strengthen our trading relationships," Quach said. "This tranche of tariffs on both exports and imports threatens our nation's prosperity and will imperil millions of jobs if allowed to persist," she added.

"Retailers have already made the buying decisions for what will be on the store shelves in the fall for Christmas holidays," noted National Retail Federation Senior Vice President David French. Thus, if products do not arrive before the tariffs take effect, they will sell at higher prices with consumer spending and confidence way down, and this is of great concern to the federation, the Los Angeles Times reported. Christmas items must be ordered months in advance. US firms, who take years to cultivate business links with suppliers abroad, depend on Chinese manufacturers' savvy. China dominates the toy industry, above all with more complex items. "We tried Vietnam and Indonesia, and they don't have the infrastructure the Chinese do," said Isaac Larian, chief executive of Los Angeles toymaker MGA Entertainment. "The toy business is dependent on the Chinese, and I don't see that changing," he said, per the LA Times report.

Not just toys, but golf clubs, garments, Christmas decorations, cell phones, you name it ... hopefully, the US president will fulfill his campaign pledge to resuscitate US coal production in time to fill all those empty stockings.