Scary Halloween Prices And More Ways Tariffs Are Haunting Americans

More tariffs are planned, including a 100 percent import tax on pharmaceuticals, dealing another dose of uncertainty to consumers already struggling with higher prices

President Trump said Thursday on his social media site that he will also impose import taxes of 50 percent on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, 30 percent on upholstered furniture, and 25 percent on heavy trucks, starting on Oct. 1.

The new tariffs would come on top of the trade frameworks and import taxes that were launched in August.

If Trump follows through, the new tariffs would take effect before the Supreme Court decides the legality of the tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The court agreed to an expedited review of a lower court decision that found most of the tariffs to be illegal. Oral arguments are set for November.

Trump said on Truth Social that the 100 percent tariffs wouldn’t be imposed on pharmaceutical companies that are building manufacturing plants in the United States, which he defined as either “breaking ground” or being “under construction.” It was unclear how the tariffs would apply to companies that already have factories in the United States.

According to the White House, the threat of tariffs earlier this year contributed to many major pharmaceutical companies, including Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Roche, Bristol Myers Squibb and Eli Lilly, among others, to announce investments in U.S. production.

The import tax on pharmaceuticals could double the costs of some medicines. In 2024, the United States imported nearly $233 billion in pharmaceutical and medicinal products, according to the Census Bureau. The prospect of prices doubling could send another shock wave to consumers, who are already facing potential increases in the costs of Medicare and Medicaid.

The threat of new tariffs comes as a majority of Americans are growing weary of trade wars.

An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll released Wednesday found about 6 in 10 U.S. adults said Trump has “gone too far” when it comes to imposing new tariffs on other countries. That includes about 9 in 10 Democrats, 6 in 10 independents and 3 in 10 Republicans. The poll said very few Americans, including Republicans, want Trump to go further in imposing tariffs.

About half of all Americans said the cost of groceries is a “major” source of stress in their life, while 33 percent said it was a “minor” cause, according to an earlier AP-NORC poll. Only 14 percent said the high cost was not a source of stress, underscoring the pervasive anxiety most Americans continue to feel about the cost of everyday essentials.

Coffee Jumps 21%

Some grocery staples have seen double-digit year-over-year increases, according to the August inflation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For example, coffee prices jumped 21 percent compared to the same month last year, the largest annual increase since October 1997. Coffee prices rose 4 percent from July, the most in 14 years.

Virtually all the coffee consumed in the United States is imported, with only a tiny fraction, 1 percent, coming from Hawaii and Puerto Rico. About a third of the coffee consumed in the United States comes from Brazil, which pays a 50 percent duty on imports.

About 90 percent of avocados Americans eat come from Mexico, according to the USDA. Tariffs accounted for a 55 percent year-over-year increase in their cost.

Other staples costing more than they did last year are beer (up 13 percent), hot dog buns (up 34 percent), paper plates (up 15 percent) and tomatoes (up 4 percent).

Ground beef costs about 13 percent more than it did at this time last year, but tariffs aren’t the only reason. With the U.S. cattle inventory at a multi-decade low, Mexico has been a consistent supplier of feeder calves. But in May, the USDA suspended imports of live cattle in May to prevent the New World screwworm from spreading to the United States. The flesh-eating parasite poses a significant threat to cattle.

Overall, August inflation data showed consumer prices increased 2.9 percent, up from 2.7 percent the previous month and the biggest jump since January.

Consumers Are Still Spending

The Commerce Department reported Friday that its personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve’s favored inflation gauge, was up 2.7 percent in August from a year earlier, a tick higher from a 2.6 percent year-over-year increase in July and most since February.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core PCE inflation showed a 2.9 percent increase in prices from August 2024, the same as in July. The increases were what forecasters had expected.

Separately, the report showed that inflation-adjusted consumer spending rose a healthy 0.4 percent from July, the same as the month before, largely on a 0.7 increase in spending for goods; spending on services such as travel and dining out rose just 0.2 percent.

“The resilience of the U.S. consumer was on show once again,” Michael Pearce of Oxford Economics wrote, though he cautioned that spending “is being driven by households at the top of the income distribution.”

The U.S. Census Bureau’s August U.S. Advance Monthly Retail Trade Survey showed a stronger than expected increase in retail and food spending to an estimated $732 billion in August.

“This is further evidence that we shouldn’t underestimate the strength of the consumer,” Bankrate senior industry analyst Ted Rossman wrote in a note after the mid-September retail report. “Back-to-school shopping was a key theme in August, as evidenced by the strong clothing and electronics sales.”

Big Stores Wait It Out

So far, businesses are mostly absorbing the costs, but that could be changing.

Major retailers, including Walmart, Macy’s and Best Buy, recently reported their quarterly results, underscoring that shoppers are still buying, but are choosy. Some have raised prices, but many have described the hikes as modest.

Shoppers haven’t felt the big sting as some economists predicted earlier in the year, as many retailers ordered goods ahead of tariffs and absorbed a big chunk of the costs as they came in, worried about passing on any hefty price increases.

The price gains have also been gradual enough to mute changes in consumer behavior, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon told analysts last month.

But Walmart and others said they expect to see costs increase as they replenish inventory at post-tariff levels.

Jewelry maker Pandora hasn’t announced specific price increases, but Pandora CEO Alexander Lacik said in a call with analysts last month that the company is monitoring the scenario.

“The U.S. consumer will eventually have to bear the brunt of these tariffs,” he said. “It’s not just on jewelry, it’s on many product categories. So the big question mark is, what happens with inflation in the U.S., unemployment rates, all sorts of other macro drivers, and I think this is ahead of us.”

Matt Priest, president and CEO of trade group Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, told reporters Monday that members are starting to pass along price increases to shoppers. Its members had previously paid a total of $3 billion in tariffs annually for years; that number is now on track to hit $5 billion by year-end. He warned that women’s shoes will be affected first.

“Women’s shoes are more fashion-oriented,” Priest said. “Our ability to front-load women’s product based on fashion trends was limited, and so we are seeing that those increases start to hit consumers first.”

Scary Halloween Prices Greet Shoppers

Consumers shopping for Halloween are also seeing a bump in prices, largely due to the high volume of costumes and decorations that are imported from China, which is subject to higher import taxes.

The Halloween and Costume Association warned earlier this year the tariffs could cause costumes that previously had a retail cost of $19.99 to jump to $39.99. Even a simple mask, once priced at $4.99, could jump to $9.99, and at double the price, many consumers simply won’t buy, the trade group said.

“This is an existential moment for our industry,” HCA board member Robert Merman, president of Rasta Imposta/Imposta Costumes, a leading U.S. costume manufacturer, said in a statement.

“Halloween isn’t like other holidays. If products don’t land on time or become too expensive for families, Halloween simply doesn’t happen,” he said.

Despite the tariffs, consumers are expected to spend a record $13.1 billion this season on Halloween, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual consumer survey.

The projected spending is up from $11.6 billion last year and the previous record of $12.2 billion, set in 2023. Tariffs are part of the reason consumers to pay more at the checkout.

“Even with concerns about price increases due to tariffs, Halloween continues to resonate with consumers of all ages,” Katherine Cullen, the Retail Federation’s vice president of industry and consumer insights, said in a statement. “Whether it’s dressing in costume or carving a pumpkin, more consumers plan to take part in Halloween activities and traditions.”

The retail industry trade group has been a vocal critic of the tariffs, saying small- and medium-sized businesses are disproportionately affected by the import taxes, with many saying they will have to raise prices or shut down.

‘Tipping Point’ For Small Businesses

Small businesses are experiencing the impact of tariffs more quickly than larger corporations, according to Scott Lincicome, vice president of economics and trade at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank based in Washington, D.C.

“It only takes a small shift to ruin what was otherwise a profitable enterprise,” Lincicome told Minnesota Public Radio’s “Marketplace.”

“The tariffs are that kind of tipping point,” he said.

Large corporations leverage their size to negotiate better deals with manufacturers and suppliers; can afford lobbyists and lawyers to challenge tax policies; and have the financial resources to wait and see how the Supreme Court rules before making any decisions, Lincicome said.

“There’s a real dichotomy that’s opened up between the haves and the have-nots when it comes to tariffs,” he said.

One of the have-nots is Nicole Panettieri, who is closing The Tiny Owl, a children’s store in New York City, at the end of October. The store is navigating multiple challenges, including a rent increase and competition from a nearby Target store, which the store has survived in the past, but tariffs have increased her costs by 20 percent, she told “Marketplace.”

That means items at the lowest price point that once sold for $8 have gone up to $10 or $15. Panettieri said she has gradually noticed more people putting the items back after looking at the price sticker.

“I’m a small business,” said Panettieri, who will focus on her women’s boutique down the street when The Tiny Owl closes. “I don’t have investors. This is my life savings.”

Ben Knepler, co-founder of True Places, a Pennsylvania company that makes outdoor portable chairs in Cambodia, told “Marketplace” the seesawing tariffs have made it impossible to do business.

“The tariff rate on our products has gone from 0 percent to 49 percent to 10 percent to 36 percent to 19 percent,” he said, explaining the up and down tariff rates drained his company’s bank account.

The tariff rates jumping up and down have drained the company of money. Knepler doesn’t have enough to pay the tariffs on the next shipment. So he’s halted production. They’re not making more new chairs, and he only has a handful left in stock.

“Just from a business survival and cashflow perspective it’s incredibly difficult, so we’re not sure what we’re going to do,” said Knepler, who is considering only selling the chairs internationally to avoid the tariffs altogether. “We literally cannot afford to bring our own product into our own market.”

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

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