"Baby tax": Trump tariffs send baby gear prices soaring

Zoom in: Prices on baby essentials, like car seats and strollers, started increasing last week and are up, on average, by about 30%, said Elizabeth Mahon, founder of D.C.-based children's store Three Littles.

• "Prices are through the roof right now," she said, adding that they're expected to continue going up in coming weeks.

Case in point: The price of an UPPAbaby stroller, which Mahon said is of one of the most popular strollers in the country, is going to jump from $899 to $1,200 in early May, she said.

• Strollers and car seats from Nuna, another popular brand, already went up $100 and $50, respectively.
• Over the next 30 to 45 days, Munchkin will instate price increases across about 90% of its products, which range from sippy cups to high chairs, CEO Steve Dunn told Axios.

State of play: 97% of strollers and 87% of car seats are made in China, according to Babylist, a popular baby registry platform.

• Companies are telling consumers directly that the reason for price jumps are the tariffs.
• UPPAbaby announced last week it would soon raise prices for many of its items due to rising import tariffs. The company said it tried to absorb as much of the cost as possible but found increases to be unavoidable.
• In an open letter in the Washington Post on Wednesday, Babylist called for an "immediate reprieve from tariffs on essential baby products," saying the tariffs are essentially a "baby tax" impacting the cost of essential gear parents legally need to bring their newborns home safely.
• 13 other well-known baby gear companies, like UPPAbaby, Munchkin and Frida, signed on to the letter.

What they're saying: Natalie Gordon, Babylist CEO and founder, said everything from car seats to cribs will face price increases across the board.

• "These are essential items that every expecting parent needs, and they can't be delayed," Gordon told Axios. "It's an added burden at one of the most vulnerable and financially stretched moments in life."
• Baby companies are being forced to make daily, reactive decisions to navigate the uncertainty of the tariffs, she said.
• "That includes adjusting prices, but also delaying shipments of finished goods, which is likely to lead to stock shortages in the coming months," Gordon added.

Zoom out: Dunn, of Munchkin, wrote two letters to President Trump this month, asking for a permanent exemption from the tariffs for baby products.

• "The reality is that there is no infrastructure or manufacturing base in the U.S. capable of producing the millions of low-margin, safety-critical juvenile and maternal health products American families need," he wrote.

• Dunn told Axios that any manufacturing options in the U.S. at least doubles the cost of Munchkin's products.
• "Birth rates are at a U.S. record low, and it's not really a mystery as to why," Dunn said. "Young families are buckling under the rising cost of food, housing and child care, and laying punitive tariffs on top of that burden doesn't protect the American dream — it taxes it."

Between the lines: The Trump administration is trying to incentivize women to have more children, but it's not necessarily making it more accessible to do so.

• The White House is reportedly soliciting ideas about how to get more Americans to marry and have more babies, with proposals including cash "baby bonuses," Axios earlier reported.
• But the tariffs impacting baby gear prices are making it exponentially more expensive for parents in the U.S. to keep their children safe, Mahon said.
• "Eventually, even the more affordable car seats will be out of reach for many families," she said, noting that this will encourage people to buy secondhand or expired car seats, which are not safe for children.

The White House did not respond to Axios' request for comment.

The bottom line: "I think that the best way that we can support families in having more children is to be committed to making it more affordable and be committed to providing more support for them," Mahon said.

Go deeper: The push for women to have more children has a powerful ally: Trump