President Donald Trump can deliver a timely economic win before the holiday shopping season by using the new U.S.-China Board of Trade to reduce tariffs on everyday consumer goods.
asserted
Trump → deliver → goods
Tariffs on imports from China have been defended as leverage against unfair trade practices and a tool to protect strategic industries.
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Tariffs → defend → industries
But not every product imported from China is strategic.
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product → import → China
They are products American families buy for birthdays, back-to-school, home offices, and holidays.
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families → buy → school
The proposed Board of Trade gives the administration a practical way to target tariffs strategically on high-value, sensitive goods that are tied to national defense and security industries instead of consumer products, where tariffs only serve to raise consumer costs.
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tariffs → propose → costs
That distinction matters now more than ever.
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distinction → matter → ?
Retailers have worked for years to diversify supply chains, absorb cost increases, and reduce the impact of the trade war on U.S. shoppers.
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Retailers → work → shoppers
After nearly a decade of increased China-related tariffs, however, much of that flexibility is gone.
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much → increase → flexibility
When tariffs remain on consumer goods that are not made in the United States at scale, the costs move through the supply chain and ultimately hit households.
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costs → remain → households
NRF’s comments to USTR on the Board of Trade identified key consumer goods categories where tariff reductions would matter immediately: apparel, footwear, furniture, appliances, travel goods, toys and games, household tools, and consumer technology.
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reductions → identify → categories
In those categories alone, U.S. companies paid an estimated $15 billion in tariffs annually from 2022 through 2024.
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companies → pay → 2024
These costs show up in the price of a holiday toy, a child’s coat, a laptop accessory, a kitchen appliance, or a pair of shoes.
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costs → show → shoes
Toys are the clearest example of how consumers get caught in the middle.
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consumers → catch → middle
An estimated 77% of toys sold in the U.S. are manufactured in China, reflecting specialized supply chains not available in the U.S. that cannot be recreated overnight.
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that → sell → U.S.
Keeping extra tariffs on these products does not bring production back; it simply makes the season more expensive.
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season → keep → production
The same logic applies to apparel and consumer electronics.
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logic → apply → apparel
Families need affordable clothing year-round, and holiday demand adds pressure for sweaters, coats, shoes, and gifts.
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demand → need → sweaters
Consumers also depend on electronics accessories and devices for school, work, and daily life.
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Consumers → depend → school
Reducing tariffs on headphones, cables, chargers, printers, and similar products would help households and small businesses manage costs while preserving U.S. leverage on genuinely strategic sectors.
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households → reduce → sectors
This is the kind of targeted trade action that aligns with Trump’s economic message.
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that → target → message
It maintains pressure on unfair practices and national security-sensitive sectors while removing unnecessary costs from products Americans buy every day.
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Americans → maintain → products
It would also support retailers, small businesses, and American families trying to stretch their dollars.
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It → support → dollars
The administration should use the Board of Trade now to deliver a first tranche of tariff relief on non-sensitive consumer goods, starting with toys, apparel, and consumer electronics.
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administration → use → toys
That would be an impactful and practical step to ease price pressure before the holidays, give retailers the ability to keep shelves stocked and prices stable, and show that a tough trade policy can also be disciplined, targeted, and pro-consumer.
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policy → ease → ability
The Aporia
