Donald Trump has declared war with the “country” of Mattel.
Mattel, a California-based company, that manufactures Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels, American Girl and more, said earlier this week that they will increase their prices due to Trump’s 145% tariffs on Chinese imports.
In the Oval Office Thursday, Trump indicated he will punish Mattel for refusing to move its production to the U.S.
“Mattel, I don’t know. I’m not so sure. They also said—they’re the only country I’ve heard, they said, ‘Well, we’re going to go counter. We’re going to try going someplace else.’ That’s okay,“ Trump said.
“Let him go, and we’ll put a 100 percent tariff on his toys. And he won’t sell one toy in the United States, and that’s their biggest market,” Trump added.
Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz said earlier this week that it was unlikely that the company would start manufacturing its products in the US which Trump claims is the goal of his unnecessary trade wars.
“We don’t see that happening,” Kreiz said on CNBC’s Squawk Box. “We believe that production in other countries where we can be efficient and more productive is the best balance between manufacturing outside of the U.S. and continuing to develop product in terms of design and creativity in America.”
Approximately 20 percent of Mattel’s toy imports come from China. Kreiz said the company hopes to bring that down to 15 percent next year and eventually 10 percent or less in 2027.
This year, Mattel is relocating production of 500 of its toys from China to other locations, such as India.
But, Trump said he believes Mattel is threatening to move production of their products out of the US to negotiate a better deal with him.
Last month, Trump indicated that he is aware his tariffs would lead to an increase in the price of toys.
“Somebody said, ‘Oh, the shelves are gonna be open.’ Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more,” he said during a Cabinet meeting.
