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A proposed 25 percent tax on car imports is set to take effecton April 3.
Bobby Doherty
How that might impact the Mexican and Canadian tariff proposals is for the moment unclear.
Financial markets dont like this kind of uncertaintyas their current volatility demonstrates.
Politicians are already angling for exemptions for products that benefit their constituencies.
And the horse trading has only just begun.
What does it all mean for the beauty consumer?
What is a tariff?
Tariffs are taxes paid to a government on goods imported from abroad.
They can also be used as leverage in negotiations with other countries.
Why should you care about tariffs?
Because a higher cost of goods can mean higher prices when you check out.
Sellers have a few ways of responding to tax increases on imported products, says Edelberg.
Or they can pass the pain onto consumers.
It wasnt long before domestic washing machines became more expensive, too.
(If a foreign company can charge more, why cant we?)
Even though Trump didnt enforce tariffs on dryers, perhaps you could guess what happened.
People think of washing machines and dryers as going together, says Edelberg.
And, yes, beauty and personal care products.
How could new tariffs affect the beauty industry specifically?
Evidence suggests prices would likely go up by the amount of the tariff, says Rothman.
But just because a product is manufactured in the U.S. doesnt mean its totally American-made and immune from tariffs.
The prediction is pretty unambiguous, and its that prices would go up.
Packaging is already a substantial portion of the cost of making a cosmetic, says Romanowski.
And many, many brands get their packaging from China, where its produced much more cheaply.
Itll affect makeup, hair care, skin careanything sold in a bottle, says Romanowski.
And in all of this, as you might imagine, small beauty businesses could be disproportionately affected.
When could these potential price hikes take effect?
Some changes for consumers may not be immediate.
Some sellers dont share the price burden with consumers until they truly cant afford to pay rising costs anymore.
How will beauty businesses address tariffs?
Many beauty companies have already dealt with tariffs.
Tarang Amin, CEO of e.l.f.
In aBusiness Insiderarticle, Amin explained that he doesnt like tariffs, because they tax the American people.
WhenAllurereached out to Amin for further comment, he said in a statement that if e.l.f.
is subject to new tariffs, we’d use a similar playbook to 2019.
Economists also shared with us a few ways beauty companies might react, other than price increases alone.
Theres already been a shift from China to Vietnam, says Rothman.
Because it takes six to 12 months to move business from one country to another, he says.
Countries subject to the 10 to 20 percent tariff might also make moves to reduce import costs.
The phenomenon has been called shrinkflation and it could come to the beauty industry, too.
How could tariffs ultimately affect your beauty shoppingand the brands you love?
(For a little historical background, search tariffs and the Great Depression.
It aint pretty.)
The tentacles of tariffs will reach much farther than is immediately obvious to many people, says Stevenson.
Whether consumers will buy more expensive beauty products depends on their own price sensitivity.
If you notice the formula is not the same as it used to be, dont be surprised.
At least thats what I found in my post-election reporting.
[The] burden will unmistakably be felt by American families, PCPC stated.
The price increases on these products will also greatly curtail consumer choices relating to hygiene and health.
Ultimately, in 2018 and 2019, some products became more expensive, but not dramatically so.
And at that time, consumers werent already struggling withsteeper prices.
Its still too soon to predict whether your favorite shampoo or mascara will get pricier under Trumps economics.
It remains to be seen.
To read more about the economics of beauty:
