Made mostly by small crafts businesses, German traditional nutcrackers are hugely popular in the US. Trump's tariff hike could make them either unaffordable or unprofitable.
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00:01Donald Trump at his desk in the Oval Office as a nutcracker doll.
00:08The idea from the German company Steinbach Volkskunst has been a huge hit in the United States.
00:14The doll costs $379, but that price could soon climb sharply due to the tariffs imposed by the real-life US president.
00:22That's a big problem here. More than 95% of production is sold in the US.
00:27A 20% tariff hike means the price tag will be above $400, and some customers might think that's too much.
00:36$370 is already a lot, and then adding 20% more, whether we lose customers, that's the big question.
00:43In the toy-making village of Seifen in the Orr Mountains, wooden figures, toys, Christmas pyramids
00:51and the world-famous candle arches known as Schwibbögen are sold on every corner.
00:56More than 120 small and large manufacturers operate in this region.
01:01Here there's even a school for wooden toymakers, where around 50 apprentices are currently learning the craft.
01:07Frederic Gunter is a toymaker himself and the head of the Association of Artisans here.
01:13The US market is the most important for the manufacturers.
01:17We've had several dealers in the US who tried to get a 20% discount guaranteed by our manufacturers.
01:26That obviously doesn't work.
01:28In the end, what will happen is that everything will be exported, the 20% extra tariff will be added,
01:34and then at Christmas time we'll see whether the prices still work in that market or not.
01:40The head of Steinbach Volkskunst is in Seattle, meeting customers at a trade fair.
01:46He says the impact of tariffs on EU imports is not yet fully understood by customers and dealers in the US.
01:53In the worst case scenario, speaking for the entire industry, it could mean job cuts.
02:02That would be the worst case.
02:04If you no longer sell what you produce, you have to cut costs.
02:09And the major cost in our industry is of course labour.
02:13All of Rico Powell's nutcrackers are hand-made.
02:17If the tariffs take effect, he may be forced to let go of some of his staff.
02:22However, the 35 employees don't want to let the debate over tariffs drive them crazy.
02:28They see Donald Trump's recently announced 90-day delay as a positive sign.
02:34Okay, so long ago, and they can't really focus on the issue.
02:38And we are not going to compete against those of them.
02:39They're not going to get the vaccine, but they're not going to do of them.
02:42They are not going to be identified.
02:44They are not going to be identified as a political policy.
02:50So, this issue is what we're going to do with the Starts of the Boys.
02:55We are not going to be identified as a political conversation.
02:58So, with the five years, I have a really good point of this !