Minnesota tariffs: Average family paying $2K more as toys, games take hit

(FOX 9) - A new state tariffs tracker from the National Taxpayers Union Foundation shows the average Minnesota household has paid more than $2,000 in extra costs over the last 20 months because of tariffs from the White House.

The cost of play

What we know:

Minnesota stands out as the only state where the biggest extra payments are tied to toys and games. That's likely because Target, one of the country's largest toy importers, is headquartered here.

Since President Trump began implementing tariffs on toys — essentially the first tariffs in decades on that category — Minnesota companies have paid an extra $616 million to import them.

Kids shopping at Mischief, a toy store in St. Paul, may not notice the change, but their parents probably do.

Dan Marshall and his family, who run the store, have been absorbing the pressure from vendors who have raised prices because of the new tariffs.

"We have no choice but to set our prices based on how much we paid for items," said Dan Marshall of Mischief Toys.

In total, Minnesota companies have paid $4.8 billion in extra tariffs so far — working out to a little more than $2,000 per household.

What they're saying:

University of Minnesota economics professor Tom Holmes put it simply.

"A tariff is a sales tax," said Dr. Thomas Holmes.

Holmes explained that the U.S. has historically used tariffs to raise money, protect local industries and now, to project power.

While the dollar amounts may be manageable for now, he says his bigger concern is what tariffs are doing to businesses and supply chains.

"For the tariff side, as long as the numbers aren't really crazy high, well, it's just a sales tax, and we need to raise money. But just on the firm side, it concerns me greatly," said Holmes.

The disruption he's referring to is significant.

The American auto industry, for example, built a system where components like steel, engines and electronics move back and forth across the Canadian border for specialized processing — like heat-treating and assembly — before final installation.

The president's tariffs threaten to interrupt that supply chain and could push Canada to look to another country, like China, for its cars and trucks.

Big picture view:

For business owners on the ground, the uncertainty is just as difficult as the costs themselves.

"It's unpredictable, and it is really hard to plan your business when the ground underneath you is shifting constantly," said Marshall.

What we don't know:

The data from the tariffs tracker runs through June of this year. Economists warn that continued tariffs on Canadian products could have an even larger effect on Minnesota in the next round of data.