CHRISTMAS toys could be cheaper in Britain as a result of Donald Trump’s trade war with China.
The Asian superpower churns out gifts including Barbies, Mr Potato Heads, Hot Wheels and Bratz dolls for children all over the world.
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But economists believe America’s threat of 104 per cent tariffs could lead to stock being diverted to countries including the UK instead.
The Entertainer — Britain’s biggest toy retailer — has teams of buyers currently in Shenzhen, China, ahead of a critical deadline in three weeks, to ensure toys are ready in time for Christmas.
Chief executive Andrew Murphy told The Sun: “It’s possible there will be bargains to be had.
“The clock is counting but there’s such uncertainty. We’re all in a holding pattern.
“Everyone knows the world has changed but it’s not clear if it’s temporary tariffs, or permanent.
“No one wants to get caught out by panicking and striking a bad deal that makes them an anecdote in a few weeks’ time. But we will all have had to be committed by the first week in May.”
Donald Trump has threatened to hike an extra 50 per cent tariff on top of the 54 per cent already levied on Chinese goods after China retaliated with tit-for-tat measures.
That could lead to toys being offloaded on to other nations but Mr Murphy said that the UK cannot absorb all of the toys destined for the US market — which is ten times bigger than ours.
He added: “We’re also nervous about the demand side of things. If there is a downturn because of this chaos, could that affect how much people will buy at Christmas? The economy was fragile enough before this madness.”
His comments come after Isaac Larian, boss of Bratz doll-maker MGA Entertainment, said: “It’s impossible to make some parts of toys in America, and if you can it will take three years and those jobs will go to robots not people.
“You don’t mess with Santa’s supply chain.”
The Entertainer has 165 shops and concessions in 767 Tesco stores.
Traders suffer a wage dip
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BRITAIN’S army of traders have seen a dip in income in the past year, but builders remain top of the trades for earnings.
The average income for tradespeople last year was £66,172, down 3 per cent from the previous year, according to exclusive figures by Simply Business.
Builders were the top-earning trade, with a £110,260 average.
The figures are based on sole traders who typically run their own firms.
Dryliners were the second biggest earners at £95,979, despite a 9 per cent dip on the previous year’s average.
However, roofers saw the biggest drop, earning 30 per cent less at £56,799 compared with the £81,517 earnings the previous year.
Roofers said the drop in earnings was only going to make an ongoing skills shortage even worse.
Ryan Taylor, a roofer in Nottingham, said: “The skills shortage is having a huge effect.
“We just aren’t seeing young people coming through, which is a real shame because the work is so rewarding and there is money to be made.”
Euro rail rival
ONE of the owners of Avanti West Coast has emerged as another potential rival to Eurostar to run trains between London and Paris.
FS Italiane Group wants to launch services through the Channel Tunnel by 2029. It said it will invest £857million and could partner with Spanish company Evolyn.
Evolyn had revealed it was bidding to launch services, as well as Virgin Group.
FS Italiane’s Stefano Antonio Donnarumma said: “More competition will help create a more efficient industry.”
Dragons’ Theo Posts a bid
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FORMER Dragons’ Den star Theo Paphitis is mounting a rescue of some of the Post Office’s biggest branches.
The firm wants to franchise off its remaining 108 owned branches in an effort to save them from closure.
They currently lose £40million a year, despite only accounting for 1 per cent of the business.
Stationery retailer Ryman, owned by Paphitis, is among 500 bidders already attracted by the offer. It already has Post Office services in six of its 237 branches.
Mr Paphitis, right, told The Sun: “The taxpayer’s currently picking up the bill for these losses. We want to ensure they’re viable and sustainable for the public.”
Tesco is also understood to be interested.
Nigel Railton, Post Office chairman, pledged to funnel savings into increasing postmasters’ pay by 10 per cent.
He said the move to a franchise model would also “create a long-term, sustainable future for the Post Office.”
The Post Office is still negotiating with the Government on funding for this year and is understood to have secured the majority of its funding for the service.
Marching boots
THE U.S. owner of Boots is making a recovery ahead of its £18.4billion takeover and expected break-up.
Walgreens Boots Alliance, which agreed a deal last month with private equity firm Sycamore Partners, yesterday posted a £4.3billion operating loss in its last quarterly set of results as a New York-listed company, bettering the £10.3billion quarterly loss the previous year.
The results revealed Boots’ retail and pharmacy sales rose 5 per cent in the second quarter. Online sales rose a fifth.
SURGING gold prices have led pawnbroker Ramsdens to upgrade its profit forecast by £2million. The firm said more people were taking out loans against gold jewellery. It now expects pre-tax profits of £13million this year, up on the £11.4million expected.
DONALD Trump’s tariffs have been slammed as an “absolute parody”, by Theo Paphitis.
The ex-Dragon told The Sun Keir Starmer was right not to retaliate “because the first rule of business is you can’t negotiate with an illogical person”, adding: “The trade gap isn’t because of tariffs, it’s because no one wants to buy American cars.”