3 days ago
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U.S. consumers are "panic-buying" K-beauty items
New York City — Skincare store Senti Senti successful Brooklyn sells items you won't typically find astatine different retailers successful the U.S.
Almost each of the serums, look masks and creams sold astatine Senti Senti are imported from South Korea and Japan.
South Korea tops the database for cosmetics imports, but it could look a 25% tariff if President Trump's program moves guardant pursuing a 90-day pause connected astir of his so-called caller reciprocal tariffs. The intermission was announced past week.
A Japanese delegation held a gathering astatine the White House Wednesday successful an effort to debar caller 24% tariffs connected its ain imports pursuing the decision of that 90-day pause.
"They are panic-buying," said Marie Del Rosario, store manager for Senti Senti. "They cognize that it's coming. They cognize that everything is going to change. So, they bargain multiples of the products that they love."
Last year, the U.S. imported much than $7.5 cardinal successful cosmetics, according to numbers from the U.S. International Trade Commission. Approximately $1.7 cardinal of those imports came from South Korea. In caller years, retailers person seen a roar successful Korean skincare sales, successful portion acknowledgment to societal media influencers.
"The customers that we person here, they travel present with a purpose," Rosario said. "…Most of the clip it's due to the fact that they've seen america connected societal media."
Carrie Kuiken told CBS News she is buying for herself and her sister, who lives successful Seattle.
"She sends maine similar a full database of things that she wants, and past I vessel them out," Kuiken said.
Rosario says their astir fashionable point is its sunscreen, which retails astatine $17.99. She says that tariffs would apt rise the terms to implicit $20.
And that worries the Personal Care Products Council, a commercialized relation that represents implicit 600 brands, including L'Oréal, Neutrogena, Estee Lauder and Procter & Gamble.
It said successful a connection that it is specifically "concerned astir commercialized policies that could effect successful higher prices for idiosyncratic attraction products," adding that U.S. consumers usage "about six to 12 products each day, including sunscreen, toothpaste, shampoo, moisturizer and fragrance."
Michelle Ranavat, CEO and laminitis of her ain quality enactment Ranavat, says the cosmetic manufacture relies connected a "pretty analyzable ecosystem."
"The longer this uncertainty goes on, the much hard it is for tiny businesses to plan," Ranavat told CBS News.
Her products are packaged successful the U.S., but the ingredients travel from India.
"I deliberation the interaction is gonna beryllium beauteous significant," she said of the tariffs.
For now, stores similar Senti Senti are preparing for the worst.
"We bash expect the summation of the prices, either extremity of April oregon archetypal week of May," Rosario said.
Jericka Duncan is simply a nationalist analogous and anchor of the "CBS Weekend News." She's based successful New York City.
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