My daughter, 7, riding her Batch bicycle, a model built for 4-year olds that she's outgrown. Donald Trump's tariffs could make it far more expensive to buy her a new bike.

How do I explain to my seven-year-old that Donald Trump's trade policies will delay her eagerly anticipated birthday present?

This dilemma wasn't what I expected on a recent Saturday on the way to Blue Line Bike Lab in the Heights. It's the sweet independent retailer where, three years ago, I bought her a solid 16-inch peach-colored Batch bike with training wheels. Now, though, her long limbs make her cute little beginner's bike look like a tricycle.

On the way to the shop, I asked which color she wanted this time. Purple, she said, though she'd settle for pink.

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But when we pushed through the shop's doors, her two-wheel dream was crushed. I expected to see a rack full of multihued children's bikes. Instead, there were only four children's bikes in stock, none of which fit her suddenly lanky frame. Panicky, I realized that I had just committed the cardinal sin of overpromising to my child — on her birthday, no less.

Maybe shop owner Fred Zapalac noticed the look on my face. At any rate, he did me a solid: He called around to several area bike stores, asking if they had any 24-inch children's bikes in stock. No luck. My daughter looked at the ground, fidgeting her feet, that unmistakable sign of disappointment.

Zapalac was apologetic.The lack of inventory, he explained, was largely out of his control. Over the past five years, a wicked combination of tariffs, supply-chain disruptions and inflation........

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