On its second day in a new storefront on Massachusetts Avenue, the Porter Square outpost of toy store Henry Bear’s Park opened its doors to a different conversation than the usual stuffed animal selection and birthday gift buying. This was one with Senator Ed Markey about the strain placed on small businesses from President Trump‘s everchanging tariff policies.

The family-owned toy store, which has 10 locations and has been in business for nearly 50 years, relies almost entirely on products manufactured outside the United States. Anywhere from 50 to 80 percent of the products it sells are made in China, said store owner Kas Sharma during a Friday press conference.

“We are proud to carry many beloved local American brands that are designed, tested, and developed right here at home,” Sharma said. “But just like so many industries, the reality is that a lot of manufacturing happens overseas.”

Last month, the Trump administration announced a 145 percent tariff on all goods from China, setting off widespread fears of a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. Then Monday, Trump agreed to drop the tariff to 30 percent, starting in 90 days. The rapid changes in policy from day to day are making it difficult for business owners like Sharma to anticipate costs and make plans to keep their business running.

“It requires some very real, hard decisions to be made,” he said. “Do we pass the costs onto our customers? If we do, how will that impact access to learning resources for families?”

Under even the 30 percent tariff, many classic toys could see substantial price increases, said Meghann Ellis, chief financial officer of North Andover-based toy manufacturer Schylling Inc. While the company designs its products here, they are manufactured in China, much like 80 percent of all toys in the United States, she said.

The tariffs mean that a jack-in-the-box that today costs $25, for example, will jump to $32, while a $35 tea set rises to $45, said Ellis, holding up her company’s products that are sold in the Cambridge store.

Last week, Trump took aim at the toy industry, saying children should be fine having two dolls, at higher prices, if tariffs forced consumer prices to rise. The comments drew backlash from industry professionals and parents alike.

And the economic consequences could go well beyond kids having fewer toys. Half of toy stores in the United States, the majority of which are small businesses, fear they will be forced to close in the coming months, a recent Toy Association survey found.

Schylling has had to temporarily pause manufacturing and shipping, reduce staff, and raise prices to remain in business with the flexibility to handle more unexpected changes to international trade, Ellis said. It has “cautiously restarted” manufacturing, she said, but more questions than answers remain.

“Which items should we make now, and which should we wait to see if the tariffs decrease? What if they increase? Should we ship as much as possible in the next 90 days? What prices should we charge our customers if we don’t know how much something will ultimately cost?” Ellis said. “This uncertainty not only makes it impossible to plan, it‘s bad for business.”

Standing amid the store’s brightly colored shelves filled with science kits, stuffed animals, and dolls, Markey announced he would be working next week to enact legislation on the Senate floor to exempt all small businesses from Trump‘s tariffs, he said, “freeing small business from the cloud of uncertainty hanging over their head.”

“Right now, Trump‘s tariffs are turning ‘Main Street’ into ‘Pain Street’ for small businesses,” Markey said.

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