WASHINGTON, May 7 (Reuters) - The Trump administration

is considering exempting car seats, baby strollers, cribs and

other essential items for transporting children from tariffs on

China up to 145%, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on

Wednesday.

Bessent said under questioning from Democratic

Representative Ayanna Pressley at a House of Representatives

Financial Services Committee hearing that those exemptions were

under consideration. Pressley, of Massachusetts, noted that more

than 3.5 million babies are born annually and almost all

strollers are made in China. "Now that cost is going up," she

said.

In 2018, the Trump administration exempted some products

produced in China from 25% tariffs including bicycle helmets and

child-safety furniture such as car seats and playpens. However,

car seat component parts, cribs, bassinets, diaper bags and

wooden safety gates were not exempted.

Chris Peterson, the CEO of Newell Brands ( NWL ), the maker

of Graco strollers, car seats and other children's goods, said

last week on an earnings call that approximately 97% of baby

strollers and 87% of baby car seats in the U.S. are sourced from

China. The company has hiked prices of imported baby gear

products by about 20% because of tariffs.

Peterson said the company has not priced in the latest 125%

tariff hike and has temporarily halted shipments from China as

it sells a few months of inventory.

"At some point, we will begin to run out of inventory.

Retailers will begin to run out of inventory and we will turn

back on reordering from China," he said. "When that happens,

because the whole industry sources from China, we would expect

that we and the rest of the industry will take additional

pricing to offset the tariff cost."