Employees make inflatable toys on the production line at a factory in Huaibei, Anhui Province of China, on February 15, 2023. VCG/Getty Images Santa Cruz, CA —

Chris Zephro’s warehouse full of latex masks, “Saw” movie props, and zombie apocalypse games is a testament to his love of horror.

“Horror is not necessarily Halloween. It’s really a lifestyle,” Zephro said.

But the fake blood inside his Santa Cruz, California, warehouse pales in comparison to the real-life cash bleed from his business ever since the Trump administration launched a trade war with China last spring.

Zephro’s company, Trick or Trick Studios, produces and imports goods that are sold to more than 10,000 retailers around the world, 65% in the United States. He has paid upwards of $800,000 in tariff costs so

See Full Page