A shopper browses the lumber department at a Home Depot in Los Angeles on September 8. Mario Tama/Getty Images
As informed by CNN
On Monday, Donald Trump announced the imposition of substantial tariffs on wood and wood products, including imported lumber, wooden building materials, kitchen cabinets, and upholstered wooden furniture. Such steps could affect the cost of building homes and outfitting interiors in the coming months.
Under the order, a 10% tariff will be applied to imported softwood and lumber used in various building materials, as well as a 25% tariff on kitchen cabinets, vanity bases, and upholstered wooden furniture.
The rates will take effect on October 14. From January 1 of next year, the tariff on cabinets will rise to 50%, and on upholstered wooden furniture to 30%. Trump announced these new tariffs for the first time via a post on the social media platform on Thursday.
In the document, the president noted that tariffs on lumber are necessary to strengthen domestic U.S. industries and support national security.
In my judgment, the actions of this decree, among other things, will strengthen supply chains, enhance industrial resilience, create high-quality jobs, and increase the use of domestic capacity for wooden products so that the United States can fully meet domestic consumption while also gaining economic benefits through export growth
Reactions and Economic Consequences
The White House had previously directed the Department of Commerce to investigate potential national security threats from imported wood, including from Canada. Critics and experts, however, warn that tariffs could raise costs for wood, construction work, and overall housing prices.
Reports say the United States has about 300 billion trees, but analysts caution that the country does not currently possess full industrial capacity to fully meet demand, and a significant tariff on Canadian timber could worsen the housing affordability crisis.
Imports of Canadian timber are already subject to countervailing duties and anti-dumping duties of around 14.5%.
Various tariffs, introduced by Trump, have already had a significant impact on furniture prices over the past year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), overall furniture prices last month were 4.7% higher than in August 2024.
Prices for living room and dining room furniture rose the fastest – about 9.5% over the past 12 months, according to the BLS.
Because of tariffs, China and Vietnam, two major suppliers of imported furniture, saw furniture costs rise as well. Both countries exported furniture and hardware to the United States last year worth about $12 billion.
Although furniture prices had been declining for roughly two and a half years prior to Trump’s actions, the president says foreign manufacturers saturated the U.S. market and tariffs are needed to revive domestic production.
Shares of companies such as Wayfair, RH, and Williams-Sonoma fell sharply after the tariff announcement. Trump emphasizes that domestic manufacturers need to shield their industrial capacity from imports.
“The reason is the massive influx of these goods into the United States from other countries,” Trump said in a post last week. “This is a very unfair practice, but we must protect our manufacturing process for national security and other reasons.”
Update: This story has been clarified in light of reliable information that the tariffs will take effect on January 1.
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