President Donald Trump announced a “major tariff investigation” on furniture being imported into the U.S. He said the investigation will last 50 days, and furniture will be tariffed at a rate yet to be determined.
Furniture tariffs
A move toward furniture tariffs began in March when the president referenced Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. That allows a president to impose tariffs or trade restrictions on imports if they threaten national security.
Trump ordered a review of the wood supply chain and signed two executive orders.
The first order directed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to review trade practices and domestic production capabilities for timber and lumber. The second directed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to suggest updates for domestic wood production.
“I think that he’s really trying to use this as a negotiation tactic to try to get other countries to respond,” Christopher Tan, professor at UCLA Anderson School of Management, told Straight Arrow News.
Straight Arrow News contacted several large furniture manufacturers and importers nationwide. All expressed they are unsure exactly what the president plans to do. They also pointed to a 21-page response put together by a coalition of furniture companies when Trump first began the reviews.
“While Furniture for America offers its full support to President Trump and the Administration in its efforts to curb risks against our industry, the importation of wood products does not threaten national security,” the document reads. “The future of the domestic furniture industry is in the hands of the Administration, and Furniture for America is unsure if the furniture industry can withstand any additional tariffs at this time.”
They voiced concerns about how this would impact smaller furniture stores.
“A blanket Section 232 action impacting all wood products and their derivatives will cause severe economic harm to the small furniture companies, many of which do not have many viable options outside of imports,” the document reads.
They asked the administration to consider their comments before implementing any additional Section 232 duties.
Domestic concerns
In that document, furniture makers also discussed their concerns about a higher reliance on domestic labor.
“There is not enough domestic labor or American-made materials to effectively reshore such intensive wood furniture manufacturing,” the document reads. “Domestic furniture manufacturers have repeatedly identified labor as one of the greatest obstacles to reshoring the industry.”
They noted the labor shortage has led many manufacturers to automate aspects of production, and they expect the labor shortage to last another decade.
They estimate the domestic industry could only meet about 20% of domestic demand, with the other 80% relying on imports.
Furniture imports
The U.S. imported more than $25 billion worth of furniture in 2024, representing a 7% increase from the previous year. Much of that came from countries like Vietnam, China and Cambodia, where labor shortages are also becoming an issue.
“Labor is always going to be a problem,” Al Bolton, managing director for High Point Expositions, said to Furniture Today. “Everyone (in Asia) is jockeying for resources. It’s a people issue.”
He stressed that Vietnam’s growth has attracted other high-paying industries to the country.
Price impacts
The big question is, will this impact furniture pricing for Americans?
“Absolutely,” Tan said. “So, you think about companies such as Wayfair, which is one of the largest online and then in terms of even IKEA, many of the furniture they actually make in China or Vietnam. So, I think that, of course, they will pass on the import tariffs to the consumers as well. Then, you can see that the price will increase.”
Tariffs on other imports
Trump’s announcement on furniture tariffs comes just days after the administration expanded the list of goods subjected to tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Those goods include locomotives, refrigerators, dishwashers, stoves, microwaves and more.
Trump implemented a 25% tariff in March, then later pushed that number to 50%.
“The steel and aluminum tariffs now affect at least $320 billion of imports based on 2024’s general customs value of imports,” Jason Miller, supply chain professor at Michigan State University, said in a LinkedIn post. “This will add more inflationary cost-push pressures to already climbing prices that domestic producers are charging.”
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Author: Cole Lauterbach
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