The recent U.S. move to raise tariffs on imported lumber, furniture and kitchen cabinets from 10% to 50% has sparked concerns about soaring costs for builders and consumers.
Buddy Hughes, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), warns that "this tariff hike will create additional headwinds for an already challenged housing market by further raising construction and renovation costs."
With high mortgage rates and limited inventory already weighing on home sales, analysts say the tariffs could push building costs even higher. Economist Stephen Brown of Capital Economics estimates that since 30% of U.S. lumber comes from Canada, the extra 10% levy could add up to $2,200 to the cost of building an average home.
Manufacturers like Naturepedic are feeling the squeeze. Chief Growth Officer Arin Schultz says his company has raised prices by 5–10% to offset material shortages and new duties, and is weighing supplier shifts. "We're not trying to pass the cost off to our consumers completely," he explains, "but we will be absorbing part of it."
Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, adds that the tariffs undermine efforts to make housing more affordable, noting that "in the end, this will lead to fewer homes being built."
While domestic furniture makers and cabinet builders might see short-term gains, Associated Builders and Contractors chief economist Anirban Basu cautions that high U.S. labor costs make large-scale reshoring unlikely. "The prospects of those forms of production moving to America are rather slender," he says.
Internationally, Canada and Swedish furniture giant Ikea have criticized the move. The BC Lumber Trade Council calls the tariffs "misguided and unnecessary," warning they threaten jobs on both sides of the border and hamper efforts to ease the housing crunch.
As pressure mounts, builders, economists and international suppliers urge policymakers to reconsider, highlighting that global trade tensions can directly affect everyday costs and the pace of homebuilding in the U.S.
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U.S. tariff hike on lumber and furniture backfires, provoking concerns
cgtn.com
