🔗 Share this article

Several recently announced US import duties targeting imported cabinet units, bathroom vanities, timber, and specific furnished seating have come into force.

Under a proclamation signed by President Donald Trump last month, a ten percent tariff on soft timber foreign shipments was activated on Tuesday.

Import Duty Percentages and Future Increases

A 25% tariff will also apply on foreign-made cabinet units and vanities – increasing to fifty percent on January 1st – while a twenty-five percent tariff on wooden seating with fabric is scheduled to grow to thirty percent, provided that no fresh commercial pacts get agreed upon.

Donald Trump has referenced the need to shield American producers and national security concerns for the action, but some in the industry worry the taxes could elevate housing costs and cause homeowners postpone house remodeling.

Defining Customs Duties

Import taxes are levies on imported goods usually charged as a share of a item's price and are remitted to the American authorities by companies importing the products.

These enterprises may shift part or the whole of the additional expense on to their customers, which in this case means everyday US citizens and further domestic companies.

Past Import Tax Strategies

The chief executive's import tax strategies have been a central element of his second term in the presidency.

The president has earlier enacted sector-specific taxes on metal, copper, light metal, automobiles, and car pieces.

Consequences for Canadian Producers

The extra international ten percent duties on wood materials implies the material from the northern neighbor – the number two global supplier internationally and a key US supplier – is now dutied at more than 45%.

There is presently a aggregate 35.16% US countervailing and anti-dumping duties imposed on the majority of Canada-based manufacturers as part of a long-running disagreement over the item between the neighboring nations.

Commercial Agreements and Exemptions

In accordance with existing bilateral pacts with the US, duties on timber goods from the UK will not go beyond ten percent, while those from the EU bloc and Japanese nation will not surpass 15%.

White House Rationale

The presidential administration states Trump's duties have been implemented "to guard against dangers" to the America's homeland defense and to "bolster industrial production".

Sector Apprehensions

But the Residential Construction Group said in a release in late September that the new levies could increase housing costs.

"These new tariffs will generate further challenges for an presently strained residential sector by even more elevating development and upgrade charges," said head the association's chairman.

Merchant Viewpoint

According to Telsey Advisory Group top official and retail expert the analyst, merchants will have no choice but to increase costs on foreign products.

Speaking to a media partner last month, she stated retailers would seek not to raise prices excessively before the festive period, but "they are unable to accommodate 30% duties on top of other tariffs that are presently enforced".

"They will need to shift pricing, almost certainly in the shape of a two-figure cost hike," she continued.

Ikea Response

In the previous month Scandinavian home furnishings leader Ikea said the levies on overseas home goods render operating "harder".

"These duties are affecting our operations like additional firms, and we are attentively observing the developing circumstances," the company stated.