Furniture tariffs take effect as consumers and businesses share costs

The Trump administration’s new tariffs on imported furniture, kitchen cabinets and other housewares, along with lumber, took effect Tuesday, added costs that economists say could push up prices for consumers. 

Mr. Trump announced the trade measures on Sept. 29, saying the levies are intended to prevent such products manufactured abroad from “flooding” the U.S.

“It is a very unfair practice, but we must protect, for National Security and other reasons, our Manufacturing process,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media at the time. 

 The levies on imported wood products and furniture range from 10% to 50%. 

Although Trump administration officials maintain that tariffs are largely paid by overseas exporters, most economists say Americans bear the brunt of the additional costs. 

If recently imposed and future tariffs have the same impact on domestic prices as the U.S. levies applied earlier this year, then consumers would eventually absorb about 55% of the added costs, Goldman Sachs estimated in an analysis this week. U.S. businesses would swallow 22% of the extra costs, while foreign exporters would absorb 18% of the expenses, economists with the investment bank said.

President Trump has said higher import duties will restore fairness in global trade, energize American manufacturing and raise federal revenue. White House spokesman Kush Desai told CBS News on Tuesday that stiffer U.S. tariffs are already benefiting the economy by spurring companies to expand in the U.S.

“The president and administration’s position has always been clear: While Americans may face a transition period from tariffs upending a broken status quo that has put America last, the cost of tariffs will ultimately be borne by foreign exporters,” Desai said in a statement. “Companies are already shifting and diversifying their supply chains in response to tariffs, including by onshoring production to the United States.”

The Trump administration’s tariffs have so far proved less disruptive than expected, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday, though the full impact of those policies may not be felt for some time. While the U.S. and world economies have fared better than expected, it’s too soon to say they are fully in the clear, the organization said. 

Economists have warned that the furniture, wood and related houseware levies would likely hike costs for consumers building or remodeling a home. Recent inflation data showed that prices for living room, kitchen and dining room furniture — much of which is imported — rose 9.5% from August 2024 to August 2025, driven by country-based U.S. tariffs, according to economists. 

Furniture and bedding prices rose 4.7% over the same period, while the cost of household furnishings and supplies climbed 2.8%.