New York — NEW YORK (AP) — Cabinet dealers, interior designers and remodeling contractors in the United States are hoping New definitions On imported kitchen cabinets, bathroom tables and upholstered wooden furniture that started on Tuesday, it will create more business for them and ultimately boost the local production of these products.
But many small business owners in the home improvement industry say they expect some pain in the short term Import taxes: Clients who already have registered projects may decline to do so Pay more For budget priced safes they chose. Potential clients can put off kitchen and bathroom renovations until the costs – and Economy -It seems more stable.
“I think price fluctuations are hurting the remodeling industry,” said Allison Harlow, a Michigan interior designer whose company, Curio Design Studio, creates and builds custom bathrooms and kitchens. “Most people will hear the headline ‘Kitchen cabinets will go up 50%,’ and may choose not to contact our company.”
Although high Mortgage rates presence Depressed sales Of existing homes in recent years, projections of remodeling activity by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University predict that homeowner spending on improvements and maintenance will remain flat through mid-2026.
The proclamation signed by President Donald Trump on September 29 cited national security and Foreign trade Practices as a basis for imposing customs duties on certain finished wood products and product components.
Among them, imported vanities and kitchen cabinets incur the highest tax rates: 25% until the end of the year and 50% starting on New Year’s Day.
Upholstered chairs, benches and sofas are also subject to a 25% global tariff from Tuesday, with the rate set to rise to 30% from January 1. Additionally, the presidential proclamation imposed a 10% import tax on softwood and sawn timber, which come from evergreen trees such as pine and cedar.
Softwoods are often used in furniture making and in the construction of timber frames. Canada is the source of about 85% of the softwood lumber imported by the United States, or nearly a quarter of the national supply, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
Some U.S. trading partners get better treatment when it comes to tariffs on furniture and cabinets. The tax on UK exports has been capped at 10%, while a maximum has been imposed on wood products from the EU and Europe. Japan It is capped at 15%.
The American Kitchen Cabinet Alliance and other trade and advocacy groups have pushed for tariffs to help offset what they describe as a flood of cheap cabinetry from countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, China and elsewhere in the decades since more American furniture manufacturers moved abroad.
Products made in the United States tend to cost more but are often of better quality.
John Lovallo, analyst at UBS Estimated definitions Imported cabinets and sinks can add roughly $280 to the average cost of building a single-family home, not enough to sink a project that often carries a total price tag a thousand times larger than that.
Some business owners say they plan to cover any tariff-related costs for now rather than raise customer prices.
John Dean, founder of Dean Cabinetry in Connecticut, sells cabinets that run the gamut from low-priced imports to custom models made in his shop. Imported products account for about a third of its sales, but Dean said he does not expect much of a fallout from the tariffs.
Two vendors from whom he buys imported tanks, in China and Vietnam, said they would raise prices by 10% to recoup some of the costs of tariffs.
Dean said he will not charge customers additional fees at this time. He said that since a kitchen remodel is a big item initially, and with the high costs of lumber and labor construction, raising cabinet prices could hurt demand.
“My personal view is that most SMEs are trying to absorb these costs,” he said.
Tariffs on wood products are likely to have a greater impact on choice than on prices, as importers scale back their orders to focus on best-selling products and products with the highest profit margins, according to Jason Miller, a professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University.
“It will make importers more selective in the varieties they bring in. So I think the biggest impact will be on the product variety side: consumers should expect less variety,” Miller said.
Although the White House said the tariffs were intended to boost domestic production and protect American companies Predatory business practicesSome cabinet makers say that will be difficult because their supply chains are multinational.
Linq Kitchen, a Los Angeles-area company that designs, builds and installs modern-style kitchen cabinets, uses plywood and melamine boards from Asia and Europe in its projects, said co-founder Josh Kian. He said there was no suitable local alternative.
“The kitchen cabinet industry is highly globalized, and even U.S. manufacturers rely on imported materials, hardware and finishes,” Qian said. “These tariffs may seem protective, but in reality they often raise costs across the entire supply chain.”
Meanwhile, tank companies that do not sell foreign products or rely on imported components are looking to capture more business. One is ACO Denver Custom Cabinetry in Denver, Colorado, which sources Amish, Mennonite, and New Baptist shops in the Midwest to handcraft custom cabinets.
Andrea Mulkey, the company’s president and co-founder, said her main concern is whether interest in American-made safes will grow so quickly.
“It’s difficult to predict how much new business might come our way as competitors are impacted,” Mulkey said. “We simply won’t be able to serve everyone if demand suddenly spikes. The real challenge is similar to what we saw post-Covid, when everyone was busy at once, and access to raw materials became strained.”
Curio Design Studio has custom cabinets made in Minnesota and Wisconsin, but Harlow is concerned about the customs duties it costs her customers.
“I think that will reduce consumer confidence and create a narrative that business is going to become inherently more expensive,” Harlow said. “I think we’re going to have to work harder to attract potential customers by sending out messages that show how this blanket statement, ‘kitchen cabinets are going up 50%,’ doesn’t impact our own business model.”