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wardrobe Dealers, interior designers and remodeling contractors in the US are hoping that new tariffs effective Tuesday on imported kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and upholstered wood furniture will generate more business for them and ultimately boost domestic production of those products.
But many small business owners in the home improvement industry say they expect some short-term pain from import taxes: Customers who already have projects on the books may be reluctant to pay more for the budget-priced cabinets they choose. Potential customers may postpone kitchen and bathroom renovations until costs – and the economy – are more stable.
“I think the volatility around pricing is detrimental to the remodeling industry,” said Allison Harlow, an interior designer. michigan Whose company, Curio Design Studio, creates custom bathrooms and kitchens. “Most people will hear the headline ‘Kitchen Cabinets Go Up 50%’ and probably refuse to even reach out to our company.”
Sales of existing homes have declined in recent years despite high mortgage rates, forecast remodeling activity Harvard UniversityThe Joint Center for Housing Studies estimates that homeowner spending on improvements and maintenance will remain flat through mid-2026.
Trump calls cheap imports a threat to national security
The proclamation, which President Donald Trump signed on September 29, cited national security and foreign trade practices as grounds for imposing tariffs on certain finished wood products and product components.
Among them, the tax rate on imported vanities and kitchen cabinets was the highest: 25% until the end of the year and 50% from New Year’s Day.
Upholstered chairs, seats and sofas are also subject to a 25% worldwide tariff effective Tuesday, with the rate rising to 30% on Jan. 1. Additionally, the Presidential Proclamation imposes a 10% import tax on softwood lumber and lumber, which comes from evergreen trees such as pine and cedar.
Softwoods are often used in furniture making and wood frame construction. According to the National Association of Homebuilders, Canada is the source of about 85% of the softwood lumber imported by the US, or about one-quarter of the national supply.
Some US trading partners are getting more favorable treatment when it comes to furniture and cabinetry tariffs. The tax rate on UK exports was set at 10%, while the tax rate on wood products from the EU and Japan was set at 15%.
The American Kitchen Cabinet Alliance and other trade and advocacy groups lobbied for tariffs to help offset the flood of cheap cabinets from Vietnam, Malaysia, China and other countries in the decades since more American furniture manufacturing moved offshore.
American-made products cost more but are often of better quality.
Higher bottom line for those renovating on a budget
John Lovallo, an analyst at UBS Bank, estimates that tariffs on imported cabinets and vanities could add about $280 to the average cost of building a single-family home, not enough to sink a project whose total price is often more than 1,000 times that.
Some business owners say they plan to cover any tariff-related costs for now rather than raising customer prices.
john deanThe founders of Dean Cabinetry in Connecticut sell cabinets that run the gamut from low-cost imports to custom models built in their shop. Imported products account for about a third of their sales, but Dean said he doesn’t expect much of a decline from the tariffs.
Two His vendors in China and Vietnam, from whom he buys imported cabinets, said they would raise prices by 10% to offset some of the duty costs.
Dean said that he will not charge customers more for now. He said, since kitchen remodeling is a big-ticket item to begin with, and with the cost of lumber and labor rising in building construction, raising cabinet prices could impact demand.
“My personal perspective is that most small and medium-sized businesses are trying to absorb those costs,” he said.
According to Jason Miller, a professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University, wood product tariffs are likely to have a greater impact on selection than prices as importers scale back their orders to focus on bestsellers and products with the highest profit margins.
“This will make importers more selective in the varieties they bring in,” Miller said. So I think there’s going to be a big impact on the product variety side: Consumers should expect less variety.
What are cabinet companies expecting?
Although the White House said the tariffs were intended to boost domestic production and protect American businesses from predatory trade practices, some cabinet makers say that would be difficult because their supply chains are multinational.
Link Kitchen, a Los Angeles-area company that designs, manufactures and installs modern-style kitchen cabinets, uses plywood and melamine panels from Asia and Europe in its projects, said co-founder Josh Qian. No suitable domestic alternative exists, he said.
“The kitchen cabinet industry is highly globalized, and even U.S.-based manufacturers rely on imported materials, hardware and finishes,” Qian said. “These tariffs may seem protective, but in reality, they often increase costs throughout the supply chain.”
Also, cabinet companies that do not sell foreign products or rely on imported components are poised to gain more business. One is ACO Denver Custom Cabinetry in Denver, Colorado, which enlists Amish, Mennonite and New German Baptist shops in the Midwest to handcraft custom cabinets.
Andrea Mulkey, company president and co-founder, said his main concern is whether interest in American-made shelves will grow too quickly.
“It’s hard to estimate how much new business may come our way as competitors are affected,” Mulkey said. “If demand suddenly increases we cannot serve everyone. The real challenge is similar to what we saw after COVID, when everyone became busy at the same time, and access to raw materials became strained.”
Curio Design Studio’s custom cabinets are made in Minnesota and Wisconsin, but Harlow is concerned about the cost of tariffs for his customers.
“I think this will reduce consumer confidence and create the perception that work will inherently become more expensive,” Harlow said. “I think we have to work harder to attract potential customers by conveying how this blanket statement, ‘Kitchen cabinets will increase by 50%,’ does not affect our particular business model.”