Trump says U.S. taking steps towards tariffs on furniture imports

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday his administration will conduct a "major" tariff investigation on furniture entering the United States, a step toward imposing higher duties on a sector already seeing tariff-fueled price increases.

"Furniture coming from other Countries into the United States will be Tariffed at a Rate yet to be determined," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Furniture retailer RH – previously known as Restoration Hardware – shares fell 7.5 percent in after-hours trading on Trump's announcement.

Trump said the investigation will be completed within the next 50 days, but other national security probes have taken significantly longer than that. A White House official confirmed that it would be conducted under the Section 232 national security statute.

The probe could serve as a backstop legal basis for existing tariffs if a federal appeals court strikes down "reciprocal" duties that Trump imposed on a broad range of U.S. trading partners in April, as well as import taxes imposed in February against China, Canada and Mexico.

"This will bring the Furniture Business back to North Carolina, South Carolina, Michigan, and States all across the Union," Trump said.

Furniture and wood products manufacturing – which employed 1.2 million people in 1979 – has fallen from 681,000 in 2000 to 340,000 today, according to government statistics.

The United States imported about $25.5 billion in furniture in 2024, up 7 percent over 2023, according to Furniture Today, a trade publication.

New tariffs on imports from furniture-producing countries helped push up consumer prices for home furnishings by a steep 0.7 percent in July, according to Commerce Department data, though overall consumer price inflation was restrained by lower gasoline prices.

(With input from Reuters)