Trump sets 10 percent tariffs on lumber imports, 25 percent on cabinets, furniture

President Trump on Monday set a 10 percent tariff on lumber imports and a 25 percent tariff on furniture, including vanities and kitchen cabinets.

Trump ordered an evaluation of lumber imports in March, describing the good as part of a “critical” manufacturing industry “essential” to national security, economic strength and the industrial resilience of the United States.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was originally expected to submit his assessment to the president by Nov. 26 but transmitted his report on July 1.

“The Secretary found that present quantities and circumstances of wood product imports are weakening our economy, resulting in the persistent threats of closures of wood mills and disruptions of wood product supply chains, among other things, and diminishing the utilization of production capacity of our domestic wood industry,” the proclamation announcing the move reads. 

“Because of the state of the United States wood industry, the United States may be unable to meet demands for wood products that are crucial to the national defense and critical infrastructure,” it adds.

Trump first signaled plans for a wood trade tax in February, citing an objective to bring businesses back to the U.S. 

“If they don’t make their product in America then they will very simply have to pay a tariff, but if they do make their product in America, they don’t have to pay any tariff,” the president told reporters during the Future Investment Initiative Institute summit.

According to the White House, the U.S. military spends $10 billion annually on construction, where wood is frequently used. The armed forces also invests in creating "innovative" wood products such as cross-laminated timber.

Trump's proclamation highlighted lumber as being “considered so vital that their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect on the national security, economic welfare, or national public health or safety of the United States.” 

The administration is using tariffs on imports of wood products to challenge “foreign dependence” and resolve vulnerabilities in the domestic industry.

Taxes on pharmaceutical imports are set to go into effect on Wednesday.