WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened fresh tariffs on imported furniture, saying his administration will launch a probe on the sector.
“We are doing a major Tariff Investigation on Furniture coming into the United States,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“Within the next 50 days, that Investigation will be completed,” the US leader added.
He said the tariff rate for furniture has yet to be decided, but justified the plan as a means to bring the furniture industry back to states like North Carolina, South Carolina and Michigan.
The US employed over 340,000 people in the furniture and related products manufacturing sector as of July, according to government data, about half the level seen in the year 2000.
China and Vietnam are among the major sources of US furniture imports.
The United States imported $25.5 billion worth of furniture in 2024, according to trade publication Furniture Today.
Trump’s move marks his latest threat targeting specific sectors, after he imposed steep duties on imports of steel, aluminum, autos and other products this year.
The Trump administration has also launched several investigations into imports of pharmaceuticals, chips, critical minerals and various categories of goods — taking into consideration their effects on national security.
Typically, such probes take months to conclude, and they could eventually justify the imposition of new tariffs.
While economies like Vietnam and China are already hit with separate waves of countrywide levies — with specific sectors coming under separate rates — some of these country-specific duties are facing legal challenges.
The sectoral tariffs imposed after investigations, however, are generally seen to be on firmer legal ground.
Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump’s fresh duties on products from US trading partners have added to the business costs of importers and other firms.
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