The Trump administration released details on Monday for tariffs on imported wood, furniture and kitchen cabinets announced by President Trump last week, while delaying their implementation by two weeks to Oct. 14.
The details, in a proclamation put out by the White House, offered a more nuanced and gradual tariff arrangement than the sudden and steep levies the president forecast in a series of social media posts on Thursday. But they still will set in place major new tariffs that could send home builders, and some homeowners, reeling.
The proclamation said tariffs on imports of timber and lumber would be 10 percent. That number is lower than some had anticipated, and companies that pay that 10 percent tariff are not subject to the “reciprocal” tariffs the president has put on other countries’ products, which are in some cases much higher.
The announcement said that tariffs on other wood products, like furniture and kitchen cabinets, would be higher and rise in the coming months. The tariff on upholstered furniture will be 25 percent, rising to 30 percent on Jan. 1. A 25 percent tariff on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities will also rise, to 50 percent, as of Jan. 1.
The proclamation also gave special rates for several countries. Tariffs on wood products from the United Kingdom are capped at 10 percent, while tariffs on wood products from both the European Union and Japan will not exceed 15 percent.
Mr. Trump’s tariffs are based on a national-security-related law, which some critics have described as a stretch. The proclamation put out on Monday said that wood products were “used in critical functions of the Department of War,” including building infrastructure for personnel and for transporting munitions.
Tariffs on furniture and kitchen cabinets appear likely to weigh on American consumers, as well as home buyers and home builders, a segment of the economy the Trump administration has talked about stimulating. Vietnam, China and Mexico are all significant suppliers of furniture and kitchen cabinets.
The relatively low tariff on imports of timber and lumber will spare Canada, which supplies nearly half of American lumber, distantly followed by China, Brazil and Mexico.
Ana Swanson covers trade and international economics for The Times and is based in Washington. She has been a journalist for more than a decade.
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