Furniture Tariffs Are Coming Within 50 Days
As if the postal chaos wasn't enough, Trump announced Friday that furniture tariffs are coming within 50 days. He posted on Truth Social that an investigation is underway and imported furniture will be "Tariffed at a Rate yet to be determined."
The announcement immediately tanked after-hours trading for companies like Wayfair, RH, and Williams-Sonoma — all of which import significant amounts of their inventory. La-Z-Boy's stock went up because they manufacture domestically, which tells you everything about who wins and loses in this game.
Trump claims this will "bring the Furniture Business back to North Carolina, South Carolina, Michigan." Maybe it will. Or maybe it'll just make couches more expensive while people are already struggling with housing costs and inflation.
The furniture industry is already hurting. Housing market's slow, people aren't buying new homes, so they're not buying new furniture. Adding tariffs to the mix is like kicking someone when they're down.
What This Actually Means
We're watching trade policy get made through Truth Social posts and executive orders with no implementation plan. Major postal services and shipping companies can't figure out the basic mechanics of collecting these duties. The furniture industry just found out via social media that tariffs are coming "at a Rate yet to be determined."
This isn't how functional governments operate. You don't revolutionize international shipping rules without telling the shippers how it works. You don't announce sector-wide tariffs without knowing what the rate will be.
Bottom line: If you were planning to order furniture, maybe do it now before prices jump. And if you're running a business that depends on international shipping, start looking for alternatives because this confusion isn't ending anytime soon.