President Trump calls out North Carolina furniture industry in latest social post

HIGH POINT — Confusion around tariffs on furniture imports continues to grow as President Trump posted another reference to potential higher tariffs on Monday.

On Truth Social, President Trump wrote, “In order to make North Carolina, which has completely lost its furniture business to China, and other countries, great again, I will be imposing substantial tariffs on any Country that does not make its furniture in the United States.”

No details have yet been provided on the specifics of “substantial tariffs,” adding to the uncertainty generated by President Trump’s post last week that announced a 30% tariff on upholstered furniture and 50% tariffs on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, scheduled to go into effect this week.

The Hill notes that “in the first few months of his second term, President Trump’s tariff policy has rattled global markets, strained relationships with American allies like Canada and the European Union, and increased economic anxiety,” adding that the Supreme Court is set to consider if the President can use emergency powers for the justification of his expansive tariffs worldwide in early November.

In response to President Trump’s latest post, CNN reported that “furniture prices in the United States have increased over the past few months as Trump hiked tariffs on countries including China and Vietnam, the top two sources of imported furniture. Both countries exported $12 billion worth of furniture and fixtures last year, according to U.S. Commerce Department data. Furniture and bedding prices, an overarching category the Consumer Price Index tracks, rose 0.9% in July and 0.3% in August. Compared to August 2024, prices are 4.7% higher, the largest jump in three years. That’s a sharp contrast to most of the past two and a half years, when prices were falling.”

Fox News reported that President Trump’s senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, Peter Navarro, called out industry partnerships with other countries on Friday.

“I know that furniture and kitchen cabinets are like highly craftsman-oriented industries that got completely gutted. And right now, China, with the cooperation of Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand are running a game on the entire world,” Navarro said.

CNN noted that “North Carolinians could play a crucial role in determining which party controls the Senate, with one seat up for election next year in their state, considered a major battleground race.”

Furniture industry conversations have been, and continue to be, active in response to the tariff announcements.

“We are bullish on the latest tariff announcement. Our backlog is higher than it’s been all year long at our domestic upholstery plant in Mississippi,” said Paul Comrie, CEO, Elements. “We have tons of fabric inventory and with the upholstery tariff we are positioned really well to take advantage of what we believe will be a rush of demand to domestic upholstery factories. Case goods are priced super aggressively as we demonstrated at Premarket. We have a huge price advantage that only became stronger with tariffs. We think it will be the best show of our lives next month.”

On LinkedIn, Douglas Estremadoyro, a presenter at Furniture Today’s upcoming Leadership Conference in December, wrote: “These discussions highlight how much uncertainty the industry is facing. Another tariff at this scale would ripple across price points and make it even harder for companies to plan with confidence. What we need most right now is stability and predictability so we can focus on strengthening competitiveness and delivering value to consumers.”

Also on LinkedIn, James Fleming, an advisor to lighting and home brands, wrote: “Consumer prices will have to increase, thus contributing to inflation concerns. Large DTC (direct-to-consumer) retailers such as Rooms to Go, City Furniture and others will be impacted greatly. Amongst all the many pressing needs in our country, imposing tariffs and the negative impact on businesses and consumers wasn’t on the list.”