Trump sets 10% tariff on lumber imports, 25% on furniture

US President Donald Trump said he was slapping 10% tariffs on imported lumber and furniture imports, the latest step in his trade policy aimed at protecting domestic industries and enhancing national security.

Trump signed a presidential proclamation, opening a new tab laying, out his argument that timber, lumber, and furniture imports are eroding U.S. national security to justify the new duties under Section 232 of the Trade Act of 1974.

Trump's increasing use of Section 232 comes as he awaits a Supreme Court ruling on the legality, opens new tab of his broader "reciprocal" tariffs on global trading partners, which two lower courts have struck down.

The proclamation said the tariff rates would start on October 14 but added that duties would increase on January 1 to 30% for upholstered wooden products and 50% for kitchen cabinets and vanities imported from countries that failed to reach an agreement with the US.

Trump's proclamation said wood product imports were weakening the US economy, resulting in the persistent threat of closures of wood mills and disruptions of wood product supply chains and diminishing utilization of the US domestic wood industry.

"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," the statement said.

The order stipulated some partial exemptions for trading partners such as the United Kingdom, the EU, and Japan, where tariffs will be capped at 10% and 15%, respectively, based on existing trade agreements.