FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 9, 2025 Contact: [email protected] New Lumber Tariffs Expected to Drive Up Homebuilding and Renovation Costs Even Further In the midst of a housing affordability crisis, the cost of building, renovating, and repairing homes is going up even more thanks to the Trump Administration’s tariffs. Last week, the Trump Administration announced a 10% tariff on all timber and lumber imports, effective October 14. Canada supplies nearly 85% of all U.S. lumber imports, and in recent weeks, the Trump Administration already more than doubled duties on Canadian lumber from 14.5% to 35%. Now those tariffs will increase more—to 45% total. Since April, the Trump Administration has imposed across-the-board tariffs of 10%–50% on nearly all imports, with higher rates for dozens of countries and industries. The average tariff rate now tops 17.9%, the highest since 1934. ● Brookings Institute | Recent tariffs threaten residential construction Tariffs on the very materials required to build new homes cut against efforts to build supply, add costs, and slow production. If the Trump administration aims to make housing more affordable, trade policy that seeks to protect the U.S. should support U.S. housing policy, not work against it. ● Building Design and Construction | New wood and furniture tariffs expected to add costs to residential construction The tariffs are expected to put pressure on the cost of residential construction. ● Floor Covering News | New lumber tariffs add pressure to housing Experts say it will take years for domestic output to catch up with demand. In the meantime, imports remain essential to build, remodel and repair homes and apartments. ● National Association of Home Builders | New Tariffs on Lumber, Wood Product Imports Add Headwinds to Housing Market “These new tariffs will create additional headwinds for an already challenged housing market by further raising construction and renovation costs,” said NAHB Chairman Buddy Hughes. ● Yahoo! Finance | Why Trump’s new timber tariffs could raise the price of US housing The 2017 round [of tariffs] under Trump added thousands of dollars to the cost of a new home , and 2025’s tariffs appear poised to do the same. ● VOX | Trump’s new tariffs will slam America’s already brutal housing crisis These tariff-driven cost increases are particularly maddening because they directly contradict the administration’s stated housing goals. Trump has repeatedly pledged to make housing “affordable again” and has signed executive orders directing agencies to reduce regulations that drive up housing costs. But while deregulation might save money on development costs, tariffs are adding thousands of dollars per home. ● Market Place | In the Texas suburbs, building a home is harder under tariffs and immigration crackdowns “Where we thought maybe the budget would be $15,000 for a line item, it was coming in at $28,000,” said Jackie Chandler who is currently building a home in Atascocita, Texas. She said tradespeople would hold off on quoting her for jobs, with prices and labor being so unstable. Instead they’d push it off, telling her to call back when she gets her framing up and then they could give her an estimate. “You can’t do that when you’re trying to plan to build a house,” she said. “You need to build your budget and you need to get everybody lined up.” ### Tariffs Cost US is a new campaign dedicated to providing the public with reliable, comprehensive information about global trade and tariffs, and their impact on both businesses and consumers. |
