U.S. to impose 10% timber tariff
- President Donald Trump imposed Section 232 tariffs on imported softwood timber and lumber, plus some wood furniture and cabinets, in a September 29, 2025 proclamation. - The tariffs took effect October 14, 2025: 10% on softwood lumber, 25% on upholstered wood furniture and cabinets, with some rates rising January 1. - The move followed a Commerce Department national-security probe launched in March 2025 under Section 232. (federalregister.gov)
The United States is not preparing a new timber tariff today; it already imposed one on September 29, 2025, under Section 232. (whitehouse.gov) (federalregister.gov) President Donald Trump’s proclamation set a 10% tariff on imported softwood timber and lumber and a 25% tariff on certain upholstered wooden furniture, kitchen cabinets, vanities, and parts. The measures applied to goods entered for consumption on or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern on October 14, 2025. (whitehouse.gov) (federalregister.gov) The White House tied the action to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, the same national-security authority used for past steel and aluminum tariffs. Commerce had opened that investigation on March 1, 2025, and requested public comments later that month. (whitehouse.gov) (federalregister.gov) The administration said imported wood products were weakening domestic mills and threatening supply needed for defense, infrastructure, transportation, energy, and manufacturing. The proclamation says Commerce delivered that finding to the president on July 1, 2025. (whitehouse.gov) (federalregister.gov) The details are narrower than “all timber.” The annex covers specific Harmonized Tariff Schedule lines for softwood logs, railway ties, and lumber, plus separate lines for upholstered wooden furniture. (whitehouse.gov) The policy also changed after the first announcement. A December 31, 2025 amendment said the 25% tariff on upholstered furniture would rise to 30% on January 1, 2026, and the 25% tariff on kitchen cabinets and vanities would rise to 50%. (federalregister.gov) Those higher rates were not universal. The annex and later Customs guidance carved out different treatment for some partners, including the United Kingdom, the European Union, Japan, and South Korea. (whitehouse.gov) (cbp.gov) That means the story is less about a future October 14 tariff than about a tariff regime already in force and still being adjusted through country-by-country deals. The United States Trade Representative’s tariff-actions page lists related agreements with the United Kingdom, the European Union, Japan, Indonesia, and Malaysia. (ustr.gov) For importers, the practical question is not whether a timber tariff is coming. It is which wood product, from which country, entered on which date, and whether a later agreement changed the rate. (federalregister.gov 1) (federalregister.gov 2)
