U.S. furniture makers, supposedly the winners of Trump's protectionist push, are finding that the tariffs meant to help them are doing quite the opposite.

by Xinhua writer Liu Yanan

NEW YORK, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration are rattling the furniture sector, piling on costs, fueling uncertainty and stalling sustainability efforts, industry insiders have said.

They made the observation at the just-concluded 2025 International Contemporary Furniture Fair.

Both international manufacturers, along with their distributors, and domestic brands are feeling the squeeze, caught between rising expenses and shrinking options.

Mischa Couvrette, lead designer from Hollis Morris, a Toronto-based lighting and furniture brand, said that the U.S. tariffs hit hard, and that it felt as if it came with a hammer with overwhelming impact.

It is kind of a "benefit and curse" of being in Canada since the company has 80 percent of its sales from the United States, said Couvrette.

The 11-year-old company, focusing on Canada, Mexico and mostly the United States, has to look to Europe for the first time due to the tariffs, the designer said, adding that they launched the brand in Copenhagen this year.

A representative from Italian lighting and furniture design studio Gaspare Asaro, whose products are entirely made in Italy, said that a 10 percent tariff imposed by the United States and appreciation of the euro against the U.S. dollar added another 5 percent of costs.

Given the high uncertainty of tariffs, the representative said the company has little choice but to pass those added costs on to clients.

U.S. furniture makers, supposedly the winners of Trump's protectionist push, are finding that the tariffs meant to help them are doing quite the opposite.

On the tariffs, Shant Madjarian, president of Juniper Design Group Inc., said that there hasn't been a policy change or decision that has shaken as many industries and that the tariff policy affects manufacturing, projects and the design industry.

"It has affected all of us, both in terms of the cost of production and the cost of doing business. But also, very importantly, uncertainty," said Madjarian.

Casey Baxter, vice president and general manager of furniture and textile producer HBF and HBF Textiles, shared a similar sentiment. "We're proud to be a domestic manufacturer, but we're not unscathed."

"Even American manufacturers that are very much vertically integrated and produced here in the United States, we can't escape what's happening right now," said Baxter, adding that HBF saw a minor surcharge but made efforts to remain price neutral to the tariffs.

"We have metal components that come from Canada. We have a lot of really premium textiles that come from Europe. And this is where we're getting the impact," said Baxter.