Editor’s note: This letter to the editor was sent to our sister publication, Furniture Today.
A Jan. 2 article in The Wall Street Journal, “Trump Rolls Back Tariff Hike on Some Furniture,” appears to offer good news. But this and previous news articles, along with press releases about tariffs on upholstered furniture, have been very damaging to all upholstered furniture, whether imported or domestic.
To make matters worse, some readers may miss the word, “upholstered.” Now the tariff stigma is cast on the entire furniture industry. In turn, consumers think, “Don’t buy furniture now. Prices are too high.”
The article goes on to state that rather than the 30% tariff that was due to go into effect Jan. 1, “the tariff level will now remain at 25% for all affected items.” Because such articles don’t differentiate between imported and domestically produced upholstery, they give the false impression that all upholstered furniture is manufactured in China and has been hit by high tariffs.
What they leave out is that a lot of upholstered furniture is still handcrafted in the United States by vibrant domestic manufacturers. And being tariff-free, it is now a better comparative value as a result.
Not sure if it would do any good, but the furniture industry should petition the Wall Street Journal and the Trump administration to set the record straight on this important matter, and to advise them of the damage their articles have caused our U.S. furniture industry in terms of revenue lost. The news media needs to present both sides of the story.
The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index has been near all-time lows, reflecting the damper on consumer spending in general, especially for high-ticket furniture purchases that can be postponed. The false impression these furniture tariff articles paint for consumers who need and want quality American-manufactured upholstered furniture makes matters worse for our domestic industry, both manufacturers and retailers.
As a side note, the Trump administration should completely roll back tariffs on hand-knotted area rugs from countries like India and Pakistan. Skilled craftsmen in these countries have been creating these rugs very affordably for thousands of years. There is no way American workers can or are willing to replicate this value.
With recent tariffs, fine imported rug prices have gone up considerably. We had a hard enough time selling $10,000 to $15,000 rugs before tariffs. Now with 20% increases, it is even more challenging.
John Plunkett
John Plunkett Interiors
Winnetka, Il
