On September 29, 2025, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation announcing that the Department of Commerce had concluded its investigation into the effects of imports of timber, lumber, and their derivative products (collectively, wood products) pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and found certain wood products are being imported into the United States in such quantities and circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States. As such, the Secretary of Commerce provided recommendations for action under Section 232 to impose additional tariffs on the imports of wood products, effective October 14, 2025, as follows:
- 10% global tariff on imports of softwood lumber.
- 25% global tariff on certain upholstered furniture, which will increase to 30% on January 1, 2026.
- 25% global tariff on kitchen cabinets and vanities, which will increase to 50% on January 1, 2026.
Specific details on the wood products covered by these Section 232 tariffs are provided in an Annex to the proclamation.
The proclamation notes that Commerce’s investigation found that “present quantities and circumstances of wood product imports are weakening our economy, resulting in the persistent threats of closures of wood mills and disruptions of wood product supply chains, among other things, and diminishing the utilization of production capacity of our domestic wood industry.” In reaching this conclusion, the Secretary of Commerce found that “wood products serve as essential inputs across multiple sectors, supporting national defense, critical infrastructure, economic stability, and industrial resilience in the United States.” While acknowledging that the United States “possesses ample raw materials and industrial capacity to meet domestic wood products demand,” the report found that “wood production in the United States remains underdeveloped” and that foreign imports “continue to rise, signaling foreign dependence and creating vulnerabilities in the domestic industry.”
The proclamation states that trading partners that negotiate with the United States to address this threat may be able to secure an alternative to the pending tariff increases. The proclamation also clarifies that wood products tariffed under this Section 232 determination are not subject to any tariffs imposed by (i) Executive Order 14257 of April 2, 2025 (i.e., the global reciprocal tariffs); (ii) Executive Order 14323 of July 30, 2025 (i.e., additional tariffs on certain products from Brazil; or (iii) Executive Order 14329 of August 6, 2025 (i.e., addressing threats by Russia). Further, if any wood product is subject to tariffs under both this proclamation and Proclamation 10908 of March 26, 2025 (i.e., the automobiles and automobile parts tariffs), the wood product will be subject to the duties imposed under Proclamation 10908, and not those imposed under this wood products proclamation.
The proclamation does specifically note that with regard to the United Kingdom the United States will coordinate with the UK “to adopt a structured, negotiated approach to addressing the national security threat in the wood-products industry” and that the UK’s tariff rate for wood products will not exceed 10 percent. Further, pursuant to the terms of the framework agreements that the Trump administration has negotiated with the European Union (EU) and Japan, the proclamation notes that the tariff rate that applies to originating wood products from of the EU and Japan subject to this proclamation will not exceed 15 percent.
Drawback will be available with respect to the tariffs imposed pursuant to this proclamation; and, any wood products covered by the proclamation, except those eligible for admission as “domestic status” as described in 19 C.F.R. 146.43, that is subject to a duty imposed by the proclamation and that is admitted into a United States foreign trade zone on or after October 14, 2025, may only be admitted as “privileged foreign” status as described in 19 C.F.R. 146.41, and will be subject upon entry for consumption to any ad valorem rate of duty related to the classification under the applicable Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheading. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is instructed to take any appropriate measure to administer the tariffs imposed by the proclamation.
The Trump administration launched this Section 232 investigation into the national security threat posed by imports of timber, lumber, and their derivative products earlier this year. For additional background, see Update of March 3, 2025.