More than 40% of all timber-based furniture imported into the United States will now be subject to a two-tiered tariff system, after Donald Trump earlier this month finally signed off on a new deal with Vietnam.
“It is my Great Honor to announce that I have just made a Trade Deal with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after speaking with To Lam, the Highly Respected General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. It will be a Great Deal of Cooperation between our two Countries.”
US President Donald Trump has confirmed a new trade agreement between the United States (US) and Vietnam on Truth Social
The agreement, which also coincides with a new deal with Indonesia – which will see tariffs on HS-code 940360 imports—including wooden cabinets, tables, and chairs—drop from 32% to 19%, will see a blanket 20% tariff applied to all Vietnamese-made products (up from 0-8% before Trump), whilst goods re-routed through Vietnam from third countries (including China) will be hit with 40% tariffs.
As it stands, Vietnam trades more than $9.4 billion worth of furniture through US ports, with about 60% of this (approximately $5.54 billion) tied to timber-based products, with US IKEA stores sourcing their outdoor furniture products (made from acacia wood) from Vietnamese factories.
Wood Central understands the two agreements are part of Trump’s broader trade strategy, which has already yielded preliminary deals with the United Kingdom and China – reported to be finalised and signed but yet to be disclosed – with Canada also looking to come to the table on a deal before increased softwood duties kick in on August 1st. The new deals come after Wood Central reported that the vast majority of primary and secondary timber products have so far sidestepped tariffs and will instead be subject to a National Security probe (under s232), whilst in April, Wood Central also reported that just 10% of products sold in the US-based IKEA stores are “made in the USA.”
