President Donald Trump ushered in new tariffs on imported furniture, kitchen cabinets and lumber on Tuesday, adding a fresh round of levies as he once again threatened to expand his trade war with China.
Tariffs ranging from 10% to 50% on foreign wood products and furniture snapped into effect just after midnight. The tariffs are meant to encourage more domestic logging and furniture manufacturing. But critics say that the levies will raise prices for American consumers and could slow industries including homebuilding that rely on materials from abroad.
The tariffs add to import taxes that Trump has already imposed on cars, steel and other goods. And they take effect as Trump is engaging in a high stakes game of chicken with China, one of America’s biggest trading partners, which could end up derailing trade and slowing the U.S. economy.
On Friday, the president said he might impose an additional levy of 100% to all products from China beginning Nov. 1. Beijing last week placed restrictions on its exports of rare earth minerals, which could be crippling for American and European makers of semiconductors, electric vehicles and other products.
The S&P 500 index ended Friday down more than 2%, its steepest one-day slide in six months. But stocks rebounded strongly Monday after a social media post by Trump saying, “Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine!”