Germany\u2019s sawmill and timber industry said U.S. tariffs on imported lumber will hit exports and weaken international competitiveness at a sensitive time for the sector.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration on Sept. 29 announced a 10% tariff on all softwood lumber imports, effective Oct. 15, citing national security under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Additional tariffs apply to furniture: 25% on upholstered furniture and kitchen cabinets, rising to 30% and 50% respectively from Jan. 1, 2026.<\/p>\n
Dr. Stephan Lang, president of the German Sawmill and Timber Industry Association (DeSH), said about one in five cubic meters of lumber leaving Germany goes to the United States, representing more than \u20ac1 billion in trade.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tariffs strike at a time of extreme shortages of roundwood supply and a weakening domestic construction sector,\u201d Lang said. \u201cThey reduce the competitiveness of German timber products and disrupt global sales channels. Immediate political solutions are needed to avoid disruption on both sides of the Atlantic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Germany is Europe\u2019s largest producer of construction lumber and ranks fifth globally. More than half of its output is sold domestically. The U.S. is the world\u2019s largest lumber market, importing roughly 30% of its timber needs, mainly from Canada and the European Union.<\/p>\n
Furniture industry representatives said the tariffs create uncertainty but some clarity is welcome. Jan Kurth, managing director of the German Furniture Industry Associations (VDM\/VHK), said the U.S. market remains important, with exports valued at about \u20ac250 million in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile 15% tariffs are a burden, we now have planning security,\u201d Kurth said. German kitchen furniture exports to the U.S. fell 17.4% in the first seven months of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, while upholstered furniture shipments grew 2.5% to nearly \u20ac12 million.<\/p>\n
The U.S. has been a net lumber importer since 2016 despite domestic capacity to meet most demand. The Section 232 investigation cited reliance on imports as a threat to economic strength and national security.<\/p>\n
Under the new tariffs, trading partners with existing agreements, including the EU, UK, and Japan, may receive more favorable treatment. EU imports will not exceed 15% in combined Section 232 and most-favored-nation tariffs.<\/p>\n
U.S. President Donald Trump cited \u201coversaturation\u201d of the market and national security as reasons for the measures. The U.S. furniture market, the world\u2019s second-largest after China, imported 43% of its products in 2024, mostly from Vietnam and China. Germany accounted for around 1% of U.S. furniture imports.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":97013,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5204],"tags":[3302,3945,3799],"class_list":["post-97012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news","tag-germany","tag-lumber-prices","tag-sawmill-industry","topic-forestry","topic-lumber","topic-price-analysis-and-info","topic-sawmilling","topic-statistics","topic-wood-products","area-europe","area-global"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n