On July 31 (last Friday), Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced that a 25% provisional safeguard duty would be imposed on imported wooden cabinets and vanities starting from that day.
The tariff can be implemented for a maximum of 200 days. During this period, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) will investigate whether the increased imports of these goods are causing harm to domestic producers. In April of this year, at the request of the Canadian Wood Products Alliance, Champagne asked CITT to conduct the investigation.
Wooden cabinets and vanities originating from the United States, Mexico, Israel, Chile, and developing countries will be exempted from the tariff.
It is expected that the tribunal will announce the results of the investigation by January 15, 2027. If the investigation results show no harm is being caused, the additional tax will be immediately lifted.
Back in March 2019, the American Kitchen Cabinet Alliance (AKCA) filed anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations against wooden cabinets and vanities with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC).
In April 2019, USITC made a preliminary affirmative injury determination, indicating that there was a reasonable indication that the products from China were causing material injury to the U.S. domestic industry.
In March 2020, USITC conducted a final vote and formally issued the final affirmative injury determination in April, following which the U.S. Department of Commerce imposed anti-dumping and countervailing duties on relevant Chinese products.
The 2020 tariffs successfully targeted “direct exports from China,” but did not prevent an overall influx of imports. Some Chinese manufacturers started shipping semi-finished or component parts to countries like Vietnam and Malaysia for simple assembly, painting, or packaging before exporting to the U.S. under a third-country label.
A report from the Coalition for a Prosperous America showed that in 2022, there was a significant increase in imported kitchen cabinets, resulting in American producers losing over $4 billion in market share. By 2024, the trade deficit in kitchen cabinets alone had grown to $3.7 billion.
Luke Meisner, a representative of the American Kitchen Cabinet Alliance, pointed out that in the past five years, Canada has significantly increased its imports of cabinet materials from China (such as plywood, MDF, hardware, etc.) while expanding exports of finished cabinets to the U.S.
Since October 14, 2025, the U.S. government has imposed a 25% additional tariff on imported wood and wood-derived products (including kitchen cabinets and vanities) under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. The original plan was to increase the tariff rate on kitchen cabinets and vanities to 50% by January 1, 2026, but it was postponed until January 1, 2027.
The U.S. tariffs led to a shift of cabinets intended for the U.S. market to Canada. These products are priced very low, making it impossible for Canadian domestic manufacturers to compete.
Some Chinese products may be priced around 20% to 30%, or even 40% lower than locally-made cabinets, according to representatives of the Canadian manufacturing industry.
CTV reported that Alain Ouzilleau, CEO of Cabico&co, a struggling cabinet manufacturer in Quebec, praised the new measures in Ottawa as a “significant step in the right direction.”
An official from the Finance Ministry’s office told CTV, “We assess that if we do not take action now, the industry will suffer significant and irreparable harm.”
Dan Kelly from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business stated that Canada not only faces tariffs from the U.S. but has also become a dumping ground for countries facing the same U.S. tariffs, viewing Canada as the best alternative to the U.S. market. Consequently, the Canadian industry is facing a “double hit.” He commended the government’s temporary tariff as a “wise move.”
In the Greater Toronto and Greater Vancouver areas, some renovation companies catering to investment properties, rental units, and middle to low-income households have long used Ready-to-Assemble (RTA) cabinets. These standardized cabinets are quick to deliver and lower in price, dominating the middle to low-price market for a long time. These products mainly come from China and other Asian regions, making them sensitive to tariffs.
The 25% additional tax is calculated based on the “duty-paid price.” For instance, a $5,000 CAD imported RTA cabinet would incur an additional tax of $1,250 CAD, raising the cost to $6,250 CAD.
However, this does not mean a 25% increase in the total cost of a kitchen renovation. Renovations typically include expenses such as countertops, transportation, and labor. Therefore, the actual increase in the overall project cost will be lower than 25%.
For example, in a $20,000 CAD kitchen renovation project, with the duty-paid price of the imported cabinet at $6,000 CAD, the additional tax of $1,500 CAD would result in a roughly 7.5% increase in the total project cost. The final increase depends on how much costs importers, wholesalers, and renovation companies are willing to absorb.
Canada’s implementation of the 25% additional tax will weaken the price competitiveness of Chinese RTA cabinets in Canada and could lead to trade diversion or prompt Chinese companies to accelerate relocating their operations overseas.
The tariff, issued on July 31, is currently in effect, with no widespread exemptions applicable to all shipments in transit. Therefore, goods en route to Canada but not cleared through customs before July 31 may be subject to the additional tax.