In a news update from October 4, 2025, US President Trump announced that the high import tariffs imposed on kitchen and bathroom cabinets will soon take effect. This decision has created a significant impact on the Asian wooden furniture industry, with many manufacturers feeling uncertain about the future.
According to a report from the Japanese magazine, Nikkei Asia, some Asian wooden furniture manufacturers expressed their concerns during interviews with the media, fearing that the high tariffs imposed by the Trump administration would greatly impact their businesses.
Jeffrey Eng, the owner of “TKL Gallery Group,” a furniture manufacturer in Muar, a southern city in Malaysia, told Nikkei Asia, “We will definitely be affected, and I am really worried.” Muar is home to approximately 1,000 wooden furniture manufacturers and is known as the “Furniture Capital of Malaysia.”
The White House stated that starting from October 14th, the US will impose a 10% tariff on imported wood and timber, and a 25% tariff on kitchen cabinets and upholstered wooden furniture. These tariff rates are set to increase to 30% and 50% next year unless agreements are reached with the concerned countries.
Steve Ong, the president of the Muar Furniture Association, mentioned, “We haven’t seen many orders being canceled yet, but the rising tariffs mean that buyers will ultimately bear more costs. From the factory’s perspective, we may have to absorb some of the costs ourselves.”
Some US furniture importers have already started requesting manufacturers to delay shipments or renegotiate contracts due to the new tariffs.
Similar scenes are unfolding across Asia. Among the top ten source countries for furniture imports to the US, seven are from Asia, with Vietnam leading the way, exporting up to $9.1 billion worth of wood and wooden products to the US in 2024.
Nguyen Chanh Phuong, the Vice President of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, expressed, “A 25% global tariff can be managed, but 30% would be challenging, and 40% to 50% could make manufacturers reconsider their investments.”
He noted that while most US importers are still reviewing their supply chains, some had already halted orders even before Trump’s tariff announcement.
“This will definitely reduce US imports. Both buyers and sellers are in defense mode,” he added.
To support US importers, Vietnamese exporters have lowered prices by up to 5-7%, despite already thin profit margins.
In Indonesia, a similar situation is unfolding. Abdul Sobur, the Chairman of the Indonesian Furniture and Handicraft Industry Association, stated that Indonesian furniture manufacturers share similar concerns with their counterparts in other regions. They anticipate adjustments in orders from US buyers in the first half of next year. Indonesia’s largest furniture exporter, ‘Integra Indocabinet,’ is diversifying its products and expanding sales to Europe and the Middle East, but the US market still accounts for over 90% of its revenue.
The situation for Chinese furniture exports is even more challenging. The China Furniture Association reported a 6.7% decrease in Chinese furniture exports to $35 billion in the first half of 2025, mainly due to tariff fluctuations. The US remains China’s largest foreign buyer of furniture, accounting for 23% of China’s total furniture exports.
This trend continues the trend of recent years – China’s share of the US furniture import market has dropped from 59.6% in 2017 to 30.2% in the past year, with ASEAN suppliers capturing the majority of the market share.
Thailand and the Philippines are facing similar pressures, while India sees opportunities. Indian exporters have become more competitive in the US market as the tariffs on Indian kitchen cabinets and upholstered furniture decreased from 50% to 25%.