Photo: Woodworking
Luke Elias, Canadian Kitchen Cabinet Association vice-president, speaks to members during a regional event.
U.S. President Donald Trump last week announced a 50 per cent tariff on imported kitchen cabinets and vanities raising grave concerns for Canadian manufacturers.
This was part of an announcement that also threatened tariffs of 100 per cent on pharmaceutical drugs, 30 per cent on upholstered furniture and 25 per cent on heavy trucks, along with a 30 per cent levy on upholstered furniture; all of which are set to take effect on Oct. 1.
In June, Trump also doubled his tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50 per cent. And while those tariffs apply to all imports, Canada is the top supplier of both metals to the U.S.
As well, Trump increased tariffs on goods not covered by the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) to 35 per cent and also added a 50 per cent tariff on some copper imports.
“The proposed 50 per cent U.S. tariff on kitchen cabinets would devastate Canada’s $4.7 billion cabinet industry, which exports $600 million annually to the U.S. and employs over 25,000 Canadians across 3,700 mostly family-owned businesses,” said Luke Elias, president of Muskoka Cabinet Company and Canadian Kitchen Cabinet Association vice-president.
“The Canadian Kitchen Cabinet Association (CKCA) urges the federal government to mitigate this threat by immediately by introducing a “Buy Canadian” condition for any builder receiving subsidies or incentives under programs such as Build Canada.
“We also call for stronger action against unfairly subsidized imports being dumped into Canada, which further erode our industry’s competitiveness and threaten Canadian jobs.”
