WASHINGTON – Less than a day after President Trump announced sweeping reciprocal tariffs on virtually all of the major U.S. trading partners, case good executives are giving their initial takes.
While none have made adjustments yet, all agree that if rates remain where they are, price increases will have to happen.
“We’re scrambling to figure it out,” said Rusty Morris, vice president of sales at case goods importer American Woodcrafters. “I hope it’s all negotiation. No matter what though, I think we’re going to have some form of tariff. I think everyone would have to raise prices. I don’t think anyone would expect it to all be absorbed.”
Pat Watson, vice president of product development at furniture and décor supplier Uma Home, agreed on prices and expressed a need for caution.
“Every country that we source from will be affected,” he said. “But we don’t see any value in reacting too quickly. We think this is a dynamic environment that’s likely to change in the short term, as quickly as days or even hours. Our position is to be prudent and be cautious.”
“If everything stays the same, I think the industry would be facing some price increases,” he added.
On an earnings call today, Bassett Furniture CEO Rob Spilman gave his take.
“Tariffs have been top of mind for several months and especially since 4 p.m. yesterday,” he said. “Although 79% of our wholesale shipments in the first quarter were manufactured or assembled in the U.S., many materials used in the process, like fabric and plywood, will now be exposed to tariffs, as will the remaining 21% of our product.
“The entire industry is working with outside experts to gain clarity on this unusual situation. We will determine what this means for our pricing structure on goods that are affected over the next several days. We’re thinking about everything. We’ve been reaching out to our best customers.
“If it stays like it is, we’re going to have to increase prices at some level.”
Spilman added that it’s not feasible to bring the remaining 21% of the company’s product to the U.S. to be made domestically.
“We can certainly emphasize the domestic product more prominently if we choose to do so,” he said. “But we have some nice selling imported product that are really making a difference for us. We have to study that. We do have some flexibility with our five U.S. factories and we’re not totally reliant on imports.”
Finally, Christian Rohrbach, the president of case goods specialist A-America, gave his take.
“There are a lot of unknowns,” he said. “This seems like this is an initial shot, a negotiation. That’s the general consensus. It’s safe to say price increases would happen if they stay the same. There would have to be price increases, and I think the consumer would end up paying.”
Even though every country A-America sources from is faced with extensive tariffs, Rohrbach is thankful that the company is diversified. A-America sources from Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia.
“We’ve always had a diverse range and we feel confident in that,” he said. “Once things settle, we could potentially move things around. We’re already considering things.”
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