Trump Eyes New Tariffs on Furniture Imports. These Companies Could Be Hit Hardest.

Williams-Sonoma’s stock was down Friday night. (JOE RAEDLE/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump’s Friday afternoon announcement that he was launching a new investigation into tariffs on furniture imports sent shares of Wayfair and some furniture makers down in after-hours trading. But others, such as La-Z-Boy and Ethan Allen, will benefit—because they manufacture much of their goods in the U.S.

The biggest losers included RH, which slumped 7.8% to $224.78, Wayfair, which has slumped 7.7% to $71.82 on Monday, and Williams-Sonoma, which declined 3% to $197.26. In contrast, Ethan Allen stock tocked up 0.4% to $30.15, while La-Z-Boy’s up 0.1% to $36.60.

“This will bring the Furniture Business back to North Carolina, South Carolina, Michigan, and States all across the Union,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

La-Z-Boy, which blamed a “challenged consumer” for its disappointing earnings earlier this week, has manufacturing plants in Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas, plus three in Mexico. Ethan Allen has seven plants in the U.S., three in Mexico, and one in Honduras.

China and Vietnam are the biggest furniture exporters, with many U.S. firms such as Wayfair sourcing products from there. While Williams-Sonoma imports goods from Asia as well, it also owns Sutter Street Manufacturing, which has plants in North Carolina and Mississippi. RH said earlier this year that it had moved “a meaningful amount” of goods previously made in China to a factory in North Carolina, but still produces much of its goods in Asia.

Furniture imports have already been impacted by tariffs announced since April 2, which the Trump administration dubbed Liberation Day. Imports from China and Vietnam, the biggest exporters of furniture, already face new tariffs of 10% and 20%, respectively.

Trump didn’t say what the new tariff rate would be for furniture, or whether it would be stacked on top of existing tariffs. Before the levies can take effect, there needs to be a Commerce Department investigation that he says will be completed within 50 days. It’s possible that the tariffs will be part of the existing investigation into lumber tariffs, which could speed the investigation and implementation.

Write to Anita Hamilton at anita.hamilton@barrons.com