Furniture, with 15% tariffs 6% increase in consumer prices

While rumours of a possible agreement between the European Union and the United States for a 15% mediation on tariffs chase each other, companies in the furniture sector reiterate that, so far, it is uncertainty that has done the most damage: after a very positive March which, with a 4.8% increase in exports to the USA, compared to March 2024, had recovered the trend of the first quarter (at +3%), this was followed by a still positive April (+1.4%) and a May of heavy decline, by 6.6%.

A sign that the tariffs effect is already there and that companies, at this point, are just waiting to sit down at the table with their American dealers and partners to start reasoning on how to reduce the impact of tariffs on consumers as much as possible and, at the same time, the damage for manufacturers and retailers or importers, as explained by Claudio Feltrin, president of FederlegnoArredo, speaking on the Radio 24-Il Sole 24 Ore TV programme 'Focus'.

"It is a banality to say that if there were none, we would all be happier,'' Feltrin said. "But if that 15 per cent that we read about in the newspapers is confirmed, I hope as soon as possible, at least we would have a definite percentage and companies would begin to take the necessary countermeasures on a certain figure. Removing that hidden tariffs that is uncertainty is still a start'.

The US market, Feltrin added, is the second largest market for the furniture sector and the largest outside the EU, with a value of EUR 1.7 billion. "It is a strategic market for our sector, in which we would lose competitiveness, considering that the most direct impact would be on the American end consumer". According to FederlegnoArredo's initial estimates, a 15% import tariffs could result in a 6% increase in the final cost to the consumer.

"It is not ideal but, in this case, it is all in all a manageable value for our companies," adds the Fla president. "Unfortunately, what could really worsen this already complex situation is the loss of purchasing power of the dollar against the euro, with a devaluation that has reached 13% since the beginning of the year and could reach 20-25% in the spring of 2026. This scenario would be far more serious than the introduction of tariffs'.