What the Section 232 Tariff Actually Adds to a 100-Room Hotel Sofa Order
Most published writing about furniture tariffs is aimed at importers and customs brokers. It explains proclamations and HTS codes and stops there.
If you are buying furniture for a hotel, you need something different: what this does to a specific order, and whether it changes the sourcing decision. Here is that version.
Where the rules stand as of September 2026
Imports of certain upholstered wooden furniture carry a 25 percent Section 232 duty. That rate took effect on October 14, 2025 under a proclamation issued at the end of September 2025, following a Section 232 investigation into timber and lumber imports opened in March 2025.
The rate was originally scheduled to rise to 30 percent on January 1, 2026. On December 31, 2025 the President issued a further proclamation delaying that increase by a year. The 25 percent rate therefore remains in effect through 2026, with the increase to 30 percent now scheduled for January 1, 2027.
Three qualifications matter:
- Country caps. The UK is capped at 10 percent, the EU and Japan at 15 percent, under specific trade agreement language.
- Stacking. These Section 232 duties do not stack on reciprocal or IEEPA duties affecting Brazil, India, Canada and Mexico. They do stack on China's IEEPA tariff and on Section 301 duties. For Chinese origin goods, published analysis has put effective rates above 70 percent depending on classification.
- Drawback is available, unlike some other Section 232 programs.
Separately, from April 2026 the Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum and copper were modified so that the duty applies to the full customs value of a covered product rather than only the value of its metal content. For furniture with significant metal components, that is a meaningful change in landed cost.
Why this hits hospitality seating specifically
The covered classifications focus on upholstered furniture seating. Analysis by the Home Furnishings Association after the proclamation noted that the HTS codes concentrate on upholstered seating, with limited exposure for casegoods and wood furniture generally.
That is precisely the hospitality seating category. Sofas, sectionals, lounge chairs, sleepers and banquettes sit in the middle of it. Casegoods largely do not.
Sleeper mechanisms are a second exposure point. They are steel, which puts them in range of the separate steel and aluminum program and of the April 2026 change to how that duty is calculated.
A worked example: 100 sleeper sofas
The figures below are illustrative, used to show where the costs land. They are not Johnson pricing and they are not a quote.
Take a program of 100 guestroom sleeper sofas. Assume an ex-factory unit price of 900 dollars from an Asian supplier and a comparable domestic build.
| Asian import | Domestic build | |
|---|---|---|
| Ex-factory unit price | $900 | $1,250 |
| Section 232 duty at 25 percent | $225 | none |
| Other applicable duties | Varies by origin | none |
| Ocean freight and drayage, per unit | $120 to $180 | not applicable |
| Domestic freight, per unit | $60 to $90 | $60 to $90 |
| Warehousing and handling | $40 to $70 | $0 to $40 |
| Approximate landed cost per unit | $1,345 to $1,465 | $1,310 to $1,380 |
| Approximate total, 100 units | $134,500 to $146,500 | $131,000 to $138,000 |
The point of the table is not the exact numbers, which will differ for your program. It is the shape. A 350 dollar per unit ex-factory advantage largely disappears once duty and freight are applied, and for Chinese origin goods with stacked Section 301 and IEEPA duties, the domestic option can come out clearly cheaper.
That is a genuinely new situation. Three years ago this comparison did not come close.
The cost that is not in the spreadsheet
Lead time.
A domestic program runs roughly four to six weeks in production plus one to two weeks of domestic freight. An Asian program runs a similar production window plus twelve to sixteen weeks of ocean transit, plus customs, plus the possibility of inspection or a port delay.
That is ten to fourteen extra weeks of exposure. In a PIP program with a brand deadline, those weeks are not a scheduling preference, they are a risk of missing a franchise obligation.
There are three ways lead time turns into money:
Delayed opening or delayed room return. Every week a renovated floor sits waiting on furniture is a week of lost room revenue. On a 100 room property that number gets large quickly.
Warehousing. Long lead time programs usually mean the whole order lands at once and sits somewhere until installation. Staged domestic delivery against an installation calendar avoids most of that cost.
Remake exposure. If four pieces arrive damaged from a domestic factory, they are remade and shipped in a fortnight. If they arrive damaged from a container, the replacement is on the next vessel.
What changed in the last twelve months, in order
A short timeline, because the sequence matters if you are comparing quotes issued at different times.
- March 2025. Section 232 investigation into timber, lumber and derivative products opened.
- September 29, 2025. Proclamation issued imposing Section 232 duties on timber, lumber and derivatives including upholstered wooden furniture, cabinets and vanities.
- October 14, 2025. Duties take effect. Upholstered wooden furniture at 25 percent, timber and lumber at 10 percent.
- December 31, 2025. Proclamation delaying the scheduled increases by one year. Upholstered furniture stays at 25 percent rather than rising to 30.
- April 2026. Section 232 steel, aluminum and copper duties modified to apply to full customs value rather than metal content value only.
- January 1, 2027. Current scheduled date for the upholstered furniture increase to 30 percent, subject to trade negotiations.
A quote issued in mid 2025 and a quote issued today are not comparable documents. If you are working from pricing that predates October 2025, it is stale.
What to ask your supplier right now
If you are mid-program or comparing bids, these five questions are worth asking your supplier in writing.
1. Is the quoted price landed or ex-factory?
This is the first and most important question. An ex-factory price from an overseas supplier is not comparable to a delivered price from a domestic one.
2. Who pays the duty, and is it included?
Some contracts pass duty through as a pass-through cost at the time of import, which means the number on your purchase order is not the number you will pay.
3. What is the country of origin and the HTS classification?
Classification determines which duties apply and whether they stack. Your supplier should be able to tell you both without hesitation.
4. What happens if the rate changes before my goods land?
Given the last twelve months, this is not a theoretical question. Ask who carries that risk under your contract.
5. What is the total lead time, broken into production, freight and customs?
A single headline number hides the difference between a four week and a sixteen week risk window.
Does this mean everyone should buy domestic?
No, and it would be a poor article that said so.
Overseas manufacturing still wins on very large volumes of standardized product, on programs with long runways where freight time is absorbable, and on categories where domestic capacity is genuinely limited. Country caps mean European origin goods carry materially lower Section 232 exposure than Asian origin goods. Drawback is available on this program where goods are re-exported.
What has changed is that the comparison now has to be run properly rather than assumed. For years, imported seating was cheaper by a margin large enough that the analysis was a formality. At 25 percent duty plus freight plus lead time risk, it is no longer a formality, and in compressed timelines the domestic option frequently wins on total cost rather than just on convenience.
Run the landed cost. That is the whole argument.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a tariff on imported hotel furniture?
Yes. Certain upholstered wooden furniture imports carry a 25 percent Section 232 duty, in effect since October 14, 2025. The UK is capped at 10 percent and the EU and Japan at 15 percent. Other duties may stack depending on country of origin, particularly for Chinese origin goods.
Did the furniture tariff go up in 2026?
No. The increase from 25 to 30 percent that was scheduled for January 1, 2026 was delayed by a proclamation issued on December 31, 2025. The 25 percent rate remains in effect and the increase is currently scheduled for January 1, 2027.
What is the tariff on furniture from China?
Section 232 duties on upholstered wooden furniture stack on top of China's existing IEEPA tariff and Section 301 duties. Published analysis after the proclamation put effective rates above 70 percent for some Chinese origin classifications. Confirm your specific classification with a customs broker.
Does the tariff apply to casegoods as well as upholstered seating?
The covered classifications concentrate on upholstered furniture seating. Trade association analysis after the proclamation noted that exposure for casegoods and wood furniture generally is more limited.
How much does the tariff add to a hotel furniture order?
On a 900 dollar ex-factory sofa, a 25 percent duty adds 225 dollars per unit before freight. Across 100 units that is 22,500 dollars in duty alone, which is frequently enough to close most or all of the gap against a domestic quote.
Is domestic hotel furniture now cheaper than imported?
Sometimes, and more often than it used to be. On a landed cost basis, with duty, freight, warehousing and lead time risk included, domestic frequently competes and occasionally wins outright, particularly for Chinese origin comparisons and compressed timelines. Run the numbers for your specific program rather than assuming either way.
Can I get the duty back?
Duty drawback is available under this program for goods that are re-exported, unlike some other Section 232 programs. That is rarely relevant to a hotel buying furniture for a US property, but it matters for some portfolio operators.
Comparing an import quote against a domestic one?
Send us the specification and the ex-factory pricing you have been given. We will quote the same program delivered, so you are comparing a landed number against a landed number.
Last reviewed: September 2026. Tariff rates and classifications change. This article describes published trade measures and is not customs, legal or tax advice. Confirm current rates and classification with a licensed customs broker before making a sourcing decision.
