No 2026 Furniture Tariff Hike; Supreme Court Tariff Ruling Could Come Friday

Last week, while Universal Cargo’s blog was on a little break for the holidays, U.S. importers of furniture got good news. The 25% tariff on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets, and vanities was supposed to double to 50%. However, the Trump Administration paused that tariff hike until January 2027.

That’s great news for many of Universal Cargo’s clients. We specialize in helping retailers import furniture. In fact, if you’re a furniture seller who attends the High Point Market, there’s a good chance you’ve met or will meet our CEO Devin Burke there, as he and other members of Universal Cargo’s team attend every year. We’ve even been known to host smash-hit parties there for our friends in the furniture industry. The furniture industry has reason to party here in 2026, as the furniture tariff won’t be doubled this year.

That doesn’t mean, however, the existing tariff goes away. While the hike that was supposed to happen last week isn’t happening, the 25% tariff already in place on furniture will remain in effect.

Here’s what the White House published, announcing the year-long pause on the tariff hike:

SUPPORTING AMERICA’S LUMBER INDUSTRY: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed a Proclamation invoking Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (Act) to delay increases in tariffs for upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets, and vanities for another year.

• The United States continues to engage in productive negotiations with trade partners to address trade reciprocity and national security concerns with respect to imports of wood products.
• The United States will therefore delay the increase in tariff rates for upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets, and vanities that was set to take place on January 1, 2026, under the September 29, 2025 Proclamation for an additional year.
• The current 25% tariff on certain upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets, and vanities, as imposed under the September 25, 2025 Proclamation, will remain in effect.

With such a long pause on this tariff hike amidst negotiations with trade partners, there’s a good chance that this furniture tariff hike won’t happen at all.

Supreme Court Could Announce Tariffs Ruling on Friday

Speaking of tariffs, we could know the ruling in the big Supreme Court case on the legality of President Trump’s usage of tariffs as soon as Friday.

Greg Stohr reported in a Bloomberg article published in Yahoo! Finance:

The US Supreme Court scheduled Friday as an opinion day, indicating that date will be the first chance for a ruling on President Donald Trump’s global tariffs.

The court never says in advance which decisions are ready for release, only that rulings in argued cases are possible when the justices take the bench at 10:00 a.m. Washington time. A tariff decision is a possibility given the court’s expedited handling of the case so far.

President Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) for the legal authority to impose many of the tariffs in the manner he has over his second term. Plaintiffs in the case argue IEEPA does not give him the legal authority to do so.

If the Supreme Court rules against the president, revocation of tariffs and even reimbursement of billions of dollars paid in these fees is possible. However, importers should temper their expectations. If the ruling doesn’t go President Trump’s way, which it very easily could, the Trump Administration has plans to replicate from other U.S. laws the tariff powers it derived from IEEPA.

Simple stated, tariffs aren’t going away. But at least that furniture tariff hike is!