Homebouwers ask Trump for tariff exemptions on building materials
The National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) sent a letter to President Trump on Friday and asked for tariff exemptions on building materials from Canada and Mexico. The letter follows a Trump announcement that the US raised the rates of 25% in the Canadian and Mexican import that would come into effect on Saturday, which would hit housing builders hard.
The letter is:
“Our country is confronted with a serious housing shortage and affordability crisis, which you recognize on your first day at the office by publishing an executive order that the housing stock and affordability want to increase. Lowering the costs of homes requires a coordinated effort to remove obstacles to construction, whether it concerns regulatory, labor or supply-chain-related. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is ready to work with you to achieve these goals. However, we are seriously concerned that it represents that 25% rates for Canada and Mexico will have the opposite effect by delaying the domestic residential construction sector.
“A continuous challenge for home builders is the costs and availability of building materials. Since January 2021, the input for residential construction saw the price increases of just over 30%. Our sector is highly dependent on a diverse and cost -efficient supply chain for building materials such as wood, steel, plaster and aluminum. While home building is inherent inland, builders are trusting components that are produced abroad, whereby Canada and Mexico represent almost 25% of the import of building materials. The imposition of additional rates for this import will lead to higher material costs, which will eventually be passed on to buyers of houses in the form of increased house prices. Further disruptions of the supply chain of increased rates in combination with an increased demand for materials can also hinder reconstruction efforts in areas affected by natural disasters that you have promised to rebuild as quickly as possible.
“The members of NAHB understand that you have larger and well -intended policy goals in mind, since you consider a holistic trade policy. However, we ask you with respect for the effects of rates on Americans who have difficulty paying, considering housing and that you free up critical building materials from such actions. We look forward to working with you to create jobs, to stimulate our economy and offer safe and affordable homes for all Americans. “
During the first term of Trump, the rates at the Softwood Wood, Canadian, led to an increase in costs for housing builders. In 2018, the NAHB estimated that the rates added almost $ 9,000 to the costs of building a single -family home. The impact on wood prices was dramatic, with the costs that rise nearly 80% after year, partly due to taxes.
According to the Loaded foundationThe first Trump administration Almost $ 80 billion in new taxes implemented For Americans by imposing rates on thousands of products appreciate around $ 380 billion in 2018 and 2019 – one of the largest tax increases in decades.
This time around the Tax Foundation estimates That the rates for China, Mexico and Canada would increase taxes by $ 1.2 T from 2025 to 20434, would reduce the GDP by 0.4%, reduced 344,000 jobs and increased taxes by around $ 830 per American household.
