The US postpones tax increase for 1 year for some finished wood products
The United States has decided to postpone tax increases on some finished wood products, including mattress seats, kitchen cabinets, and bathroom cabinets, from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2027.
According to information from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, on December 31, 2025, President Donald Trump signed a Declaration adjusting import tax policies for wood, sawed wood and wood products to the United States under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.
Accordingly, the United States decided to postpone tax increases on some finished wood products, including mattress seats, kitchen cabinets and bathroom cabinets, from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2027.
According to Decree 10976 issued in September 2025, wood products are currently subject to a tax rate of 10% for raw wood and 25% for deep-processed products; and are expected to increase sharply from the beginning of 2026 to 30% and 50%. The delay in applying higher tax rates means that current tax rates will continue to be maintained.
The US said the decision was aimed at creating room for ongoing trade talks, while serving the goal of ensuring economic security and stabilizing the supply chain. Notably, future tax adjustments will depend directly on negotiation results, showing that tariffs continue to be used as a strategic bargaining tool, rather than just a simple protective measure.
In essence, it is necessary to clearly affirm that this is not a postponement of taxation, but only a postponement of tax increase. Wood products imported into the United States are still subject to Section 232 tax at 10% and 25%. Despite many difficulties, Vietnam's wooden furniture exports to the US will still maintain a positive increase in 2025. Therefore, this decision is truly meaningful. Avoiding tax shocks at the beginning of the year helps businesses maintain orders, stabilize selling prices and have more time to adjust market strategies.
In particular, it is necessary to clarify that the decision to postpone the tax increase under Section 232 is completely unrelated to the final judgments of the US Supreme Court on the Countervailing Tax Ordinance. The reason is that the tax under Section 232 is issued on the basis of national security and under the executive authority, separated in terms of legality and operating mechanism from counterpart tax measures under the International Emergency Economic Power Act (IEEPA). Therefore, regardless of any judicial adjustment related to counterpart tax, the wood tax rates under Section 232 continue to have independent effects.
In the medium term, the picture still has potential risks. The United States is expanding its investigation and applying Section 232 to many other import groups, and does not rule out the possibility that tariffs will continue to be adjusted to serve the goal of negotiations or to cover internal economic and political pressure in 2026. For the Vietnamese wood industry, 2026 will need to be viewed as a "temporary but unsafe" period, requiring close policy monitoring, proactive dialogue with the US side and preparing long-term response scenarios.
According to the US data for the first 9 months of 2025, Vietnam's furniture export turnover reached about 10 billion USD, up 10% over the same period in 2024 and accounting for about 21% of the total US imports for this group of goods.
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