By MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed a New Year’s Eve proclamation delaying increased tariffs on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities for a year, citing ongoing trade talks.
Trump’s order signed Wednesday keeps in place a 25% tariff he imposed in September on those goods, but delays for another year a 30% tariff on upholstered furniture and 50% tariff on kitchen cabinets and vanities.
The increases, which were set to take effect Jan. 1, come as the Republican president instituted a broad swath of taxes on imported goods to address trade imbalances and other issues.
The president has said the tariffs on furniture are needed to “bolster American industry and protect national security.”
The delay is the latest in the roller coaster of Trump’s tariff wars since he returned to office last year, with the president announcing levies at times without warning and then delaying or pulling back from them just as abruptly.
The Trump administration on Wednesday also signaled it may back away from a steep tariff proposed on Italian pasta that would have put the rate at 107%. The U.S. had threatened to add a heavy tariff on Italian pasta makers after the U.S. Commerce Department launched what it said was a routine antidumping review based on allegations that the pasta makers sold product into the US at below-market prices and undercut local competitors.
A final decision on the sanctions was scheduled for Jan. 2, with the option of extending it.
The Commerce Department said Wednesday that based on a new review, the rates would be lowered to between 2.26% and 13.89% for the pasta makers because they had addressed many of the department’s concerns. A final decision is now set for March 12.
Italian farm lobby Coldiretti and another food industry association, Filiera Italia, welcomed the development. The two lobby groups had strongly objected to the original tariffs and urged the Italian government to intervene.
The two associations said the original proposed tariffs would have doubled the cost of a plate of pasta for American families, “opening the door to Italian-sounding products and penalizing the authentic quality of Made in Italy.”
They reported that in 2024, Italian pasta exports to the U.S. amounted to €671 million ($787 million).
“Coldiretti and Filiera Italia will continue to defend our premium pasta exported to the U.S. market, which we have also supported with a strong campaign in the international media,” the associations said in a statement.
___
Associated Press writer Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report.