New tariffs will mean price hikes on some upholstered furniture
Get ready for some sticker shock if you’re in the market for a new couch. Because of new tariffs on upholstered furniture made in China and Vietnam, some prices are going through the roof.
In May, heavy new tariffs were slapped on after those countries were accused of dumping their cheaper, government-subsidized leather furniture onto the Canadian market. The move is intended to protect Canadian furniture manufacturers but could end up hurting consumers.
At Moe’s Home Collection in Vancouver, co-CEO Sara Samieian and her team pivoted before the new tariffs came into effect on May 5, building relationships with manufacturers in Mexico, Malaysia and South America in an effort to secure affordable leather and fabric product.
“A lot of retailers maybe weren’t prepared, so they had shipments arriving at port and they got hit with that tariff that same day,” she says.
With the tariffs hitting nearly 300 per cent, retailers will have to pass the cost on to their customers.
“The people who are going to be most affected are the consumers,” Samieian says. “They’re going to have to be all of a sudden seeing price increases – double, triple from what they were paying a month ago.”
James Brander, a professor at UBC’s Sauder School of Business, says the change has been in the works for a long time.
“Canadian producers, they complain,” Brander said. “They say, ‘Hey look, this is unfair. These foreign imports are coming in, they’re getting subsidized, it’s not fair.’”
The new tariffs will be reviewed in August, and he says in the meantime there may be exemptions for some importers. But in the long run, everyone will have to adjust, as the tariffs are here to stay. Canadian manufacturers could be swamped with orders, and that would mean their product gets more expensive too.
“They could double their prices in the short run,” Brander says.
If you’re looking to buy a couch – the time to do it is now, before the prices jump. Moe’s still has old product from China and Vietnam on the floor but once it’s sold, they won’t restock. One of their leather sectionals that made it in before the tariffs came in is currently $14,000. If it had arrived after the tariffs were in place?
“It would probably be over $30,000,” Samieian says.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
The remains belonged to three adults, a teenager and a newborn baby, according to a statement from the Latebra Foundation, a historical organization based in the Polish city of Gdansk, published Thursday.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh confirms his party will support the Liberals' federal budget
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party will support the federal budget, ending any speculation that the party could pull out of its deal with the minority Liberal government.
Dental care program accepting claims for 1 million seniors
Citizens' Services Minister Terry Beech says 1,200 seniors have already visited a dentist and had their claims processed by the federal government's new dental care plan.