In a statement, the Home Fashion Products Association (HFPA) provided a sobering assessment of the effects of the extensive tariffs imposed by President Trump on a number of US trading partners.
Speaking on behalf of the home textiles industry association, HFPA board president Charles Gaenslen stated that while the organisation supports the administration’s larger efforts to safeguard America’s economic and security interests, more tariffs on home textile products will not advance those objectives and will place needless financial burdens on American families and businesses, making economic difficulties in an already uncertain climate worse.
Home textiles, he said, are necessities for American households rather than strategic imports, and they have little to do with long-term economic competitiveness or US security.
Even higher tariffs on these goods would increase prices, making them unaffordable for consumers and placing an excessive burden on household budgets. The recently announced cumulative 54 per cent tariff on goods from China, 26 per cent tariff on goods from India, 29 per cent tariff on goods from Pakistan, and 46 per cent tariff on goods from Vietnam, among many other duties announced, will have a severe impact on pricing and further compound the financial pressure on both consumers and retailers, according to Gaenslen. This is because home textiles are already subject to duties under Section 301.
