The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) recently issued its ruling in regards to increasing tariffs on Chinese imports and released a list of approximately $200 billion worth of Chinese imports that will be subject to additional tariffs, including flooring products such as vinyl, bamboo, cork, carpet, and ceramic tile. The new 10% tariffs will be effective starting September 24, and will increase to 25% starting January 1, 2019. Already the new policy has affected the flooring industry, Armstrong Flooring having issued a price increase on affected products, and anticipating future increases. Floor Trends reached out to industry leaders to hear their response.
Tim Baucom, executive vice president-residential business, Shaw: