Washington builders brace for impact of Trump’s tariffs on home construction supplies

SEATTLE — The Trump Administration’s tariff strategy is expected to hit Washington consumers hard, affecting everything from groceries to home construction.

Proposed 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico are due to take effect March 4, in addition to tariffs on the European Union already announced.

Home builders tell KOMO News they are worried about their bottom line. They’re already impacted by inflation that has led to higher costs for supplies and labor, and the addition of the tariffs on building supplies could delay projects or even put some companies out of business.

Blackwood Homes CEO Trevor Johnson explained home builders and remodeling businesses rely on imports for lumber, steel and drywall materials, all of which are expected to be impacted by the looming tariffs.

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Johnson said it’s likely that much of the cost will ultimately be put onto the home buyer, and the high prices for supplies could really hurt small businesses like his.

“Builders like us could pause, we could hold a home that has a rental on it longer before we submit it for permitting, waiting for costs to come down, borrowing costs,” Johnson stated. “If lumber goes up a lot, drywall- we might just wait on projects you could otherwise develop and go through permitting on.”

Labor Analyst Thomas Fellows confirmed the home construction industry is expected to be impacted greatly by tariffs, as about 70% of soft wood lumber used for U.S. homes comes from Canada.

Additionally, much of Seattle’s energy comes from British Columbia, so heating and electrical costs will likely go up, too.

Fellows said consumers can expect rising prices on many other goods, from groceries to the many makes and models of cars built in Ontario.

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“Production costs will go up, input costs will go up and that will drive prices higher,” Fellows explained.

Fellows expects consumers could see full-on price increases within about nine months to a year with the lag time.

As for saving a few bucks here and there, he suggests buying generic on items like pet food and shampoo.