Wall Street Journal: “Higher prices mean that she has to pay more up front, and convince her clients to absorb the steeper costs.”

As North Carolina’s High Point Fall Furniture Market is in full swing, new reporting from WGHP and the Wall Street Journal is spotlighting how the trade war threatens to raise costs on consumers.

DC insider Michael Whatley has championed the chaotic trade war, calling it “record setting in terms of […] effectiveness” and supporting it “wholeheartedly.”

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WGHP: Tariffs could impact High Point Furniture Market sales

Gretchen Stenger | October 24, 2025

• It’s that time of the year again for the fall furniture market. 75,000 buyers are expected to visit the 2,000 vendors throughout the course of the event. 
• Steve Lush, the owner of 16 West, said he is constantly addressing price concerns after tariffs were put on upholstery.
• “Nobody would commit to an order at that point. … The uncertainty has been very tough, not only for us, the factory and also the retail partners that we sell to. Retailers plan out well in advance, … sometimes six months, even as much as 12 months, ahead,” Lush said.
• Finally, the industry received an answer on how much it would be impacted, with the total being 30% for imported upholstery from any country.
• Etheridge said how much the consumer will feel will depend on each vendor. 

Wall Street Journal: North Carolina’s Furniture Industry Scrambles as Tariffs Upend Day-to-Day Routines

Kirk Maltais | October 24, 2025

• President Trump said in a Truth Social post he wants to bring back furniture production to North Carolina, and he would impose “substantial tariffs” on any country that doesn’t make furniture in the U.S. Earlier this month, new 25% tariffs on lumber, upholstered furniture and kitchen cabinets went into effect.
• But industry executives say that rising tariffs on imported parts have already started to bite into profits. 
• So, despite having 80% of its wholesale shipments manufactured or assembled in the U.S., the company raised retail prices in July. Spilman said the company has been “somewhat insulated” by its domestic manufacturing, but today’s furniture industry is truly a global enterprise.
• Before the new tariffs, manufacturers finally felt like they were in a stable position, learning how to adapt to the flood of cheaper imported furniture over the past two decades from places like China, Vietnam and Indonesia.
• Her interior design company has grown beyond the original six clients — to 150 clients internationally that contract her to furnish and stage their homes. The latest tariffs threaten to expose Bennett, a 20-year veteran of the industry, to more price hikes.
• As an interior designer, Bennett’s business makes money by charging clients a premium to the wholesale prices she pays for the furniture she acquires. But higher prices mean that she has to pay more up front, and convince her clients to absorb the steeper costs. 
• “I have to go back to the client and say ‘Guess what, I’m not eating that,’” she said, one of many business owners in the Piedmont who expects to pass cost increases onto customers.

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