De Minimis Disaster or Opportunity? Strategic Moves for Furniture Pros

Originally published August 29, 2025. This version was rebuilt from the de minimis executive order, Census, NAHB and Leggett & Platt's SEC filing for the FIN archive, and the facts are as of that date.

The end of the de minimis exemption on August 29, 2025 changed the math on small international shipments overnight. For furniture businesses that import samples, accessories or replacement parts by parcel, every package now carried a duty.

The short version

• An executive order suspended duty-free de minimis treatment for all countries from August 29.
• Census showed July furniture store sales up 5.1% from a year earlier.
• NAHB's builder confidence index was 32 in August, with 66% of builders using incentives.
• Leggett & Platt closed the sale of its aerospace business.

The parcel exemption ends

Executive Order 14324 suspended duty-free de minimis treatment for all countries, effective August 29, 2025. Shipments under $800 that once entered without duty now pay the applicable tariffs. For six months, postal carriers could instead pay a flat duty per item of $80 to $200, depending on the country's tariff rate.

For furniture importers the immediate effect fell on small parcels. Samples, decor accessories and replacement parts shipped one box at a time got more expensive, and consolidating orders into larger shipments started to make more sense.

Update. A February 2026 order continued the suspension.

Sales still growing

The Census Bureau's advance estimate put July sales at furniture and home furnishings stores up 1.4% from June and 5.1% from a year earlier. Furniture was holding up better than many expected given the tariff headlines.

Builders lean on incentives

NAHB's Housing Market Index slipped to 32 in August. Thirty-seven percent of builders cut prices and 66% offered some kind of sales incentive, the highest share in the post-Covid period. Builders were finding buyers, but only by giving something up.

Leggett & Platt sells aerospace

Leggett & Platt completed the sale of its Aerospace Products Group to investment partnerships advised by Tinicum for an estimated $285.8 million in cash. The bedding and furniture components maker planned to use the proceeds to pay down debt.

Opportunity in the shake-up

Small-parcel importing got harder, which favored suppliers with domestic stock and buyers who consolidate orders. Sales were still growing, so the stores that kept products in stock had the advantage.

Related on FIN

• Follow the Tariff Dollars
• Furniture Sales Rose. Costs Are Rising Faster.

Sources

• The White House, Suspending duty-free de minimis treatment for all countries (July 30, 2025)
• The White House, Continuing the suspension of duty-free de minimis treatment (Feb. 2026)
• U.S. Census Bureau, Advance monthly retail sales, July 2025
• National Association of Home Builders, Builder confidence plateaus, August 2025
• Leggett & Platt, Form 8-K on the Aerospace Products Group sale