How August 7th Changes Everything for Furniture Imports

Originally published August 1, 2025. This version was rebuilt from the July 31 executive order, NAR and company SEC filings for the FIN archive, and the facts are as of that date.

At the end of July 2025 the administration published the tariff rates that would apply to most trading partners from August 7. For furniture importers, the guessing was over and the planning began.

The short version

• A July 31 order set new reciprocal tariff rates by country, effective 7 days later.
• NAR said pending home sales fell 0.8% in June.
• Havertys reported second-quarter sales up 1.3% with comparable store sales down.
• Ethan Allen's retail written orders rose 1.6% while wholesale orders fell.

The new rates

Executive Order 14326 set new reciprocal tariff rates effective at 12:01 a.m. seven days after the order, which was August 7, 2025. India was set at 25%, Taiwan at 20%, and Japan, South Korea and Israel at 15%, among others. Goods already in transit before the deadline kept the old rates if entered by October 5.

Many importers rushed orders to land before the change, and buyers started comparing country rates line by line.

Update. The Supreme Court ruled on February 20, 2026 that IEEPA does not authorize these tariffs.

Housing pipeline softens

NAR said pending home sales fell 0.8% in June and were down 2.8% from a year earlier, with the steepest yearly decline in the West. Pending sales lead closings by a month or two, so this pointed to a slow late summer for move-related furniture purchases.

Havertys holds steady

Havertys reported second-quarter sales of $181.0 million, up 1.3%, while comparable store sales fell 2.3%. New stores were adding volume as existing stores worked harder for each sale.

Ethan Allen splits

Ethan Allen reported fiscal fourth-quarter net sales of $160.4 million, down from a year earlier. Retail written orders rose 1.6% while wholesale written orders fell 6.8%, a sign its own showrooms were doing better than its sales through other retailers.

After August 7

With rates set, importers could finally price their goods. The retailers best placed were the ones with their own stores and a clear view of which products they could still land at a good margin.

Related on FIN

• Follow the Tariff Dollars
• Move-In Furniture Tickets Are Drying Up

Sources

• The White House, Further modifying the reciprocal tariff rates (July 31, 2025)
• Supreme Court of the United States, Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, opinion (Feb. 20, 2026)
• National Association of Realtors, Pending home sales, June 2025
• Haverty Furniture Companies, Second quarter 2025 results (SEC filing)
• Ethan Allen Interiors, Fiscal 2025 fourth quarter results (SEC filing)