Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on goods imported from Canada and Mexico, announced Saturday, will raise the cost of vital materials used in residential construction and fuel the housing affordability crisis, builders have warned.
“More than 70% of the imports of two essential materials that home builders rely on – softwood lumber and gypsum (used for drywall) – come from Canada and Mexico, respectively,” said Carl Harris, chairman of the US National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) on Saturday.
“Tariffs on lumber and other building materials increase the cost of construction and discourage new development, and consumers end up paying for the tariffs in the form of higher home prices,” he added.
NAHB had earlier called on Trump to exempt materials like lumber, steel, gypsum and aluminium from his planned tariffs.
Canada is the largest importer of steel to the US, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.
Nearly a quarter (24.5%) of all steel imported to the US came from Canada in December last year, it says.
Mexico is the second biggest importer, counting for 15.4% of US steel imports that month.
Just across the northern border, the Residential Construction Council of Ontario condemned the tariffs as unjustified and detrimental to house building in both countries.
“The move is reckless and will cause economic hardship in both the US and Canada, affecting tens of billions of dollars of trade in construction materials alone,” said the council’s president, Richard Lyall.
“Such levies will only increase costs and lead to a further slowdown in residential construction activity which will exacerbate an already dire housing affordability crisis.”
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