NAHB Urges Building Material Exemption from Planned Tariffs Against Canada and Mexico
With President Trump announcing that he plans to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods coming into the United States, NAHB is urging the president to exempt building materials from the proposed tariffs because of their harmful effect on housing affordability.
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.
In a letter to the president, NAHB noted that on his first day in office Trump issued an executive order that seeks to increase housing supply and affordability.
“Bringing down the cost of housing will require a coordinated effort to remove obstacles to construction, be they regulatory, labor or supply-chain related,” NAHB’s letter said. “NAHB stands ready to work with you to accomplish these goals. However, we have serious concerns that proposed 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico will have the opposite effect, by slowing down the domestic residential construction industry.”
Latest from NAHBNow
Advocacy
Jul 31, 2026
City Leaders Share Lessons on Breaking Through the Housing DebateMayors say collaboration and community engagement are key to building consensus across different perspectives to advance pro-housing policies.
Land Development | Economics
Jul 30, 2026
AI Data Centers Are Outbidding Home Builders for America's LandAs the demand for data processing increased dramatically with the advent of AI, companies building the centers began bidding up prices of land that had been on home builders' radar.
Latest Economic News
Economics
Jul 30, 2026
PCE Inflation Eased in JuneAfter reaching a three-year high last month, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge eased in June following declines in energy prices amid a temporary truce with Iran. This marked the first monthly decline in six years.
Economics
Jul 30, 2026
Top Ten Builder Share Across Largest Housing MarketsAn earlier post described how the top ten builders in the country accounted for 43.6% of new single-family closings in 2025. BUILDER magazine has now released additional data on the top ten builders within each of the 50 largest new home markets in the U.S., ranked by single-family permits.
Economics
Jul 29, 2026
Amid Supply-Side Inflation Pressures, The Fed HoldsThe Federal Reserve held the federal funds rate at a target range of 3.5% to 3.75% at the conclusion of its July policy meeting. There were three dissenting votes on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), all of which supported raising the federal funds rate by 25 basis points.