MONTGOMERY COUNTY — New 50% federal tariffs on Canadian imports are expected to increase construction costs and home prices across the Miami Valley.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
The trade policy targets materials heavily used in local housing developments, including Canadian lumber and plywood.
The White House released an 18-page list of Canadian products subject to the 50% tax, including windows, kitchen cabinets, steel, aluminum, dairy, car parts and alcohol.
The import taxes arrive as communities throughout Montgomery County and surrounding areas work to expand housing supply to lower consumer costs.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Man learns sentence for shooting that left 16-year-old with ‘life-altering’ injuries
- Elderly couple dead after apparent murder-suicide in Miami Twp.
- Police K9 found after being missing for nearly a month
Alan Lee, executive director of the Home Builders Association of Dayton, explained that rising material costs directly hit housing prices across the region.
“When it goes up, it really affects the affordability of homes,” Lee said.
Canada is the dominant supplier of lumber used in regional construction projects, including neighborhoods in Washington Township.
Lee added that price increases on imported construction supplies rarely decline over time.
“When you have tariffs on materials like cabinetry and windows and anything that’s imported, a lot of aluminum, aluminum and steel, I think that could really, it doesn’t usually go back down,” Lee said.
Lee emphasized that local residential contractors face tight financial choices when purchasing construction supplies.
“The home builder runs a business like anybody else does,” Lee said.
“And they have to worry about their costs. They have to worry about their margins.”
President Donald Trump implemented the trade policy using a depression-era law that allows the executive branch to place taxes of up to 50% on imports from nations deemed to discriminate against U.S. businesses.
The law had never previously been used specifically to raise tariffs. Vice President J.D. Vance expressed support for taking a firmer stance against foreign trade practices.
“We’re sick of that,” Vance said. “We’re actually going to fight back against unfair trade practices, whether it’s coming from China or Canada.”
Economists are evaluating whether the new import taxes will lead to prolonged market instability.
Jared Pinson, an economics professor at Cedarville University, outlined the administration’s broader trade strategy.
“The Trump administration has made a point in the second term to try to equalize access points between countries,” Pinson said.
Addressing potential market uncertainty, Pinson explained that frequent policy shifts drive instability rather than the tariffs themselves.
“On and off tariffs is what would create the instability,” Pinson said. “If tariffs are put on or even just taken off and that’s seen as permanent, then you also have stability in that case.”
Canada plans to enact dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs against American products.
The retaliatory measures are expected to take effect in a few weeks.
[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
