Furniture is unusually exposed in the current tariff era because it is bulky, low in value per pound, and largely sourced from a small group of Asian countries, most of which face recent rate actions. A bedframe or sofa carries little duty per cubic foot of shipping, so when a surcharge stacks onto an already freight-heavy product, the added cost tends to land disproportionately on your landed price. Wood furniture has been a recurring target of trade actions, which means a current stacked rate can sit on top of pre-existing antidumping orders rather than replacing them.
Representative 2026 estimate stacking base MFN duty (USITC HTS 2026 Rev.10), Section 301 on China-origin goods (USTR), Section 232 on autos and steel/aluminum/copper articles (CRS IN12545), and the 10% Section 122 surcharge that expires 2026-07-24 and is under appeal (Skadden). Your exact per-SKU duty depends on the precise HS code, which MarginGuard resolves from the live HTS schedule once connected. Not legal or customs advice.
Germany is a member of the European Union, so goods imported into the United States from Germany are generally dutied at standard most-favored-nation (MFN) rates under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. EU-origin goods are not subject to the China Section 301 tariffs, so German-origin items do not carry that China-style add-on on the tariff line; trade measures can change, so confirm current treatment before you commit. The duty you pay depends on the product's HTS classification, so two German-made items can carry very different rates. For merchants, the takeaway is that the customs-duty component is the standard schedule rate for your specific HTS code plus any applicable fees, not a base rate stacked with the Section 301 surcharge.
As an EU source, Germany is generally a margin-safer alternative to China on the tariff line because EU-origin goods are not subject to the China Section 301 tariffs, but it is not duty-free: standard MFN duty still applies and the rate is driven by your specific product's classification, so confirm the exact HTS code before you model margin. The honest catch is usually on the cost side rather than the policy side. German labor, manufacturing, and EU compliance costs are often higher than lower-cost Asian sourcing, though this varies by product category, and transatlantic freight plus a EUR/USD exchange rate that can move against you both feed landed cost. There is also no broad zero-tariff US program for EU goods that you can simply assume applies. Germany tends to make the most sense when product quality, engineering precision, lead-time reliability, or country-of-origin positioning offsets the higher ex-works price, rather than as a pure low-cost arbitrage away from China.
That's a single SKU. Across a full catalog the tariff hits every imported product differently depending on its cost and price — which is exactly why margin damage hides until a quarter closes light.
Paste your Shopify URL. In about ten seconds you'll see every SKU that dropped below your target margin after the current Germany tariffs — and the exact price to charge to recover each one. Free, no login.
Scan your store free →Landed cost = unit cost × (1 + tariff rate). To get back to a target margin M, the recovery price is landed cost ÷ (1 − M). For a $250 chair from Germany at a 14% stacked rate, that means charging $237.50 to hold a 40% margin. Round to a clean price point and test it; the point is to stop selling underwater.
Most finished furniture classifies under HTS chapter 94, where the heading turns mainly on use and material: seats (9401), other furniture such as tables, dressers, and bedframes (9403), and mattresses and bedding (9404) each carry different base treatment, and within those the material — wood, metal, plastic, or upholstered — can move the rate. The base MFN duty for the category is generally modest, but the duty that actually lands on your invoice is the country-of-origin load stacked on top, plus any product-specific antidumping or countervailing duty — for example the AD/CVD orders associated with wooden bedroom furniture and certain mattresses from specific countries — which in some cases can be much larger than the ordinary rate. Whether any such order reaches a given product, and the exact treatment, depends on the precise HS code and origin. Whether a piece is motorized, upholstered, or imported as a kit of parts versus fully assembled can also shift it into a different subheading with different treatment.
A common and costly mistake is treating every piece that holds your goods as one furniture line. Chapter 94 applies a use-and-form test: a seat generally classifies in 9401 even if it is a stool or bench, a storage cabinet generally goes in 9403, and some wall-mounted shelving or display units may fall outside chapter 94 depending on the specific article and its construction. A bigger trap is wooden bedroom furniture — dressers, nightstands, and headboards — which can fall under subheadings associated with antidumping orders; classifying such an item as generic "other wooden furniture" to sidestep that scope is the kind of call customs can reclassify on review, potentially with back duties. The precise subheading and whether an AD/CVD order reaches your SKU depend on the exact HS code and construction, so confirm it per product — ideally with a licensed customs broker — rather than applying one assumption across the whole catalog.
Furniture sourcing has shifted toward Vietnam and, increasingly, Thailand, India, and Cambodia, in part to move away from earlier China-specific actions — but a country switch only helps if it also clears any antidumping order that attaches to a specific product-and-origin pair, not just the headline tariff. Because furniture is assembly-heavy, substantial-transformation rules matter: shipping Chinese components to a third country for final assembly does not automatically change the country of origin for duty purposes, and this pattern has drawn enforcement attention. The more durable levers for a bulky category are renegotiating FOB cost, consolidating freight to cut the per-unit landed hit, and moving to knock-down (flat-pack) construction that ships denser — then modeling all-in landed cost per origin before committing, since the lowest-tariff country is rarely the lowest landed cost once freight and any AD/CVD are counted. Confirm origin treatment for your specific goods with a licensed customs broker.
Why is my furniture duty higher than the base furniture rate I looked up?
The ordinary MFN duty for chapter 94 is generally modest, but it is rarely the whole story. Your landed duty is that base rate plus the current country-of-origin load, and for wooden bedroom furniture or certain mattresses it can also include a product-specific antidumping or countervailing duty tied to your exact origin. Those AD/CVD margins are typically set per producer and can be far larger than the ordinary rate, which is one reason two similar dressers from different factories can clear at very different totals. The exact figures depend on the specific HS code and origin.
Does flat-pack or knock-down furniture get classified differently than assembled?
It can. A complete piece imported unassembled is often still classified as the finished article under chapter 94, but kits, parts, and components can fall into separate subheadings — sometimes with different duty treatment — depending on how complete the shipment is. The practical benefit of flat-pack is usually freight: denser cartons cut your per-unit shipping, which for a bulky low-margin category can move landed cost more than chasing a fractionally lower duty line. Confirm the subheading per SKU, since how 'complete' the kit is can change the answer.
If I move furniture production from China to Vietnam, does the China rate go away?
The China-specific load can go away, but generally only if the goods genuinely originate in Vietnam under the substantial-transformation test — final assembly of Chinese parts may not be enough to change the country of origin for duty purposes. This pattern of routing through third countries has drawn enforcement attention, and an incorrect origin claim can expose you to back duties and penalties. You also have to check whether an antidumping order already covers furniture from the new country, since some orders span multiple origins. For a specific move, confirm the origin treatment with a licensed customs broker.
Do I pay extra Section 301 tariffs on goods made in Germany?
Generally no. Germany is an EU member, and EU-origin goods are not subject to the China Section 301 tariffs that apply to many China-origin products. You generally pay the standard MFN duty rate tied to your product's HTS classification, plus normal entry fees, without that China-style surcharge on top. Always verify the classification, since the rate varies widely by product, and confirm current treatment before you commit.
Is sourcing from Germany cheaper than sourcing from China?
Often not on unit cost, even though the tariff line is usually friendlier. German manufacturing, labor, and EU compliance costs tend to run higher than lower-cost Chinese equivalents in many categories, and you also carry transatlantic freight and currency exposure. The advantage is not carrying the China Section 301 add-on and gaining quality, reliability, and country-of-origin positioning, so Germany typically competes on total value rather than lowest price. Compare your own landed-cost figures, since this varies by product.
Can I import German goods into the US duty-free?
Generally no. As an EU source, Germany falls under standard MFN duty rates rather than a broad US duty-free program, so most products carry some duty based on their HTS code. Any reduced or preferential treatment would depend on specific rules of origin and program eligibility that you would need to confirm for your exact product. This is general guidance, not customs or legal advice.
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