Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested Monday that President Donald Trump may consider some tariff exemptions for certain housing construction materials.
“We’re trying to figure out what we can do, and we don’t want to step into the business of states, counties, and municipal governments,” Bessent told the Washington Examiner. “I think everything is on the table.”
The Trump administration has established a wide range of tariffs on materials used to build homes, including 35% tariffs on lumber imports from Canada, plus tariffs ranging from 10% to 50% on imports of steel, aluminum, copper, and other materials crucial to construction.
Bessent talked with the Examiner during a breakfast in McLean, Virginia, on the first of his three diner stops across the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area on Labor Day to highlight the “No Tax on Tips” provision included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that Trump signed into law on July Fourth
Bessent said rate cuts from the Federal Reserve would help alleviate skyrocketing post-COVID-19 housing prices but acknowledged that the administration can do more to cut costs and boost supply for homeowners.
He declined to list specific actions beyond possibly declaring a national emergency, but he suggested that administration officials are studying ways to standardize local building and zoning codes and decrease closing costs, as well as tariff exemptions.
Although housing prices have cooled from their pandemic-era peak, Redfin estimated in late May that there were about 500,000 more home sellers than buyers because many buyers were still struggling to find an affordable mortgage.
“I think we’re going to see a big economic pickup in 2026,” Bessent said.
On Inauguration Day, Trump issued an executive order addressing the high cost of living, specifically targeting housing affordability, noting that many Americans cannot purchase homes because of high prices driven by regulatory requirements.
Although the National Association of Home Builders applauded the executive order, it urged him to exempt building materials from his proposed tariffs, citing how harmful the cost increases would be for housing affordability.
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