U.S. Senators Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, and Jacky Rosen, a Nevada Democrat, introduced the Housing Tariff Exclusion Act, which would exclude many homebuilding materials, including lumber and other construction inputs, from President Trump’s current and future tariffs and create an application process for exemptions on homebuilding materials that are not automatically excluded, according to a release from the offices of Coons and Rosen.
The release says the Supreme Court declared many of the president’s broad tariffs illegal and that the administration then implemented a new 10% tariff on global imports that went into effect last week. It says the tariffs raise the cost of homebuilding materials and make it more expensive to build new housing.
The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association endorsed the bill and said lumber and building material dealers operate in a supply chain that depends on stable and predictable trade policy. Jonathan M. Paine, the group’s president and chief executive, said tariffs on essential construction inputs increase costs, create market volatility, and can delay or discourage new housing starts, and he said a transparent and timely exclusion process for critical homebuilding materials would help stabilize prices and strengthen supply chains.
The National Association of Home Builders also endorsed the measure and said about 60% of builders have already seen cost increases due to tariffs, which it said leads to higher housing costs for buyers and renters. NAHB Chairman Bill Owens said the legislation would create an exemption process for building materials from tariffs.
Other endorsements listed in the release include the National Housing Conference, Third Way, Up for Growth Action, Habitat for Humanity, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, and the Housing Assistance Council. The bill is also cosponsored by Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester, Tim Kaine, Angela Alsobrooks, Martin Heinrich, and Andy Kim.
