Chairman Randy Noel said President Trump’s announcement ‘could not have come at a worse time’
A new set of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports will make housing unaffordable and hurt consumers, according to National Association of Home Builders Chairman Randy Noel.
Noel’s statement follows an announcement by President Donald Trump that he will impose tariffs of 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminum imports. Noel said the tariffs will result in higher costs for consumers as well as businesses that use steel and aluminum, such as home builders.
“Given that home builders are already grappling with 20% tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber and that the price of lumber and other key building materials are near record highs, this announcement by the president could not have come at a worse time,” Noel said.
Noel said the tariffs harm housing affordability, adding that he hopes the administration will quickly resolve related trade disputes so business and consumers can access an adequate supply of lumber and steel at fair market prices.
“What’s been allowed to go on for decades is disgraceful. It’s disgraceful,” Trump said during a listening session with representatives from the steel and aluminum industry at the White House. “And when it comes to a time when our country can’t make aluminum and steel — and somebody said it before, and I will tell you, you almost don’t have much of a country. Because without steel and aluminum, your country is not the same. And we need it.”
“So we’ll probably see you sometime next week,” Trump added. “We’ll be signing it in. And you will have protection for the first time in a long while, and you’re going to regrow your industries. That’s all I’m asking. You have to regrow your industries.”
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