Lauan Subject to Reciprocal Tariffs Beginning October 14, 2025

On September 29, 2025, the Trump Administration issued a Presidential Proclamation imposing Section 232 tariffs on specified imports of softwood timber and lumber, upholstered furniture, and kitchen cabinets and vanities.

While the Administration exempted lauan from the 232 plywood tariffs, the language of the Proclamation was less clear about whether lauan would be subject to International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs on October 14, 2025.

After research and conversations with multiple law firms and Rep. Rudy Yakym’s staff, we have concluded that lauan plywood will be subject to reciprocal tariffs beginning at 12:01 am ET on October 14. At that time lauan plywood imports from Indonesia will face a new 19% reciprocal (IEEPA) tariff, on top of the existing 8% MFN duty, for a total tariff rate of 27%. This hinges on the Lumber and Timber 232 Annex and on paragraph 12 of the Proclamation, which reads:

Given the actions directed in this proclamation, and having considered the actions needed to address the emergency declared in Executive Order 14257, as amended, I am directing that, effective for goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on and after 12:01 eastern daylight time on October 14, 2025, all tariff provisions under Chapter 44 of the HTSUS are hereby removed from Annex II of Executive Order 14257, as amended, except those tariff provisions that: (i) are included on the Potential Tariff Adjustments for Aligned Partners Annex of Executive Order 14346 of September 5, 2025 (Modifying the Scope of Reciprocal Tariffs and Establishing Procedures for Implementing Trade and Security Agreements), and (ii) do not include products of a type that are subject to an antidumping or countervailing duty order.

While lauan is included on the Potential Tariff Adjustments for Aligned Partners Annex (PTAAP), it is subject to an active antidumping/countervailing duty order as a result of the China Hardwood Plywood investigation that took place during the first Trump Administration.

The Lumber and Timber Annex reinforces paragraph 12 by listing the specific Chapter 44 HTSUS codes to be removed from Annex II; the lauan HTS codes were included in that list.

We are working with Congressional champions and the Commerce Department to get lauan exempted, either by:

1. Tightening up the language surrounding products “of a type” that are subject to AD/CVD orders by tying it to the country; or
2. Working towards an exemption from reciprocal (IEEPA) tariffs for lauan in the final Indonesia trade agreement.

While we are hopeful that we will get this issue resolved, we do expect lauan to be impacted by reciprocal tariffs for a time. These are sensitive conversations so please be judicious about talking about them but we want our members to be aware of what’s happening given the importance of lauan to our industry. Please contact Samantha Rocci, Director of Federal Affairs, at srocci@rvia.org, with any questions.