Trump tariffs worry Italy's luxury furniture makers

Even the most sumptuous cushions cannot ease the pain that Italian luxury furniture makers, who are gathered at their annual fair, can already feel from US President Donald Trump's tariffs.

- BRIGITTE HAGEMANN

Some companies at the Milan Furniture Fair, which opened Tuesday, compare the sudden levies to a rampaging wrecking crew. But many are also determined to keep designing their prestige output in the hope that buyers in the key US market will stick with them.

The United States is the Italian furniture industry's second-biggest market after France, accounting for $2.4 billion (€2.4 billion) of its $19.4 billion of exports in 2024, according to industry figures.

The “geopolitical” factors, such as the new tariffs, “will certainly have long-term repercussions” the fair's president Maria Porro told AFP.

About 10% of all Italy's exports go to the United States, and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will go to Washington on April 25 in a bid to ease the impact of the 20% tariffs imposed on European Union products.

Some furniture firms say it is too early to know how much damage can be expected from the tariffs that have shaken global markets.