Furniture is unusually exposed in the current tariff era because it is bulky, low in value per pound, and largely sourced from a small group of Asian countries, most of which face recent rate actions. A bedframe or sofa carries little duty per cubic foot of shipping, so when a surcharge stacks onto an already freight-heavy product, the added cost tends to land disproportionately on your landed price. Wood furniture has been a recurring target of trade actions, which means a current stacked rate can sit on top of pre-existing antidumping orders rather than replacing them.
Representative 2026 estimate stacking base MFN duty (USITC HTS 2026 Rev.10), Section 301 on China-origin goods (USTR), Section 232 on autos and steel/aluminum/copper articles (CRS IN12545), and the 10% Section 122 surcharge that expires 2026-07-24 and is under appeal (Skadden). Your exact per-SKU duty depends on the precise HS code, which MarginGuard resolves from the live HTS schedule once connected. Not legal or customs advice.
Sri Lanka is a long-established apparel and textile supplier to the United States, and like most trading partners it now sits in the current reciprocal-tariff era, which layers a country-level load on top of each product's base HTS duty. It does not have a US free-trade agreement, so there is generally no zero-duty shortcut on most goods, and its exports are among those that carry a reciprocal-era load. For landed cost, that means the duty on a Sri Lankan shipment is the stacked total of the product's base rate plus the prevailing reciprocal load, not the base rate alone. The exact number depends on the precise HS classification, so treat the rate box as a directional figure rather than a quote.
Sri Lanka is a workable alternative to China for apparel and soft goods, with a long track record in higher-end knitwear, intimates, and technical garments and a reputation for compliance-focused factories that larger buyers often look for. But it is not a margin-free escape hatch: it carries its own reciprocal-era load, so the question is always whether Sri Lanka's stacked rate beats your China stacked rate for your specific HS codes, not whether it is duty-free. The catches are practical as well as fiscal: capacity is concentrated in apparel, so non-textile categories have a thinner supplier base, lead times and freight from South Asia tend to run longer than from Vietnam or Mexico, and minimums at the larger factories can be high for a small Shopify catalog. Run the per-SKU landed-cost comparison before committing, because a lower base duty can be offset by the reciprocal load. Whether any preferential treatment applies would turn on the specific program and its rules of origin, which you would need to confirm for your own goods; this is general guidance, not customs or legal advice.
That's a single SKU. Across a full catalog the tariff hits every imported product differently depending on its cost and price — which is exactly why margin damage hides until a quarter closes light.
Paste your Shopify URL. In about ten seconds you'll see every SKU that dropped below your target margin after the current Sri Lanka tariffs — and the exact price to charge to recover each one. Free, no login.
Scan your store free →Landed cost = unit cost × (1 + tariff rate). To get back to a target margin M, the recovery price is landed cost ÷ (1 − M). For a $250 chair from Sri Lanka at a 14% stacked rate, that means charging $237.50 to hold a 40% margin. Round to a clean price point and test it; the point is to stop selling underwater.
Most finished furniture classifies under HTS chapter 94, where the heading turns mainly on use and material: seats (9401), other furniture such as tables, dressers, and bedframes (9403), and mattresses and bedding (9404) each carry different base treatment, and within those the material — wood, metal, plastic, or upholstered — can move the rate. The base MFN duty for the category is generally modest, but the duty that actually lands on your invoice is the country-of-origin load stacked on top, plus any product-specific antidumping or countervailing duty — for example the AD/CVD orders associated with wooden bedroom furniture and certain mattresses from specific countries — which in some cases can be much larger than the ordinary rate. Whether any such order reaches a given product, and the exact treatment, depends on the precise HS code and origin. Whether a piece is motorized, upholstered, or imported as a kit of parts versus fully assembled can also shift it into a different subheading with different treatment.
A common and costly mistake is treating every piece that holds your goods as one furniture line. Chapter 94 applies a use-and-form test: a seat generally classifies in 9401 even if it is a stool or bench, a storage cabinet generally goes in 9403, and some wall-mounted shelving or display units may fall outside chapter 94 depending on the specific article and its construction. A bigger trap is wooden bedroom furniture — dressers, nightstands, and headboards — which can fall under subheadings associated with antidumping orders; classifying such an item as generic "other wooden furniture" to sidestep that scope is the kind of call customs can reclassify on review, potentially with back duties. The precise subheading and whether an AD/CVD order reaches your SKU depend on the exact HS code and construction, so confirm it per product — ideally with a licensed customs broker — rather than applying one assumption across the whole catalog.
Furniture sourcing has shifted toward Vietnam and, increasingly, Thailand, India, and Cambodia, in part to move away from earlier China-specific actions — but a country switch only helps if it also clears any antidumping order that attaches to a specific product-and-origin pair, not just the headline tariff. Because furniture is assembly-heavy, substantial-transformation rules matter: shipping Chinese components to a third country for final assembly does not automatically change the country of origin for duty purposes, and this pattern has drawn enforcement attention. The more durable levers for a bulky category are renegotiating FOB cost, consolidating freight to cut the per-unit landed hit, and moving to knock-down (flat-pack) construction that ships denser — then modeling all-in landed cost per origin before committing, since the lowest-tariff country is rarely the lowest landed cost once freight and any AD/CVD are counted. Confirm origin treatment for your specific goods with a licensed customs broker.
Why is my furniture duty higher than the base furniture rate I looked up?
The ordinary MFN duty for chapter 94 is generally modest, but it is rarely the whole story. Your landed duty is that base rate plus the current country-of-origin load, and for wooden bedroom furniture or certain mattresses it can also include a product-specific antidumping or countervailing duty tied to your exact origin. Those AD/CVD margins are typically set per producer and can be far larger than the ordinary rate, which is one reason two similar dressers from different factories can clear at very different totals. The exact figures depend on the specific HS code and origin.
Does flat-pack or knock-down furniture get classified differently than assembled?
It can. A complete piece imported unassembled is often still classified as the finished article under chapter 94, but kits, parts, and components can fall into separate subheadings — sometimes with different duty treatment — depending on how complete the shipment is. The practical benefit of flat-pack is usually freight: denser cartons cut your per-unit shipping, which for a bulky low-margin category can move landed cost more than chasing a fractionally lower duty line. Confirm the subheading per SKU, since how 'complete' the kit is can change the answer.
If I move furniture production from China to Vietnam, does the China rate go away?
The China-specific load can go away, but generally only if the goods genuinely originate in Vietnam under the substantial-transformation test — final assembly of Chinese parts may not be enough to change the country of origin for duty purposes. This pattern of routing through third countries has drawn enforcement attention, and an incorrect origin claim can expose you to back duties and penalties. You also have to check whether an antidumping order already covers furniture from the new country, since some orders span multiple origins. For a specific move, confirm the origin treatment with a licensed customs broker.
Does the US have a free-trade agreement with Sri Lanka that lowers duties?
No. There is no US-Sri Lanka free-trade agreement, so most goods do not get a preferential or zero rate the way they might from an FTA partner. Sri Lankan imports generally pay the product's base HTS duty plus the prevailing reciprocal-era load. Any duty relief would hinge on a specific program and its rules of origin, which you would need to verify for your goods rather than assume. This is general guidance, not customs or legal advice.
Is Sri Lanka actually cheaper than China once tariffs are stacked?
Sometimes, but you cannot assume it. Sri Lanka carries its own reciprocal-era load, so the only honest answer comes from comparing the full stacked rate (base duty plus country load) for your exact HS codes against your China figure. Depending on the codes, the comparison can favor either origin, and a lower base rate can be offset by the reciprocal load, so check the landed cost per SKU before shifting orders. This is general guidance, not customs or legal advice.
What categories is Sri Lanka realistically good for sourcing?
Its strongest fit is apparel and textiles, especially knitwear, intimates, swimwear, and technical or performance garments, where it has mature, compliance-focused factories. Outside soft goods the supplier base is thinner, so for electronics, hard goods, or furniture you will usually find more depth in Vietnam, India, or China. Match the country to the category, and confirm a factory can meet your volume, since minimums at the larger plants can be high for a small catalog. This is general guidance, not customs or legal advice.
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