BillionIndustry
OnJuly16,2025,HumanCapitalCareerTrends
Editor-in-Chief Ana Paula Montanha was invited to attend a high-level press conference hosted by the American Kitchen Cabinet Alliance (AKCA) at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The event—officially titled theSection232CabinetIndustryInvestigation — brought together senior lawmakers and industry leaders to address the national economic threat posed by unfairly traded cabinet imports The panel featured U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), U.S. Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC), Stephen Wellborn of Wellborn Cabinet, Edwin Underwood of Marsh Furniture, AKCA legal counsel Luke A. Meisner, and virtual remarks from Senate Majority Leader John Thune. As policymakers prepare for a critical August 1 decisionontariffs
TheEconomicScopeoftheU.S.Industry
Valued at over $12 billion annually, the U.S. cabinet industry supports more than 250,000 direct and indirect jobs, with dense employment clusters in Alabama, North Carolina,Indiana,Pennsylvania,andTexas.
“From engineers and machinists to logistics operatorsandHRprofessionals,thisisnotlowwage work—it is foundational employment,” stated Edwin Underwood, President and COO of Marsh Furniture. In recent years, however, the sector has experienced significant contraction: 2,200 employees at Wellborn Cabinet in 2018 have declined to 1,400 as of mid-2025, attributed directly to import overcapacity and margin-destroying price undercutting.
WorkforceTrendsandFutureDemand
Although there has been a strong recovery in housing demand, with nearly five million new housing units constructed since 2020, the domestic cabinetry industry is not seeing a proportional benefit. The culprit lies in the aggressive transshipment and circumvention tactics employed by exporters from Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Mexico “We’re losing American manufacturing jobs even as apartment construction flourishes,” stated Luke Meisner, legal counsel for AKCA. “Thisdisconnectisentirelydrivenbyunfairtrade practices”
Senator Tuberville expressed his concerns candidly: “If these tariffs fail, we will lose companies like Wellborn Cabinet. They won’t stand a chance.” He further emphasized, “This is not merely an economic issue this is about national sovereignty. These jobs are vital for rural communities, and without them, towns like Ashlandwillbecomemereshadowsoftheirformer selves”
What is the Government Investigating, and Why ItMatters
The Section 232 investigation launched by PresidentTrumponMarch1,2025,focusesonthe national security implications of foreign cabinet imports.
While past ADCVD (anti-dumping/countervailing duty) orders on Chinese cabinetry imposed tariffs of up to 262%, those efforts were quickly circumvented via third-country transshipment “The Section 232 framework gives the administration broader and more durable enforcementtools,”saidMeisner.
With precedent set in recent months on steel, aluminum, and copper, the expectation is that the Trump administration will impose 100% tariffs on foreign cabinet imports, a figure stakeholders deem essential to restore price parityandprotectAmericansupplychains.“The industry doesn’t need subsidies or reshoring plans,” said Wellborn. “We just need a level playingfield.”
NationalandRegionalEconomicSignificance
Cabinet manufacturing is an anchor industry in many rural counties, offering wages, benefits, and multi-generational employment that rival regional norms In states like Alabama and North Carolina, these facilities are often the largest private employers “Our daycare, cafeteria, on-site nurse practitioners, those aren’t perks, they’re necessities,” explained Wellborn. “That’s what family-sustainingmanufacturinglookslike”
Congressman Joe Wilson linked the industry’s preservation directly to national security: “We must not underestimate the role of cabinetry in militaryhousing,logistics,andinfrastructure.It’s thesametimberandlumberthatmovesfoodand medicine across America. This is a military-civil fusionissue,andwemusttreatitassuch.”
Executive Perspectives: Voices from the FrontlinesofAmericanManufacturing
The July 16 panel brought together key stakeholders whose voices represent both the political will and operational realities of the U.S. cabinet manufacturing sector From Capitol Hill to the factory floor, the message was unified: foreign dumping of underpriced cabinets is destabilizing American industry and urgent actionisrequired
Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) framed the crisis as existential, both economically and ideologically:
“If these tariffs don’t work, we’ll lose companies like Wellborn Cabinet. They’ll have no chance,” said Senator Tuberville. “We’ll end up a socialist country being run by communists This country owes you one thing opportunity And if we don’tstopthisillegaltrade,we’regoingtoloseit”
Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) emphasized theintersectionofindustrialerosionandnational security:
“The Chinese Communist Party’s strategy of military-civilian fusion should not be underestimated,”Wilsoncautioned
“Ifwedon’thavetheseindustriesduringatimeof conflict, that is a national security threat—plain and simple. Section 232 is the right tool at the righttime.”CongressmanJoeWilson(R-SC)
StephenWellborn,ownerofWellbornCabinetin Ashland, Alabama, illustrated the human and operationaltoll:
“We’ve gone from producing 13,000 cabinets a week to 10,000. Above all else, we’ve gone from 2,200employeesto1,400,”Wellbornstated.“We don’t need reshoring—we’re already here. What weneedisalevelplayingfield.”
Headded,pointedly:
“If President Trump and our leaders do the right thing on trade, we’ll be around for the next 60 years. But if we fail, 250,000 American cabinet jobswillbewipedout.”
Edwin Underwood, President and COO of Marsh Furniture,echoedthelong-termconsequencesfor hishomestateandtheregion:
“North Carolina was once the furniture capital of the world. We lost textiles. We lost furniture. And now we are dangerously close to losing cabinetry,” Underwood warned “Already, our industry has lost $65 billion in revenue over the last five years Plants have shut down in Alabama, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Kansas, and right here in North Carolina.”
Heemphasizedthebroadermission:
“We make cabinets for military barracks, officer housing,andfederalfacilities Thisisnotjustabout economics it’s about sovereignty. It’s about what we,asAmericans,stillretaintheabilitytobuild.”
LukeA.Meisner,legalcounselfortheAmerican Kitchen Cabinet Alliance (AKCA), grounded the conversation in enforcement mechanisms andnationalinterest:
“Foreign exporters are selling cabinets at less than half the cost of American-made cabinetry,” Meisner noted. “We’ve provided detailed documentation to the Commerce Department. A 10% or 50% tariff won’t suffice. Itmustbe100%tolevelthefield.”
Meisneralsoflaggedgeopoliticalrisk:
“ManyofthesecabinetsaremadewithRussian hardwoods or illegally harvested timber. This isn’t just dumping—it’s circumvention, it’s environmental harm, and it directly undermines U.S. security frameworks like the LaceyAct.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (via video) closedwithastrategicoutlook:
“Wemustdefendcriticalindustriesfromforeign manipulation The cabinet industry is vital to both our economy and our communities President Trump’s Section 232 action is timely and necessary to restore trade fairness and protectAmericanjobs.”
TheSection232decisionnowrestswiththeWhite House and the Department of Commerce For American cabinet makers and their workers, the nexttwoweeksmaydeterminethetrajectoryofan entireindustry.
ConclusionandTimeline
WithPresidentTrumpexpectedtoactbyAugust1, 2025,theurgencycouldnotbeclearer
AKCA has formally requested a loophole-free, exemption-free tariff package to stop the flood of underpriced imports and stabilize the domesticindustry.“Thisisnotjustaboutmaking cabinets,” said Edwin Underwood. “This is about who makes them, where they’re made, and whether the next generation of Americans can find good jobs in towns like Ashland or High Point.”
TheSection232decisionnowrestswiththeWhite House and the Department of Commerce For American cabinet makers and their workers, the nexttwoweeksmaydeterminethetrajectoryofan entireindustry
