Trump says he will make North Carolina furniture capital of the world again

President Donald Trump announced May 4 that he plans to restore North Carolina as the “furniture capital of the world,” saying the state’s manufacturing sector will be revived to levels not seen in decades.

Speaking at a Small Business Summit for National Small Business Week, Trump said his administration would bring furniture production back to North Carolina through tariffs on imports and other measures.

“We’re going to bring all the furniture back to North Carolina, and you’re going to see it’ll be as robust as it was 25-30 years ago,” he said.

He added that when he needed furniture for hotels and buildings built in the past, he would turn to the state’s “great artists” but said “China essentially put them out of business.”

Trump said his administration would rely on tariffs to revive the industry, a strategy he has already begun to implement. In September 2025, he announced a 25% tariff on foreign-made upholstered furniture, cabinets, and vanities.

“We have to protect our businesses,” the President said during the small business summit.

North Carolina, particularly the city of High Point — home to a major furniture market held every April and October — was long known as a global hub for furniture manufacturing. According to the High Point Museum, roughly 60% of all furniture made in the U.S. was produced within a 150-mile radius of High Point in the years following World War II. While employment levels in the state’s furniture industry peaked in the 1980s, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond reported that between 1999 and 2009, the industry lost more than half its jobs due to competition from cheaper imports, especially from China. 

Rep. Addison McDowell of North Carolina, a Republican, welcomed Trump’s statements in a social media post, saying that “North Carolina builds it right — strong, reliable, and built to last.” 

He added of the state’s furniture industry, “We’re bringing it back bigger and better than ever.”