Housing affordability has found another front via Washington, D.C.’s tariff wars.
A group of Senate Democrats introduced legislation that would exempt key homebuilding materials from active and future tariffs, Realtor.com reported. The contingency argues trade policy is inflating construction costs and worsening the housing shortage.
Sens. Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Chris Coons of Delaware are leading the bill, which would automatically carve out a list of construction inputs from tariffs while creating a process through the Department of Commerce for companies to seek exemptions. The proposal comes weeks after President Donald Trump imposed a new round of tariffs on imported goods after the Supreme Court struck down his previous effort.
Rosen framed the bill as a direct response to those policies.
“One way to address the affordable housing crisis is by making it easier and cheaper for developers to build more housing,” she said in a statement, accusing the administration of doing “the complete opposite” by raising costs on construction materials.
The legislation also has backing from Democratic Sens. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Andy Kim of New Jersey, Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico.
Industry groups have long pushed for such exemptions. The National Association of Home Builders argues tariffs disrupt supply chains and inject uncertainty into development budgets, a risk that can slow projects before they even break ground.
About 60 percent of builders have already reported higher costs due to tariffs, according to NAHB chair Bill Owens, who said those increases ultimately show up in rents and home prices.
Builders brought in roughly $14 billion worth of materials in 2024, accounting for about 7 percent of the $204 billion used across single-family and multifamily projects. Some categories are particularly exposed to trade policy shifts: roughly a quarter of U.S. softwood lumber supply is imported and about 85 percent of those imports come from Canada.
Material prices were already climbing before the latest tariffs. Construction inputs rose about 34 percent between 2020 and 2025, a jump the NAHB estimated added roughly $10,900 to the cost of a new home.
Whether the bill advances is another matter. Trump doubled down on tariffs during last week’s State of the Union address, touting them as a tool to secure favorable trade deals.
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