[THEPOSTMILLENNIAL] Trump has applauded furniture makers moving production to the US amid tariffs, with one company closing its Canadian production facility and shifting all production to the United States, while a North Carolina furniture maker is closing its doors due to ongoing production issues with its main supplier in Mexico, among other issues.
"Those tariffs, next year will make us $1 trillion. In addition to the $1 trillion, thousands of companies are gonna relocate back into the United States. In North Carolina, already furniture people are starting to move back in," Trump said.
Progressive Furniture, a subsidiary of Sauder Woodworking and importer of "budget friendly" furniture from Asia and Mexico, will be closing at the end of the year and laying off around 30 employees, per Furniture Today.
President of the company, Dan Kendrick, told the outlet, "This decision was not made lightly, and we understand the impact it will have on our employees, customers and partners. We are committed to supporting our employees through this transition and will aid where possible to help them find new opportunities."
The closure of the company was blamed on multiple issues, but mainly on the closure of the company's primary supplier in Mexico. Kendrick said, "Obviously, business conditions have been challenging for the past few years, but the closure of our primary supplier in Mexico has made a major impact. This factory supplied 60% of our products."
According to Home News Now, the company's main supplier, Baja Wood, was based in Rosarito, Mexico. In January, around 60 of Baja Wood's 320 employees protested outside of the factory over reduced hours. The factory was shut down as government officials investigated the claims, which required a lengthy interview process. At the end of the investigation, the plant owner decided not to reopen. Baja Wood and Progressive furniture were closely intertwined, with the US company receiving over 50 percent of its wood furniture from the Mexico plant, and Progressive being the plant's primary customer in the US.
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