The Window and Door Manufacturers Association held its Spring Meeting and Legislative Conference this week in Washington, D.C. The event took place over bated breath, with news set to arrive from the White House about new and additional tariffs—some of which were expected to have direct impacts on the industry. While the event’s coordinators were unaware of the impending coincidence, day two of the conference aligned with “Liberation Day”—a name that’s linked to a recent trade war. A new administration seeks to free the U.S. from existing trade structures in which officials feel tariffs and other agreements have slanted in favor of U.S. trade partners, said Robert E. DeFrancesco, III, international trade partner for Wiley Rein LLP. A recent executive order requires the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to study the imbalances and distortions created by countries with significantly higher bound rates and Most-Favored Nation (MFN) rates for products, compared to those produced domestically, DeFrancesco said.
With a news conference expected Wednesday afternoon in the nearby White House Rose Garden, the subject hung over sessions and conversations, as the industry grapples with higher costs on imported products.
Despite his status as House Majority Whip, “I haven’t seen anything, so I don’t know any more than you do right now,” Congressman Tom Emmer (R-MN) told attendees Wednesday morning.
Hours later, the administration announced minimum tariffs of 10% across all countries, set to take effect on April 5. Individualized reciprocal higher tariffs on countries with which the United States has the largest trade deficits take effect April 9. Lumber articles, as well as steel and aluminum articles already subject to a Section 232 tariff, are exempt from the new reciprocal tariff.
“These tariffs seek to address the injustices of global trade, re-shore manufacturing, and drive economic growth for the American people,” a White House statement said.
How long those measures will last, however, depends upon legality, DeFrancesco told attendees.
The latest changes mark a pattern of tit-for-tat negotiations in what some economic experts have labeled a trade war.
“Things changed drastically on November 5,” Emmer told WDMA’s members. With a new administration, the focus shifted in full force to the economy and borders, he said.
But not everyone in Washington agrees with the latest political moves, said Andrew Desiderio, senior congressional correspondent for Punchbowl News, one of the event’s speakers.
In Tuesday’s opening general session, Desiderio described the current atmosphere in Washington as an “interesting and quite volatile time.”
Desiderio spoke of President Donald Trump’s “sway” over the House of Representatives and Senate, where some disagree with such sweeping uses of tariffs. At the same time, “They’ve made the calculation that it isn’t smart to pick a fight with Trump over anything,” Desiderio said. “Republicans often tell me privately that they want to pick and choose their battles,” he added.
In his first term as president, Trump had people around him who were willing to disagree with his ideas and positions, Desiderio said, adding, “The difference now is, Trump doesn’t have anyone around him this time who is willing to tell him, ‘No.’”
WDMA’s Positions
WDMA officials said the association doesn’t object to tariffs, so much as they feel they should be used to target specific products and materials—those dumped into the U.S. economy or otherwise used as bargaining chips to gain advantages over domestic producers. The association is urging a “balanced, pro-growth policy”—one that protects U.S. manufacturing, but allows for “more productive cross-border trade that strengthens American competitiveness.” To achieve such a balance, officials say tariffs should be considered as part of a holistic strategy, to govern imports and curtail illegal dumping. But the feasibility of producing every product required for door and window production in the U.S. is “very questionable,” officials suggested. Meanwhile, “Blanket tariffs act as a direct tax on American companies and impact our ability to source materials and components, hire and grow,” an association statement said. At the same time, they’re concerned that “tariffs in their current iteration may prove detrimental to that goal,” as they’re expected to drive up costs for manufacturing.
In those and other interests, the association lined up three primary requests for inclusion in the 2025 Federal Budget.
In addition to a balanced approach to tariffs, the organization is urging the restoration of immediate expensing of research and development costs—a measure that was phased out by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Prior to the act, companies were allowed to deduct 100% of R&D expenditures in the same year, reducing taxable income immediately.
WDMA is also urging restoration of a 100% bonus depreciation policy that expired in 2022, which allowed businesses to immediately deduct the cost of qualifying capital investments—a move officials say would incentivize innovation, create jobs and drive economic development.
As the industry relies on housing and construction to generate demand for products, overregulation is also a primary concern, as tighter building codes threaten to slow and increase costs for production, suggested Congressman Gabe Evans (R-CO), from Colorado’s eighth congressional district. Amid the rebuilding efforts from the Marshall Fire of 2021, some projects cost as much as $100,000 extra to reproduce, given new requirements, Evans said.
“We all want to be energy efficient. We all want to be kind to the environment,” he said. “But we have to ensure we’re not having those negative, unintended consequences.”
Following sessions with Evans, Emmer and DeFrancesco, WDMA members were then briefed on how to address members of Congress, before heading to Capitol Hill for scheduled meetings.
“You see things on TV, then you come here and get to speak to people in person, which really puts things into perspective,” said John Barnes, national key account manager for Stiles Machinery. “Some of the folks we met with agreed with tariffs, but suggested maybe we should be going about this with a scapple—a little more carefully,” Barnes said.
As for the current state of “chaos” generated by a new administration and a slew of executive orders, Evans likened it to the start of a game of billiards.
“To start off, the balls are racked, all nicely, and everything’s very organized,” he said. “Then somebody comes in, breaks the rack and everything goes everywhere. But then, after that, there is a thoughtful policy to be able to sink the balls into pockets and get the desired outcome.”
Whether the administration clears the economic table with tariffs—or hits an eight-ball into the side pocket—is yet to be seen. Wednesday’s announcements are just another round of shots.
I guess only time will tell. But the industry does not have much time to prepare for the tariff impacts. Prices have already started climbing in an already inflated market. The bottom line is the American consumer. The tariffs will highly likely cause a slowdown in purchasing by the middle class American. How bad is yet to be seen. But bad enough for sure!