U.S. Sens. Jacky Rosen (D‑NV) and Chris Coons (D‑DE) have introduced legislation aimed at easing construction costs and addressing America’s housing affordability crisis by excluding key homebuilding materials from tariffs imposed under the Trump administration.
The Housing Tariff Exclusion Act would create a process to automatically exempt many building materials from current and future tariffs and allow importers to apply for exemptions on other essential construction inputs.
The bill comes amid ongoing concerns that tariffs on imported materials such as lumber, steel, and other construction inputs have driven up costs for builders, contributing to higher home prices and exacerbating supply shortages.
Sens. Rosen and Coons argue that excluding these materials from tariffs would help reduce construction expenses, support housing production, and improve affordability for prospective homebuyers and renters.
“The shortage of housing that Nevadans can afford is squeezing hardworking families’ budgets. We know that one way to address the affordable housing crisis is by making it easier and cheaper for developers to build more housing — but Trump has done the complete opposite over the past year by imposing cost-raising tariffs on virtually all homebuilding materials,” said Sen. Rosen. “The Supreme Court found many of his tariffs illegal, but it’s clear that he’ll use the many other tariff authorities at his disposal to continue imposing them on Nevadans. That’s why I’m introducing this bill to exempt homebuilding materials from Trump’s additional taxes and prevent him from making the housing crisis even worse.”
Sen. Coons echoed the message, stressing that tariffs on building materials make it more expensive to build homes in the U.S. and ultimately push those costs onto consumers. “In a housing crisis, this is the last thing we should be doing,” he said.
The bill has garnered support from industry groups including the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), whose leadership highlighted that roughly 60% of builders have already seen cost increases due to tariffs, resulting in higher costs for American home buyers and renters.
“The National Association of Home Builders commends Sens. Jacky Rosen and Chris Coons for working to address the housing affordability crisis by introducing legislation that would create an exemption process for building materials from tariffs,” said NAHB Chairman Bill Owens. “Roughly 60% of builders have already seen cost increases due to tariffs, which means higher housing costs for American home buyers and renters. This bill is an important step forward to create more certainty for American businesses and to address the nation’s housing affordability challenges.”
Cosponsors of the Housing Tariff Exclusion Act include Sens. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D‑DE), Tim Kaine (D‑VA), Angela Alsobrooks (D‑MD), Martin Heinrich (D‑NM), and Andy Kim (D‑NJ).
