As homeowner remodeling projects commonly focus on raising home values, countertop demand will benefit from trends favoring more bathrooms, larger kitchens, and higher value countertop materials to boost ROI.

Freedonia Group analysis of the global major household appliances market shows where challenges are being felt most strongly and the best opportunities for future growth. See the four key areas to watch.

On May 31, 2018, the US International Trade Commission announced that it had reason to believe the US quartz countertop industry had been materially injured by imported Chinese products being sold at less than fair value.

Following this ruling, a series of tariffs were levied against Chinese quartz slab imports, ranging from 311% to 528%. How is this expected to impact the global countertops market going forward?

The first three rounds of the Trump administration’s trade war with China have included tariffs on a range of power lawn and garden equipment, in addition to engines and other OEM components, replacement parts, and attachment accessories.

Importers and exporters have long taken advantage of free trade agreements to circumvent tariffs using such methods as transshipments, outsourcing production, and internal supply chain shifts. Increasingly, however, Chinese manufacturers are taking a simpler – if more ethically dubious – approach to avoiding US-imposed tariffs: code misclassification.

US suppliers of consumer water treatment systems – including water purification systems and water softeners – have not been able to duck the reach of recent tariffs imposed on China.

The Trump administration’s unapologetic disparagement of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has resulted in a replacement agreement, announced October 1. Now known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), has NAFTA changed in anything but name?

For many Americans who rely on the low-cost housewares and other goods supplied by dollar and discount stores, new tariffs implemented by the US on Chinese imports could spell bad news.

Rising trade tensions between the US and Chinese governments - including new 10% tariffs from the US on $200 billion in Chinese goods - threatens to further impact US imports of wood products. Find out why this has significant implications for the US building materials industry.

A 10% tariff on $200 billion in Chinese imports took effect today.
The inclusion of certain plastic bags on that list seems like it should be a boon for green businesses. Find out why one Freedonia analyst thinks that may not be the case.