US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that the Donald Trump administration is considering declaring a national housing emergency to tackle high housing prices and limited supply.“We may declare a national housing emergency in the fall,” Bessent told the Washington Examiner, as quoted by Fox News.Bessent said that lower interest rates from the Federal Reserve would help bring prices down, but stressed that the administration is also looking at other options. “We’re trying to figure out what we can do, and we don’t want to step into the business of states, counties and municipal governments,” he said. “I think everything is on the table.”He did not list possible executive actions Trump might take if an emergency is declared, but said officials are evaluating ways to standardize local building and zoning codes and to reduce closing costs.The secretary also noted that the administration may consider tariff exemptions for certain construction materials to ease costs. Lumber prices in the US have been especially volatile this year amid tariffs on Canadian imports, reported Fox News.In July, the commerce department announced countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber imports would more than double, from 6.74 per cent to 14.63 per cent. With an additional 20.6 per cent anti-dumping tariff, the total rate now stands at 35.2 per cent, up from 14.4 per cent, according to the national association of home builders (NAHB).The NAHB reported that as of August 22, the composite price of framing lumber was up 5.8 per cent year-over-year, while lumber futures were 19.1 per cent higher than a year earlier despite recent declines.Other construction materials sensitive to tariffs include gypsum, which is widely used in drywall and largely imported from Mexico.
