With tariffs against major suppliers of building supplies looming, experts are warning the cost of rebuilding homes and businesses after the Palisades and Eaton fires may have gone up significantly.
When Trump toured the Palisades Fire burn scar in January, he suggested he might freeze the cost of building supplies for three years for people affected by the fires, but so far he hasn’t shared any other information on when or if that would happen.
Leaving Los Angeles County locals unsure of what is going to happen next.
More than a half dozen wildfires across Southern California in January burned nearly 40,000 acres and destroyed more than 16,000 structures.
Most of that damage was in the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades and Malibu and the Eaton Fire in Pasadena and Altadena.
Experts have spoken out about the prevalence of this, saying that the combination of demand and tariffs on imports from Canada, China and Mexico could increase the cost of building materials significantly.
Trump has also recently announced that he would be suspending tariffs on imports from Mexico and some from Canada until April.
Anawalt Lumber has been in the lumber business for more than 100 years. Reiff Anawalt of Anawalt Lumber has announced that he has already gotten questions about building costs, saying it may be similar to what the industry saw during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reiff Anawalt said: “Now I think we’ll see the same thing in Southern California, between the Eaton Fire and Palisades Fire, demand is going to be very high, and about a year and a half, maybe even six months to a year and a half, and then we’re going to have the tariffs.
“So you’re going to kind of have a double whammy.”
The demand is one thing, but Trump’s proposed tariffs are aimed at countries that supply many building materials.
Shelby Rothman with Enjoy Financial explained: “Mexico is our drywall. Canada’s our wood. Electronics and metal [are] coming from China.
“So there is not one thing that we produce mass here in America that’s going to be going into those homes that are being rebuilt, except for our labor.”
Anawalt shared his perspective on the prospect of rising costs: “People projecting numbers and the current-day price really need to, I think, shoot for 25% higher, at least, with labor and material costs going up.”
With tariffs against major suppliers of building supplies a possibility under the Trump administration, experts are warning that the cost of rebuilding homes and businesses after the Palisades and Eaton fires may have gone up significantly.
