In recent days, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville raised concerns about unfair trade practices hurting thousands of Alabama residents. “[T]his is war,” he said. “Just as with other domestic industries, China is undercutting our cabinet businesses, basically cutting our throats.”
Tuberville is a champion for Alabama’s manufacturing jobs, recently telling us that “President Trump understands business, he understands manufacturing, and that's the reason he's going after unfair trade.”
As the co-owner of Wellborn Cabinet, it was an honor to share the stage with Tuberville, congressional leaders, and industry leaders fighting to save our great domestic manufacturing industry. Located in Ashland, Ala., Wellborn cabinet is the largest employer in the city, employing 1,400 people at our plant with a local population of 1,984. As the economic backbone of this community, Ashland would be devastated if a closure occurred.
When my father, Paul Wellborn, and his brother started this company 60 years ago, they worked hard to build the business and grow the team, working daily to make high-quality American-made cabinets. Our teammates are the foundation of our company, which is why we provide as much as we can for them in terms of benefits – like tremendous on-site healthcare and daycare and subsidized hot lunches. When we speak to our great American workers, we hear how anxious they are about the flood of foreign cabinet imports threatening the very survival of our plant.
In April 2020, the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission determined that the U.S. kitchen cabinet industry had been greatly hit by the surge of subsidized cabinets from China. In response to this, Commerce imposed strong China-specific tariffs to help save the domestic industry.
This appeared to work in the short-term. However, the Chinese Communist Party began to move cabinet products through foreign countries to evade the tariffs. As Tuberville remarked, “China has been cheating the system by moving cabinets through countries like Cambodia, Mexico, Vietnam, Indonesia, and dumping things in this country.” These companies receive extensive government subsidies, harvest illegal timber, and engage in illegal transshipment and circumvention schemes to evade U.S. tariffs.
In recent months, thousands of American cabinet jobs have been lost in Indiana, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Kansas, Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, and Alabama – which has been hit the hardest. At Wellborn we have gone from producing 16,000 cabinets a week to 10,000 cabinets. We have gone from over 65 trucks leaving each week to less than 50. Above all, we have gone from 2,200 employees to less than 1,400.
In response, President Trump initiated a Section 232 investigation in March 2025 into imports of timber, lumber, and related products such as cabinetry. The goal of the investigation is to stop unfair trade practices, particularly the dumping of foreign-made cabinets into the U.S. market at prices over 70% below market value.
As Tuberville tells us, “President Trump has been strategically using tariffs.” That is why Tuberville and U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, along with other congressional members have called on the president to impose a strong 100% tariff rate on cabinets to save over 5,000 Alabama jobs. It’s imperative that we have no exemptions and no exceptions for foreign countries to cheat the system.
Wellborn Cabinet and our domestic cabinet industry have sufficient production capacity to manufacture cabinets in the U.S. There would be no need to reshore, we are just asking to halt the cheating. Alabamians are fully capable of competing with anyone in the world; however, we can only do so on a level playing field.
“Thousands of Alabama cabinet workers and their families need enforcement of a strong Section 232 tariff, the domestic cabinet industry contributes 250,000 jobs nationwide and 5,000 in Alabama alone,” Tuberville said. “That's why I encourage President Trump to continue leveraging tariffs. Don't let up."
Tuberville is right, now is the time to call your legislators and tell them to join with our political leaders to help save 5,000 Alabama jobs as we launch a new golden age for American cabinet manufacturing. We are asking Trump to save America’s domestic cabinet industry and impose a 100% targeted tariff rate on all foreign cabinet imports so we can truly Make Alabama Great Again.
Mr. Stephen Wellborn is a Co-Owner and board member at Wellborn Cabinet Co. in Ashland, Alabama and a founding member of the American Kitchen Cabinet Alliance.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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