'BIZNES meble.pl' international edition 2/2019

4 column • editorial biznes meble.pl | international edition 2/2019 C hina is the most important player on the global furniture market. The most furniture is produced in this country, this country is the ‘number one’ on the list of the world’s largest exporters. China is the most im- portant partner for the United States – today they provide almost half of Ameri- can furniture imports, which is about 25% of the US market. Chinese furniture manufacturers had somehow managed with a 10% duty that had been introduced by the US administration in July 2018, but 25% import duty ef- fective since May this year cause much bigger problems. Compared to China, Poland’s participation– in fact also one of the world’s larg- est furniture manufacturers and the world’s third largest exporter – is minimal in the US market. Just over half a billion dollars – because this is the export of Polish furniture to the United States – is less than 1% of the value of all American furni- ture imports. Over the past 15 years, since the accession to the European Union, the furniture industry in Poland has undergone fundamental changes: in organization, logistics, quality and technology, thus becoming a global player. During this time, the sales of Polish furniture companies increasedmore than threefold: from15.4 billion PLN in 2004 to over 49 billion PLN last year. For the last dozen or so years, key recipients of Polish furniture have been Eu- ropean Union countries, primarily Germany. And even if Polish manufacturers sold furniture in countries outside the Union, these were small quantities. The whole lo- gistics, proposed design and size of furniture produced in Poland were matched to the requirements of Europeanmarkets.Whereas, the USmarket has completely dif- ferent conditions and requirements. Undoubtedly, the current situation opens the door slightly for Polish furniture makers, but to achieve success it is necessary to overcome many challenges. However, taking into account the creativity and deter- mination of Polish furniture manufacturers, they are able tomeet those challenges. Marek Hryniewicki editor in chief „BIZNES meble.pl” There is such a proverb in Poland: ‘When two are fighting, the third wins’. Will Polish furniture exporters benefit from the US customs conflict with China that has been going on for some time? Polish furniture – a new challenge