Furniture to tech: Lithuania's economy a bright spot amid Trump's tariffs
<p>KLAIPĖDA, Lithuania — The Trump administration's tariffs increased prices for consumers and companies in Chicago and around the world, but Jurgita Radzevičė's business has a cushion, thanks to some lucky timing.</p><p>SBA Home, a Lithuanian furniture maker that supplies items for Ikea, opened a highly automated 500,000-square-foot factory last fall in Mocksville, North Carolina, outside Winston-Salem.</p><p>Radzevičė, the 45-year-old CEO of SBA Home, says even though the project was years in the making, the timing was perfect.</p><p>The $70 million facility opened months after President Donald Trump announced his so-called <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/money/2025/04/02/trump-liberation-day-tariffs-manufacturing-inflation-trade-wars" target="_blank" >“Liberation Day” tariffs</a> in April 2025, which included a 20% tax on imports from the European Union. Supreme Court <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/economy/2026/02/20/supreme-court-trump-sweeping-tariffs-john-roberts-economic-agenda" target="_blank" >ruled the tariffs illegal</a> in February, but Trump recently announced a new tariff plan that will levy 10% on EU goods.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center> <div class="Enhancement-item" data-crop=""> <figure class="Figure"><a class="AnchorLink" id="image-180000" name="image-180000"></a> <picture data-crop="medium"> <source type="image/webp" width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1b9dc8f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6492x3643+0+343/resize/490x275!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F6c%2F39%2Fae8f6ab4480fadbefacf46c9a518%2Flithuania-06xx26-311.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/28f0343/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6492x3643+0+343/resize/980x550!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F6c%2F39%2Fae8f6ab4480fadbefacf46c9a518%2Flithuania-06xx26-311.JPG 2x" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <source width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/355c346/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6492x3643+0+343/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F6c%2F39%2Fae8f6ab4480fadbefacf46c9a518%2Flithuania-06xx26-311.JPG" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <img class="Image" alt="SBA Home CEO Jurgita Radzevičė at the furniture company’s headquarters in Vilnius, Lithuania, on April 21." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/355c346/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6492x3643+0+343/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F6c%2F39%2Fae8f6ab4480fadbefacf46c9a518%2Flithuania-06xx26-311.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3f5935d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6492x3643+0+343/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F6c%2F39%2Fae8f6ab4480fadbefacf46c9a518%2Flithuania-06xx26-311.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275" data-src="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/355c346/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6492x3643+0+343/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F6c%2F39%2Fae8f6ab4480fadbefacf46c9a518%2Flithuania-06xx26-311.JPG" data-lazy-load="true" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" > </picture> <div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>SBA Home CEO Jurgita Radzevičė at the furniture company’s headquarters in Vilnius, Lithuania, on April 21.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times</p></div></div> </figure> </div> </div><p>"It's a very nice coincidence about tariffs because when we started our journey, we still had Democrats in the White House, and nobody was talking about tariffs on such a scope," Radzevičė says.</p><p>The company also has a 538,000-square-foot production facility, named Inno Line, in the Lithuanian port city of Klaipėda, one of four SBA Home factories in Lithuania.
Reported by 1 outlet — Chicago Sun-Times. See all sources ↓
<p>KLAIPĖDA, Lithuania — The Trump administration's tariffs increased prices for consumers and companies in Chicago and around the world, but Jurgita Radzevičė's business has a cushion, thanks to some lucky timing.</p><p>SBA Home, a Lithuanian furniture maker that supplies items for Ikea, opened a highly automated 500,000-square-foot factory last fall in Mocksville, North Carolina, outside Winston-Salem.</p><p>Radzevičė, the 45-year-old CEO of SBA Home, says even though the project was years in the making, the timing was perfect.</p><p>The $70 million facility opened months after President Donald Trump announced his so-called <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/money/2025/04/02/trump-liberation-day-tariffs-manufacturing-inflation-trade-wars" target="_blank" >“Liberation Day” tariffs</a> in April 2025, which included a 20% tax on imports from the European Union. Supreme Court <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/economy/2026/02/20/supreme-court-trump-sweeping-tariffs-john-roberts-economic-agenda" target="_blank" >ruled the tariffs illegal</a> in February, but Trump recently announced a new tariff plan that will levy 10% on EU goods.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center> <div class="Enhancement-item" data-crop=""> <figure class="Figure"><a class="AnchorLink" id="image-180000" name="image-180000"></a> <picture data-crop="medium"> <source type="image/webp" width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1b9dc8f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6492x3643+0+343/resize/490x275!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F6c%2F39%2Fae8f6ab4480fadbefacf46c9a518%2Flithuania-06xx26-311.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/28f0343/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6492x3643+0+343/resize/980x550!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F6c%2F39%2Fae8f6ab4480fadbefacf46c9a518%2Flithuania-06xx26-311.JPG 2x" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <source width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/355c346/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6492x3643+0+343/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F6c%2F39%2Fae8f6ab4480fadbefacf46c9a518%2Flithuania-06xx26-311.JPG" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <img class="Image" alt="SBA Home CEO Jurgita Radzevičė at the furniture company’s headquarters in Vilnius, Lithuania, on April 21." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/355c346/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6492x3643+0+343/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F6c%2F39%2Fae8f6ab4480fadbefacf46c9a518%2Flithuania-06xx26-311.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3f5935d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6492x3643+0+343/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F6c%2F39%2Fae8f6ab4480fadbefacf46c9a518%2Flithuania-06xx26-311.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275" data-src="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/355c346/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6492x3643+0+343/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F6c%2F39%2Fae8f6ab4480fadbefacf46c9a518%2Flithuania-06xx26-311.JPG" data-lazy-load="true" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" > </picture> <div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>SBA Home CEO Jurgita Radzevičė at the furniture company’s headquarters in Vilnius, Lithuania, on April 21.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times</p></div></div> </figure> </div> </div><p>"It's a very nice coincidence about tariffs because when we started our journey, we still had Democrats in the White House, and nobody was talking about tariffs on such a scope," Radzevičė says.</p><p>The company also has a 538,000-square-foot production facility, named Inno Line, in the Lithuanian port city of Klaipėda, one of four SBA Home factories in Lithuania. She says its American investment was to bolster its supply chain.</p><p>"That was the main issue — how to secure logistics and especially after the stories of COVID, when we had huge disruptions, and after the Suez Canal [closure] when we had a huge disruption. So, we understand that if we want to be fast, we need to be more in place," Radzevičė says.</p><p>Another benefit is a smaller carbon footprint, since finished products don't have to travel as far.</p><p>The North Carolina factory, which aims to employ 240 people, expects to produce about 450 pieces of furniture per hour for the North American market.</p><p>If you've wondered how the components for furniture you're assembling get that perfectly smooth, white finish, SBA Home's Inno Line plant in Klaipėda provides the answer.</p><p>In the highly automated factory, machines pick up particle board, slice it to calibrated sizes and send the pieces down the line to be wrapped in finishing material that's bonded at high heat.</p><p>Robotic vehicles transfer the pieces of furniture from one station to the next, with flashing lights and beeps warning anyone in their path.</p><p>Other machines help with quality control and packing for shipping.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center> <div class="Enhancement-item"> <bsp-carousel class="Carousel Enhancement" data-align-center> <a class="AnchorLink" id="gallery-5a000a" name="gallery-5a000a"></a> <div> <div class="Carousel-slides"> <div class="Carousel-slide"> <div class="CarouselSlide" > <div class="CarouselSlide-media"> <picture data-crop="large"> <source type="image/webp" width="840" height="555" srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/438c964/2147483647/strip/true/crop/7843x5182+0+0/resize/840x555!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F82%2F53%2F136fe5f04888996dbc1d83ca5275%2Flithuania-06xx26-300.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/de32a26/2147483647/strip/true/crop/7843x5182+0+0/resize/1680x1110!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F82%2F53%2F136fe5f04888996dbc1d83ca5275%2Flithuania-06xx26-300.JPG 2x"/> <source width="840" height="555" srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/be8b5ee/2147483647/strip/true/crop/7843x5182+0+0/resize/840x555!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F82%2F53%2F136fe5f04888996dbc1d83ca5275%2Flithuania-06xx26-300.JPG"/> <img class="Image" alt="Close up showing rows of particle board at Inno Line, a 538,000-square-foot production facility in Klaipėda, Lithuania." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/be8b5ee/2147483647/strip/true/crop/7843x5182+0+0/resize/840x555!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F82%2F53%2F136fe5f04888996dbc1d83ca5275%2Flithuania-06xx26-300.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/30c1da0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/7843x5182+0+0/resize/1680x1110!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F82%2F53%2F136fe5f04888996dbc1d83ca5275%2Flithuania-06xx26-300.JPG 2x" width="840" height="555" src="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/be8b5ee/2147483647/strip/true/crop/7843x5182+0+0/resize/840x555!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F82%2F53%2F136fe5f04888996dbc1d83ca5275%2Flithuania-06xx26-300.JPG"> </picture> </div> <div class="CarouselSlide-info"> <div class="CarouselSlide-infoTitle"><span class="CarouselSlide-infoDescription">Rows of particle board at Inno Line, a 538,000-square-foot production facility in Klaipėda, Lithuania.
Read the full report at Chicago Sun-Times ↗
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- <p>KLAIPĖDA, Lithuania — The Trump administration's tariffs increased prices for consumers and companies in Chicago and around the world, but Jurgita Radzevičė's business has a cushion, thanks to some lucky timing.</p><p>SBA Home, a Lithuanian furniture maker that supplies items for Ikea, opened a highly automated 500,000-square-foot factory last fall in Mocksville, North Carolina, outside Winston-Salem.</p><p>Radzevičė, the 45-year-old CEO of SBA Home, says even though the project was years in the making, the timing was perfect.</p><p>The $70 million facility opened months after President Donald Trump announced his so-called <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/money/2025/04/02/trump-liberation-day-tariffs-manufacturing-inflation-trade-wars" target="_blank" >“Liberation Day” tariffs</a> in April 2025, which included a 20% tax on imports from the European Union. Supreme Court <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/economy/2026/02/20/supreme-court-trump-sweeping-tariffs-john-roberts-economic-agenda" target="_blank" >ruled the tariffs illegal</a> in February, but Trump recently announced a new tariff plan that will levy 10% on EU goods.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center> <div class="Enhancement-item" data-crop=""> <figure class="Figure"><a class="AnchorLink" id="image-180000" name="image-180000"></a> <picture data-crop="medium"> <source type="image/webp" width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1b9dc8f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6492x3643+0+343/resize/490x275!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F6c%2F39%2Fae8f6ab4480fadbefacf46c9a518%2Flithuania-06xx26-311.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/28f0343/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6492x3643+0+343/resize/980x550!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F6c%2F39%2Fae8f6ab4480fadbefacf46c9a518%2Flithuania-06xx26-311.JPG 2x" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <source width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/355c346/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6492x3643+0+343/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F6c%2F39%2Fae8f6ab4480fadbefacf46c9a518%2Flithuania-06xx26-311.JPG" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <img class="Image" alt="SBA Home CEO Jurgita Radzevičė at the furniture company’s headquarters in Vilnius, Lithuania, on April 21." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/355c346/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6492x3643+0+343/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F6c%2F39%2Fae8f6ab4480fadbefacf46c9a518%2Flithuania-06xx26-311.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3f5935d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6492x3643+0+343/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F6c%2F39%2Fae8f6ab4480fadbefacf46c9a518%2Flithuania-06xx26-311.JPG 2x" width="490" height="275" data-src="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/355c346/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6492x3643+0+343/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F6c%2F39%2Fae8f6ab4480fadbefacf46c9a518%2Flithuania-06xx26-311.JPG" data-lazy-load="true" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" > </picture> <div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>SBA Home CEO Jurgita Radzevičė at the furniture company’s headquarters in Vilnius, Lithuania, on April 21.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times</p></div></div> </figure> </div> </div><p>"It's a very nice coincidence about tariffs because when we started our journey, we still had Democrats in the White House, and nobody was talking about tariffs on such a scope," Radzevičė says.</p><p>The company also has a 538,000-square-foot production facility, named Inno Line, in the Lithuanian port city of Klaipėda, one of four SBA Home factories in Lithuania.
- How widely is it covered?
- 1 outlet, average source rating 6.0/10.
- When was it last updated?
- 14m ago.
How outlets are framing the same story
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- Coverage card1 outlet1CoverageScouting report
Furniture to tech: Lithuania's economy a bright spot amid Trump's tariffs
Sources1TypeCoverageChicago Sun-Times