Christie’s Seeks Relief From Trump’s ‘Punishing’ Tariffs on Art

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Christie’s was among the first companies to file for relief from the latest round of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports, arguing the duties would hurt its business and punish the U.S. art market.

The auction house is seeking exclusions from 15% duties on seven types of artworks and antiques, including paintings, drawings, original sculptures, engravings, prints and antique furniture more than 100 years old, according to filings Thursday. Christie’s said the tariffs would result in “a significant loss” to its U.S. business by making it impossible to import the items.

“It also will severely impact the U.S. art market as a whole, drying up any ability to purchase Chinese artworks outside of the United States,” Christie’s said in the filings. “Punishing the U.S. art market in this manner flies in the face of an important American value of support for the art world.”

The Office of U.S. Trade Representative started accepting requests Thursday through Jan. 31 for exclusions from tariffs that took effect Sept. 1 on about $110 billion in Chinese imports as Trump seeks to negotiate a trade deal with China. Duties are also in effect on $250 billion in other Chinese goods, and a separate batch of about $160 billion in products -- including laptops and mobile phones -- is set to be hit with tariffs on Dec. 15 if a deal isn’t struck.

Trump is seeking to sign a “phase one” agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping in November, though Chinese officials are casting doubts about reaching a comprehensive long-term trade deal.

Exclusion decisions are based on whether a product is available only from China, is strategically important or related to Chinese industrial programs, and whether duties will “cause severe economic harm” to the company or U.S. interests.

While items produced by Chinese artists are available in other countries, the tariffs apply to all goods created in China, Christie’s said in the filings. Chinese art in the U.S. isn’t sufficient to meet demand, and Christie’s said it sources one-of-a-kind Chinese items for its U.S.-based clients because of the high demand.

“Rather than hurting China, this tariff will help the art market in China and elsewhere by incentivizing collectors to sell their Chinese artworks outside of the U.S.,” Christie’s said.

Art dealers, collectors and museums previously sought to have Chinese art and antiquities spared from duties. Critics said the tariffs would discourage private collectors and dealers from acquiring Chinese art and cultural items, and because museums rely on donations, they and the viewing public would suffer. They also questioned the effectiveness of trying to spur U.S. production or change China’s trade behavior by targeting art.

China is the world’s No. 3 art market, accounting for 19% of sales by value, behind the U.S. at 44% and the U.K. at 21%, according to the Art Market 2019 report from Art Basel and UBS Group AG. Sales in the global art market reached $67.4 billion in 2018, up 6% from the previous year, according to the report.

--With assistance from Katya Kazakina.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Niquette in Columbus at mniquette@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net, Pierre Paulden, Peter Eichenbaum

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