Tariff Fight Returns to the Art Market as US Trade Probe Expands
The art trade is once again bracing for tariff risk after US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer opened a Section 301(b) investigation into the import policies of roughly 60 countries, a move that could lead to new duties on a wide range of goods. For museums, dealers, and auction houses, the concern is immediate: several major industry groups have already asked the government to exempt works of art from any resulting tariffs.
The investigation centers on whether foreign policies fail to ban imports made with forced labor in a way that burdens US commerce. In a statement announcing the probe, Greer said that “for too long, American workers and firms have been forced to compete against foreign producers who may have an artificial cost advantage gained from the scourge of forced labor.” The countries under review include China, the European Union, Cambodia, Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, Mexico, Japan, and India.
The timing matters. In February, the United States Supreme Court struck down most of Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, ruling that he had exceeded his authority under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The decision had offered a measure of relief to the art world, which had warned that broad tariffs would ripple through the market for works sold across borders.
Now, art and antiquities organizations are pressing for a different outcome. The Association of Art Museum Directors, the British Antique Dealers Association, CINOA, Heritage Auctions, and the Society of London Art Dealers all submitted comments before the deadline urging that works of art be excluded from any tariffs tied to the investigation.
Christine Anagnos, executive director of the Association of Art Museum Directors, argued that works of art are not manufactured goods and should not be treated like mass-produced products. In her filing, she wrote that they are “singular creations” that carry cultural meaning, are often made by artists active decades or centuries ago, and may exist in only one example. She also said tariffs would do little to address trade imbalances or advance US cultural exchange.
Her warning was practical as well as philosophical. Higher duties, she wrote, would make it more expensive for US museums and collectors to acquire works, including at overseas auctions, where American bidders could be placed at a disadvantage against buyers from countries without similar import penalties. She added that owners might choose to sell through foreign auction houses, dealers, or galleries instead of in the United States, weakening a market that has long been the largest in the world.
Heritage Auctions made a similar case, arguing that tariffs on art and related categories would harm businesses, collectors, and cultural institutions. The broader question now is whether the government will treat art as a special category of cultural exchange — or as another import subject to trade enforcement.
If duties do emerge from the probe, the effects could reach far beyond customs paperwork. They would reshape where art is bought, sold, and displayed, and who can afford to move it across borders.
