CUSTOMS : New Alert on U.S. Customs Duties by Pierre Valentin

A brief reminder of the evolution of U.S. customs duties since April is appropriate.

As you know, since 5 April 2025, most goods have been subject to 10% U.S. import duties. In addition, the United States threatened certain countries, including the European Union, with higher tariff rates exceeding 10%. The higher rate for goods originating in the EU was set at 20%, unless an agreement was reached between the United States and the EU before 9 July 2025. This deadline was subsequently extended to 1 August 2025.

Goods originating outside the European Union were threatened with increased customs duties of up to 50%. China was an exception, as goods originating there were subject to cumulative customs duties of 152.5%.

Since April 2025, the White House has announced new tariff measures almost every week, increasing or decreasing rates depending on the country concerned.

The art market was, to some extent, spared from these tariff threats. President Trump introduced the April 2025 customs duties by Executive Order under the powers granted to him by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). This legislation prohibits the President from regulating "information and informational materials." Under the Act, works of art are considered a form of informational material and therefore benefit from this exemption.

The key question was how the United States defines a "work of art." Initially, the interpretation was restrictive: only goods classified under customs headings 9701, 9702 and 9703 were considered works of art. These headings are summarised as follows:

• 9701 : Paintings, drawings and pastels, executed entirely by hand, excluding drawings of heading 49.06 and hand-painted or hand-decorated manufactured articles; collages, mosaics and similar decorative plaques.
• 9702 : Original engravings, prints and lithographs.
• 9703 : Original sculptures and statuary, in any material.
• More recently, U.S. Customs has considered not only goods classified under headings 9701, 9702 and 9703 as works of art, but also those under headings 9704 and 9705, summarised as follows:
• 9704 : Postage stamps, revenue stamps, postal marks, first-day covers, postal stationery and similar items, cancelled or uncancelled, other than those of heading 49.07.
• 9705 : Collections and collectors' pieces of archaeological, ethnographic, historical, zoological, botanical, mineralogical, anatomical, palaeontological or numismatic interest.

The only chapter not considered exempt from U.S. customs duties is Chapter 9706, which covers : "Antiques of an age exceeding one hundred years."

This category includes a significant number of objects sold by our members, including silverware, furniture, porcelain, jewellery, arms, tapestries, carpets, textiles, musical instruments, cartel clocks, mantel clocks, as well as cultural property from ancient civilisations not classified elsewhere in Chapter 97, such as urns, vases and medals.

As you know (see "CUSTOMS : Alert on U.S. Customs Duties"), the SNA immediately launched an initiative, in close cooperation with CINOA, to analyse the potential consequences of these tariffs for our profession.

On 10 April, we organised an online information meeting for our members. A recording of this meeting remains available to all SNA members.

Subsequently, a report was submitted to the French Ministry of Culture to alert it to the issues affecting the decorative arts sector (not only works of French origin but works originating from all countries, with Chinese-origin goods presenting a particular concern for members specialising in this field) and to raise awareness of the practical consequences for our sector.

More recently, we contacted the French Customs Attaché at the French Embassy in Washington and the French Cultural Counsellor and Director of Villa Albertine, also based in Washington, to explain the difficulties that SNA members wishing to exhibit Chapter 9706 objects at art fairs in the United States are likely to face.

The Customs Attaché confirmed that the ATA Carnet is not a viable option, since the sale of goods imported under an ATA Carnet is not permitted in the United States. Furthermore, there is no temporary import procedure in the United States allowing the suspension of customs duties. In practice, this means that dealers exhibiting at a U.S. fair must pay the applicable customs duties upon importation. If the object is sold in the United States, those duties may be passed on to the purchaser. If it remains unsold and is re-exported, the dealer may apply for reimbursement, although repayment may take several months.

At this stage, we are not yet in a position to assess the consequences of the 27 July agreement for our members. It remains unclear whether goods falling under Chapter 97, or certain categories thereof, will be excluded from the new 15% tariff.

Indeed, this agreement is not based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which prevents the President from regulating "informational materials," including works of art. Moreover, this would not be the first time that the United States has imposed customs duties on cultural goods. In 2019, during the first Trump Administration, a 15% tariff, reduced to 7.5% in February 2020, was imposed on Chapter 97 goods originating from China. That tariff relied on a different legal basis which, unlike the IEEPA, did not prevent the United States from imposing customs duties on cultural property.

We have asked the French Ministry of Culture to advocate for an exemption from U.S. customs duties for goods classified under Chapter 97.

We will, of course, keep you informed as soon as the tariff framework resulting from the 27 July agreement has been clarified.