JokersUpdates.com: News Stand - ‘Complete shock’: Trump tariffs upend decorative arts trade in US: Dealers are scaling back international purchases to avoid having to pay new import duties, some of which are set to rise to 50%

in January 2026

The import tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration have been intended to bolster domestic producers, particularly in the construction and pharmaceutical industries, as well as manufacturers of appliances and automobiles, but they have caused collateral damage to the international trade in antiques and decorative arts.

“I’m in complete shock,” says Millicent Ford Creech, a dealer of antique American and European furniture based in Memphis, Tennessee, regarding Trump’s announcement of tariffs, first on upholstered furniture and then on all furniture. “I understand the objective is to assist North Carolina manufacturers,” she adds, noting that tariffs on Ikea products might be reasonable. “However, most of my clients want furniture prior to 1800; the majority of those preferring pre-1770.”

The executive order signed by Trump on 29 September applies 25% tariffs on wood imports, as well as derivative products such as upholstered furniture and kitchen cabinets beginning 14 October. Imports of softwood timber and lumber will face a 10% tariff rate, while upholstered wooden products (including sofas and chairs) will incur a 25% duty. Kitchen cabinets and units, as well as parts used in manufacturing those products, will be subject to a 25% levy per order. Starting 1 January 2026, the US will raise the tariff for upholstered furniture to 30% while hiking the rate for kitchen cabinets, units and associated parts to 50%.

The 1977 law under which the Trump administration is seeking to levy most of these tariffs (the International Emergency Economic Powers Act) contains an exemption for “informational materials” that covers painting, sculpture and other fine art media, but many other collectibles, expressive arts and decorative arts items, including watches, wine, furniture and even classic cars have no such exemption and would be subject to the tariffs. (On Wednesday 5 November, the US supreme court will hear arguments in a case that could settle definitively the legality of the tariffs Trump has unilaterally imposed on almost all US trading partners by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.)

One US antiques dealer who is feeling the pain is Steven J. Chait, the president of New York’s Ralph M. Chait Galleries. He says that “tariffs have been a negative for us on purchasing items from outside the country and bringing them in”, since the tax puts the company at a competitive disadvantage compared to dealers in Europe and elsewhere as “the tariff amount needs to be figured into an appropriate purchase price”.

Recently, he says, he acquired a porcelain animal that had been made in China in the mid 17th century and sold at that time to a buyer in Europe. “It is now coming to us from a European collection. We were charged about 30% on the invoice due to the tariff.” Adding 30% to the price of the porcelain bumps up against the upper limit of what might be charged for such an item, he notes, so the company will just have to absorb the cost.

There is no one tariff on imports as they vary from one country to the next, and sometimes the rates fluctuate widely as Trump looks for leverage or to reward one nation or another. “When I ask my shipper in the UK, ‘What is this going to cost me to ship to New York,’ he tells me that he doesn’t know,” says Michael Pashby, an antiques dealer in New York City. “It may be one rate when he leaves port and another when he reaches the US.”

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/04/complete-shock-trump-tariffs-upend-decorative-arts-trade-united-states