US Tariff's and What it Means for the Art World
As most of you may know, from the 28th August, all imports into the US are now subject to fees whether they fall under the original $800 threshold or not. This has caused a bit of mass panic from small businesses and especially for people like myself whose clients are predominantly from the US. I would like to put a few minds at ease with what I know so far...
In short, original artwork is exempt from new tariffs
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"A fact sheet issued by the White House notes that articles listed in 50 USC 1702—including “artworks,” “photographs,” and “posters”—will “not be subject to reciprocal tariffs.” This remains in place." - Artsy
"Original artworks remain duty-free under HTS Chapter 97 of the U.S. customs code. The tariff changes don’t add duties to qualifying original art like paintings, drawings, and sculptures. All shipments now require full customs processing. This means more paperwork, broker fees, and processing time – but the art itself is still duty-free." - Hyperlux
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I've spent a lot of time reading through multiple articles, documents and did test this out with Royal Mail. They have worked with the US to make sure they meet the new requirements and have added an automatic duty calculator based on the tariff codes, value and country of origin of the shipment. I've sent two originals to the US since the tariff has come into affect using their new PDDP (Postal Delivery Duties Paid) service and was only charged a 50p handling fee with no custom fees due.
From now on, I will be sending original artworks to the US with a 'Certificate of Authenticity' - one within the parcel and one for Customs to reaffirm it is an original artwork and therefore not subject to additional fees.
DISCLAIMER - All of this information is what can be gathered online and is correct to the best of my knowledge. I can only say my experience with Royal Mail. Originals over £580 will be sent with UPS (RM have a cut off of $800) which may incur additional brokerage fees but should still be exempt from new tariffs.***