Chinese antiques. /CGTN Photo
September is the peak season for art auctions, but this year, buyers and sellers are worried. Under the threat of a U.S.-China trade war, it's not just manufacturing, the art market has also been caught in the crossfire.
Back in June, the U.S. proposed duties as high as 25 percent on Chinese goods worth 200 billion U.S. dollars. On the last page of the targeted list are Chinese paintings and drawings, original sculptures and antiques more than 100 years old, which means Chinese art coming from anywhere in the world to the U.S. could face extra duties.
Last summer, the hammer price of a 900-year-old Chinese porcelain was 38 million U.S. dollars. But buyers may have to pay more for Chinese antiques this time around
Kevin Ching, Sotheby’s CEO in Asia, is opposed to tariff measures. "First of all I would like to say Sotheby's, as a matter of principle, opposes any measures that restrict the free flow of art in the market," he said. "I think that's not good for anybody."
In response to the Trump administration's policies, dozens of U.S. companies including art companies voiced their concern during six days of public hearings. The decision left museums, collectors, curators and dealers up in arms.
Regarding the impact on China and U.S. art world, Ching said, "This will actually change the decision of the dealers of the U.S. who might decide, because of the tariff, why should we sell it in America, you know, we will sell elsewhere. They might assign goods to Paris, to London and Hong Kong. That would actually damage the U.S. market, and livelihoods of these U.S. dealers. I do not think that's a good thing."
Last year, 7.1 billion U.S. dollars worth of Chinese art and antiques were sold at auctions across the world, and 408 million dollars came from the U.S.. Some say the tariffs on Chinese art will only be a drop in the bucket, but for China’s rising avant-garde artists, the tariffs could be limiting.
"Individually for each Chinese avant-garde artists, in the middle age, or even younger artist, they still tend to look to New York City, Los Angeles, American cities to promote themselves, publicize and also market their concept and their artwork," said Paul Dong, the co-founder and CEO of EI Asia Limited, an art and cultural company. "America remains the destination for them to climb higher up on their career and this increase on the tax will absolutely affect their plans. Either dealer, gallery, or art manager, who's helping them to broker deals, it will absolutely affect them."
The details on how the tariffs will work are fuzzy. But with the peak season for auctions coming, many buyers eyeing Chinese paintings and antiques may have second thoughts. "In an ideal world, I think as long as the source of the object, the art is legitimate. I think that should be an absolutely free flow of art in the market between countries, as I said before. There is so much misunderstanding between nations, simply because people can't be bothered to understand other people, different culture, because we always fail to look at things with other people's perspectives, " Kevin said.
The clear message from the art world, in terms of both commerce and cultural exchanges, is that tariffs can only do damage.
