艺术品会成为中美贸易战的牺牲品吗？
美国已开始了一场与中国的贸易战，战火殃及到艺术品。
The administration announced this month that President Trump had proposed duties as high as 25 percent on $200 billion worth of imported Chinese goods “to encourage China to change its harmful policies.” The proposed tariffs, initially set at 10 percent, followed two earlier rounds of penalties.
美国政府本月宣布，特朗普总统已提议对价值2000亿美元的中国进口商品征收高达25%的关税，目的是为了“鼓励中国改变其有害的政策”。在这个原本定为10%的关税提案之前，已经征收了两轮惩罚性的关税。
The latest list of targeted Chinese goods ran to 205 pages. It included sand blasting machines; eels, fresh or chilled (excluding fillets); hats; and, at the bottom of the last page, paintings and drawings executed entirely by hand, original sculptures, and antiques more than 100 years old.
新一轮关税针对的中国商品清单长达205页。包括喷砂机、新鲜或冷藏鳗鱼(不包括鱼片)、帽子，在清单最后一页底部还有完全手工绘制的油画和素描，原创的雕塑，以及100年以上的古董。
The tariffs would apply to all artworks that originated in China, regardless of how they entered the United States. That means American buyers could be required to pay 25 percent more for a Ming dynasty bowl sold by a British owner at an auction in New York, as well as for a painting by a young Beijing-based artist at a gallery in Hong Kong.
所有源自中国的艺术品都将被征收关税，不管这些艺术品是怎样进入美国的。这就意味着，美国买家可能需要多支付25%的价钱，不管他是在纽约的拍卖会上购买英国所有者出售的明代瓷碗，还是在一家香港画廊购买一位年轻北京艺术家的作品。
The announcement has caused outrage in the art world.
新一轮关税的宣布引起了艺术界的愤怒。
James Lally, the founder of J.J. Lally & Co., a dealer based in New York that specializes in Asian art, said that the proposed tariffs were “a matter of great concern” to museums, collectors, curators and dealers worldwide.
詹姆斯·拉里(James Lally)是J·J·拉里公司(J.J. Lally & Co.)的创始人，这家总部位于纽约的公司专门从事亚洲艺术品的交易。拉里说，世界各地的博物馆、收藏家、策展人和交易商“高度关注”政府建议的关税。
“It will have a chilling impact,” he said. “It will quickly reduce the market for Chinese art in America to a backwater.”
“这将产生可怕的影响，”他说。“美国的中国艺术品市场会迅速成为一潭死水。”
Professional organizations like the Art Dealers Association of America, the Association of Art Museum Directors and the British Antique Dealers’ Association have also stated their opposition to the proposal.
美国艺术交易商协会、艺术博物馆馆长协会以及英国古董交易商协会等专业组织都对建议的关税表示反对。
Dozens of companies voiced concerns to trade officials during six days of public hearings in Washington this past week, many warning that the proposed tariffs would hurt American consumers.
上周，在华盛顿举行的为期六天的公开听证会上，数十家公司向贸易官员表达了担忧。许多公司警告说，建议的关税将损害美国消费者的利益。
Peter Tompa, a lawyer based in Washington, represented two lobbying groups that work on behalf of museums, dealers and collectors at the hearings on Wednesday. Mr. Tompa said a member of the trade committee asked him one question: Since art is a luxury item, wouldn’t people pay?
华盛顿的律师彼得·汤姆帕(Peter Tompa)在周三的听证会上代表了两个博物馆、交易商和收藏家游说团体。汤姆帕说，贸易委员会的一名成员问了他一个问题：既然艺术是奢侈品，人们难道不会愿意出钱吗?
Mr. Tompa said he had told the committee that the main problem was slow turnover of inventory in the art trade and that a tariff would mean greater capital outlays by dealers.
汤姆帕说，他告诉贸易委员会，艺术品贸易中的主要问题是库存周转缓慢，征收关税将意味着加大交易商的资本开支。
“Dealers will need to pay up front, but it may take a while to make good,” he said, adding that dealers also had to cope with a recent Supreme Court decision to allow internet sales to be taxed.
“交易商将需要预先付款，但可能需要一段时间才能做成交易，”他说。他还说，交易商还不得不应对美国最高法院最近做出的允许对互联网销售征税的决定。
Sotheby’s, Christie’s and the Asia Week New York association of dealers said in a written complaint that the United States, not China, would be affected most. “Imposing duties on Chinese-origin art will not impact the trade practices or policies of China, since the vast majority of such artwork is imported into the United States from countries other than China,” the complaint read.
苏富比(Sotheby's)、佳士得(Christie's)以及纽约亚洲艺术周(Asia Week New York)交易商协会在一份书面申诉中表示，受关税影响最大的将是美国，而不是中国。“对原产于中国的艺术品征收关税，不会对中国的贸易做法或政策产生影响，因为这类艺术品绝大多数是从中国以外的国家进口到美国的，”申诉书写道。
And the United States market is small compared to the amount of Chinese art and antiquities sold in mainland China. Last year, $7.1 billion worth of Chinese art and antiques were sold at auctions across the world, according to a report published this month by Artnet. Of these sales, $5.1 billion came from auctions in mainland China, where the operations of foreign auction houses are restricted; $408 million came from the United States, though that number was up 62 percent from 2016, compared with a 6 percent increase for China.
而且与中国艺术品和古董在中国大陆的销售额相比，美国的市场规模较小。Artnet本月发布的一份报告显示，去年，全球各地的拍卖会上销售了价值71亿美元的中国艺术品和古董。其中，51亿美元的销售来自中国大陆的拍卖，但外国拍卖行在中国大陆的运营是受限制的;另有4.08亿美元的销售来自美国，尽管这个数字与2016年的相比增长了62%，相比之下中国的增长率为6%。
Dealers have pointed out that adding a 25 percent duty to the fees known as the “buyer’s premium” could deter both buyers and sellers of Chinese art at auctions in the United States, reversing growth in that sector.
经销商指出，把25%关税加入被称为“佣金”的费用之中，会令中国艺术品的买卖双方不敢在美国拍卖，从而阻碍该行业增长。
“It’s not punishing the Chinese; it’s punishing the Americans,” Gisèle Croës, a specialist in ancient Chinese artworks who is based in Brussels, said of the proposed tariffs. “The international trade will go back to London, Paris and Hong Kong.”
“这不是惩罚中国人;这是在惩罚美国人，”居住在布鲁塞尔的中国古代艺术品专家吉塞尔·克劳斯(Gisèle Crës)谈到拟议中的关税时说。“国际交易将回到伦敦、巴黎和香港。”
In recent years, sales of the finest Chinese antiques have been dominated by Chinese dealers and collectors. The market for international contemporary art, on the other hand, is dominated by American dealers and collectors. They are also alarmed by what the impact of a proposed tariff would be on the Chinese artists they sell.
近年来，中国最精美古董的销售一直由中国经销商和收藏家主导。另一方面，国际当代艺术市场由美国经销商和收藏家主导。对于拟议的关税可能给他们经销的中国艺术家带来的影响，令他们感到到震惊。
“One of the strengths of the American economy has been it’s a free market for all,” said Jeffrey Deitch, a leading New York dealer and curator. “It’s made New York City the world capital of the art business. To jeopardize this situation could have very serious consequences.”
“美国经济的优势之一，就是它对所有人来说都是自由市场，”纽约重要的经销商兼策展人杰弗里·迪奇(Jeffrey Deitch)说。“它使得纽约市成为艺术界的世界之都。危害这种情况可能会产生非常严重的后果。“
Next month, Mr. Deitch is set to open a new gallery in Los Angeles with “Zodiac,” a museum-style exhibition of works by the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, who currently lives in Berlin. The centerpiece of the show will be the 2013 installation “Stools,” comprising nearly 6,000 wooden seats that the artist salvaged from across China. Previously seen at the Gropius Bau in Berlin in 2014, the work is to be priced at $2.9 million.
下个月，迪奇将在洛杉矶开一家新画廊，并推出名为“十二生肖”(Zodiac)的新展览，以博物馆的形式展出现居柏林的中国艺术家艾未未的作品。该展览的核心将是2013年的装置“凳子”，其中包括该艺术家在中国各地抢救的近6000个木制座椅。它此前曾于2014年在柏林的格罗皮乌斯博物馆(Gropius Bau)展出，定价为290万美元。
The proposed import tariff would be determined by the “location of production, not the nationality of the person creating it,” the office of the United States trade representative said in a statement emailed in response to questions. Mr. Ai’s works, having been produced in Germany, would be exempt from any penalties.
美国贸易代表办公室在通过电子邮件回答提问时声明，拟议的进口关税将由“生产地点而非创作者的国籍”决定。艾未未的作品在德国制作，不会受到任何处罚。
The situation would be different, however, for works from contemporary artists with studios in China.
然而，对于在中国拥有工作室的当代艺术家的作品，情况就不同了。
The New York gallery Pace, which has branches in Hong Kong and Beijing, represents no fewer than 14 Chinese artists. On Sept. 7, its space on West 24th Street in Manhattan is to host an exhibition of 11 new works by Zhang Xiaogang, who is based in Beijing. The artist’s haunting “Bloodline” series of family portraits is much coveted by both Western and Asian collectors, with large paintings selling for as much as $12 million at auction.
纽约画廊佩斯(Pace)在香港和北京设有分部，代表不少于14位中国艺术家。9月7日，它在位于曼哈顿西24街的空间将展出北京艺术家张晓刚的11件新作。这位艺术家令人难以忘怀的《血缘》系列家庭肖像深受西方和亚洲收藏家的青睐，其大型画作在拍卖会上售价高达1200万美元。
The show should open before any tariffs are imposed on imported artworks, but Marc Glimcher, the president and chief executive of Pace Gallery, is still concerned.
展览将在对进口艺术品征收任何关税之前开放，但佩斯画廊的总裁兼首席执行官马克·格里姆彻(Marc Glimcher)仍然感到担心。
“It’s like putting a tariff on stocks: If the price of an item is significantly altered by a tariff, the market will look elsewhere,” Mr. Glimcher said.
“这就像对股票征收关税：如果一支股票的价格被关税大幅改变，那么市场将会转向其他地方，”格里姆彻说。
Purchases in New York are already subject to a local sales tax of nearly 9 percent, he said, adding, “If we had to raise the prices by 25 percent, it would be difficult to sell the show.”
他表示，在纽约的购买已经要征收近9%的当地销售税，并补充说：“如果我们不得不将价格提高25%，那么这个展览就很难推销出去。”
“Any protection of the U.S. art market will have the opposite effect,” Mr. Glimcher continued. “It does nothing positive.”
“对美国艺术市场的任何保护都会产生相反的效果，”格利姆彻继续说道。“它没有任何积极意义。”
But the imposition of punitive import tariffs would affect more than the art market in the United States. It would also make it difficult for Chinese artists to exhibit their work, diminishing cultural exchange.
但征收惩罚性进口关税对美国艺术市场的影响还不止于此。这也将使中国艺术家难以展出他们的作品，从而减少文化交流。
“It’s about more than the money,” said Mr. Deitch, a former director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. “This is where the consensus is reached about what art is important.”
“这不仅仅是钱的问题，”曾在洛杉矶当代艺术博物馆(Museum of Contemporary Art)任主管的迪奇说。“这是就重要艺术品达成共识的地方。”
“If you’re a Chinese artist,” Mr. Deitch added, “you want to show your work here, you want to be in the center of the international art discourse.”
“如果你是中国艺术家，”迪奇还说，“你就会想在这里展出你的作品，你想成为国际艺术话语的中心。”
So far, the Trump administration has gotten low marks for its concern for cultural matters. But, over the coming weeks, the art world says it will work to convince lawmakers that, if the United States wants to wage an economic war with China, taxing art would be a self-inflicted wound.
到目前为止，特朗普政府在文化事务领域的工作并未受到好评。但是，在接下来的几周里，艺术界表示，他们将努力说服立法者，如果美国想与中国发生经济战争，对艺术征税将是一种自我伤害。
