France
USA trade laneFrance is one of the deepest antiques markets in the world. US dealers, designers and collectors buy at the Paris auction rooms around Drouot, at the Saint-Ouen flea market, from provincial dealers and at fairs such as L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue — furniture, mirrors, lighting, garden stone, paintings and sculpture — and ship it home by the container. It is a trade where packing decides what arrives intact, and where paperwork decides what is allowed to leave France and enter the US.
US customs is friendlier to this cargo than to most: original works of art and antiques over 100 years old enter duty-free in Chapter 97 and outside the Section 301 layer. The work lies in the proof — of age, of export permission and of the materials a piece contains. We work through WCA partner agents in France, who collect, pack and consolidate the goods and prepare the export documents, AGF books the freight, and the US entry is filed by our licensed customs brokers.
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Shipping Antiques, Art & Furniture from France to USA
A dealer's buying trip usually becomes a 40ft High Cube container, packed and loaded through our partner agents near Paris: robust furniture soft-wrapped and braced, mirrors, marble tops, glass and chandeliers in custom crates, and every piece listed with photographs, dimensions and its HTS line. Single pieces and small lots move by groupage in a shared container. Paintings and high-value small works fly from Paris CDG in fine-art crates, handled by fine-art specialists.
From Le Havre, transit is roughly 9-16 days on the water to New York and about 15 days to Savannah; Los Angeles, through the Panama Canal, takes roughly 28-36 days. Documents have to be ready before loading — a piece that needs a French export certificate cannot leave France without it — and gilded wood, veneers and paintings should not sit in a container through a hot summer, so we plan the sailing around both.
- 40ft High Cube dealer containers, packed and loaded through our partner agents in France
- Custom crates for mirrors, marble, glass and lighting; soft-wrap and bracing for robust pieces
- Groupage for single pieces; air from CDG for paintings in fine-art crates
- A piece-by-piece inventory with photos, age evidence and HTS line for the US entry
What Drives the Cost
- Packing and crating labour — for fragile lots often more than the ocean freight
- Full container, groupage or air, by volume and value
- Insurance at agreed value, which needs a valuation for each piece
- Time for French export certificates and EU export licences on pieces above the thresholds
- Duty exposure on pieces under 100 years old, including Section 232 on upholstered wooden seating
- US delivery: white-glove, inside delivery or installation at galleries and homes
HS Codes and Duty Notes
Classification guidance only — duty rates change and depend on your exact product. Our licensed customs brokers verify every code before you commit to an order.
| HS Code | Products | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 9701 | Paintings, drawings and pastels executed entirely by hand; collages | Duty-free and outside the Section 301 layer. Hand-decorated manufactured articles are not paintings and classify elsewhere. |
| 9703 | Original sculptures and statuary, in any material | Duty-free for originals; mass-produced reproductions and decorative castings classify by material instead. |
| 9706 | Antiques of an age exceeding 100 years | Duty-free with evidence of age, such as a dealer's invoice stating the date or an appraisal. Heavily restored or converted pieces can lose antique status — confirmed with our customs brokers before shipping. |
| 9401 / 9403 | Vintage and reproduction furniture under 100 years old | Normal duty applies, topped up to 10% in total under the EU Section 301 measure; upholstered seating with wooden frames is a Section 232 good, capped at 15% all-in for EU goods. A Lacey Act declaration is required for wooden furniture. |
Regulations and Compliance
Chapter 97: duty-free, but still a formal entry
Original art and antiques over 100 years old pay no duty and sit outside the Section 301 layer, but a shipment above the informal-entry limit of $2,500 still needs a formal entry, the merchandise processing fee still applies, and CBP can ask for proof that a piece is what the entry says it is. A clear inventory — description, maker or school where known, date, value and supporting evidence of age — is what makes a Chapter 97 entry routine.
French export certificates and the EU export licence
Cultural goods above age and value thresholds, which vary by category — paintings, furniture, sculpture, books and others — need a French export certificate from the Ministry of Culture before they can leave France, and an EU export licence to leave the EU. Pieces classed as national treasures can be refused export. The certificate is usually obtained by the seller or dealer and can take weeks, so build it into the timetable; without it, the piece does not ship.
Ivory, tortoiseshell and protected species
French antiques often contain protected materials: ivory inlay, tortoiseshell in Boulle marquetry, rosewood veneers, horn. African elephant ivory is almost entirely barred from commercial import into the US, and items containing ivory, tortoiseshell and other listed species must meet the Endangered Species Act antique test — over 100 years old, not repaired with listed species since 1973, and entered through a port designated for antiques — with CITES documents from France where the species requires them. Several states, California included, restrict ivory sales further. We check materials before you buy, not at the port.
Antiquities from other countries
Paris dealers also sell antiquities that originate elsewhere. Archaeological and ethnological material from countries with US import restrictions — Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Egypt among them — needs documentation showing it left its country of origin lawfully, under the Cultural Property Implementation Act, or CBP can seize it. Ask for provenance before you bid.
Furniture under 100 years: Lacey Act and Section 232
Vintage and reproduction furniture is ordinary furniture at the border: a Lacey Act declaration of the wood's genus, species and country of harvest, normal duty with the EU Section 301 top-up, and the Section 232 tariff on upholstered wooden seating, capped at 15% all-in for EU goods. The 100-year line therefore decides whether a chair is duty-free or tariffed, and it is worth the evidence.
Wood packaging (ISPM-15)
Crates, pallets and bracing must be heat-treated or fumigated and stamped to ISPM-15. Non-compliant packing can be refused at entry and re-exported at the importer's cost.
Door-to-Door Import Service
We start from your purchase list: what each piece is, how old, what it is made of and what it cost. That tells us which pieces need a French export certificate, which need a CITES or Endangered Species Act check, and which enter duty-free. Our partner agents in France collect from dealers and auction houses, pack and crate, and load the container or arrange groupage or air.
On arrival, our licensed customs brokers file the entry with the inventory and evidence of age, and we deliver to your showroom, gallery, warehouse or client's home — white-glove and inside delivery where the pieces need it — or hold the shipment at a partner warehouse until you are ready.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there import duty on antiques from France?
Do I need an export license to ship antiques out of France?
Can I import antique furniture with ivory inlay into the US?
How much does it cost to ship a container of antiques from France to the US?
Antiques, Art & Furniture is just one example. AGF ships whatever your business moves — on this lane and beyond. If your commodity isn't covered by one of our guides, tell us what you ship and we'll build the logistics around it.
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