Import Restrictions on Cultural Property of Nigeria

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Mar. 22, 2022

Last week, on March 17, 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a final rule affecting imports of Nigerian cultural property into the U.S.

    In late 2020, Nigeria requested the imposition of import restrictions pursuant to Article 9 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (The 1970 UNESCO Convention). The U.S. has implemented the 1970 UNESCO Convention with the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2602 (CPIA). Per the CPIA, the government of any foreign country that is a State Party to the 1970 UNESCO Convention may request a cultural property agreement to the U.S. Department of State. In granting such a request, the U.S. agrees to impose import restrictions on certain cultural material that has been demonstrated by the requesting country to be at risk of looting and illicit trafficking. The Department has delegated the authority to grant or deny requests for cultural property agreements to the Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC or the Committee). To grant a country’s request, CPAC must have made the following four determinations:

1. That the cultural patrimony of the State Party is in jeopardy from the pillage of archaeological or ethnological materials of the State Party;
2. That the State Party has taken measures consistent with the 1970 UNESCO Convention to protect its cultural patrimony;
3. That—

                i. the application of the import restrictions … would be of substantial benefit in deterring a serious situation of pillage, and
                ii. remedies less drastic than the application of the restrictions set forth in such section are not available; and

        4. That the application of the import restrictions in the particular circumstances is consistent with the general interest of the international community in the interchange of cultural property among nations for scientific, cultural, and educational purposes.

    After extensive review by the Committee, the U.S. entered into a bilateral agreement with Nigeria in January 2022 pursuant to the Cultural Property Implementation Act, 19 U.S.C. 2602(a)(2). The rule released last week details the list of materials that are covered by the import restrictions imposed under the agreement. Generally, Nigeria has sought protection for ethnological materials include metal staffs, leather masks, manuscripts, wood masks and figurines used in religious activities or of communal significance. The entirety of the list of Nigerian material subject to import restrictions can be found here.

    The import of the listed material is prohibited only to the extent that the importer cannot present to Customs either a certificate or documentation from Nigeria of lawful exportation, or other satisfactory evidence that the subject material was exported from the foreign country more than ten years before the date of entry or before the date on which the material became subject to import restrictions. Any material that is not accompanied by such documentation or evidence is subject to seizure and forfeiture and potential return to the country of origin under Section 310 of the CPIA.

    If you have questions concerning cultural material subject to import restriction at the U.S. border, please contact an attorney at Barnes, Richardson & Colburn LLP.