Industry News

U.S. to Consider Extension of and Amendments to Cultural Property Agreements with Cyprus, Mali, and Guatemala.

Jan. 18, 2022


On January 6, 2021, the State Department issued notice that the Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) will meet at the end of this month to review extensions of and amendments to several cultural property agreements that the U.S. has entered into under the Cultural Property Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.) (CPIA), which is the domestic legislation implementing 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).

Cultural property agreements under the CPIA take the form of import restrictions and regulate what and how certain cultural property of the partnering country enters the U.S. The U.S. is permitted to enter into agreements to regulate cultural property imports of another country where CPAC has determined that the cultural property of the requesting country is in jeopardy from pillage and that the country has taken certain measures to protect the cultural property. 19 U.S.C. § 2602(a)(1). Agreements remain in effect for five years and may be extended and periodically amended. CPAC reviews any request for extension of or amendment to existing agreements under the same criteria.

Each agreement entered into under the CPIA is accompanied by a list of archaeological and ethnographic material that is subject to import restrictions. Customs will not allow listed material to enter the country without either documentation of lawful exportation or proof that the material at issue was in circulation outside of the purported origin country (or country who has the material listed) for at least ten years prior to the date of entry, or prior to the date the material became restricted under the agreement. Material that is not accompanied by such documentation or evidence is subject to seizure and forfeiture. Thus, the substance of U.S. cultural property agreements should be of the utmost concern to importers of cultural property as the material regulated thereunder received heightened scrutiny at the border. CPAC maintains an online database of historical and extant cultural property agreements and corresponding lists of materials covered.

Currently before CPAC, is the proposed extension and amendment of the cultural property agreement with the Government of the Republic of Cyprus (Cyprus), and the proposed extension and amendment of the cultural property agreement with the Government of the Republic of Mali (Mali). CPAC will also review the proposed extension of the cultural property agreement with the Government of the Republic of Guatemala (Guatemala).

The U.S. first entered into a cultural property agreement with Cyprus in 2002; the agreement has been extended and amended several times. The agreement currently in force took effect in 2017 and is set to expire July 2022. In its request for extension, Cyprus has also proposed amending the agreement to included additional categories of archaeological and ethnological material.

The agreement between the U.S. and Mali dates back to 1997 and has also been subject to numerous extensions and amendments. Like the request from Cyprus, the request for extension from Mali also proposes new categories of covered cultural material.

Details of the proposed amendments to the material currently covered by the U.S.-Cyprus and U.S.-Mali agreements have not been made public.

Guatemala’s request is limited to an extension of the agreement currently in effect (no amendments were proposed.)

The meeting consists of both a closed and open session. No registration is required to attend the open session. During the open session, which takes place Tuesday, January 25, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EST, CPAC will receive oral public comments on the proposed amendments and extensions. Anyone wishing to present oral public comments must request to be scheduled via email by January 18. Anyone wishing to submit written comments may do so using the regulations.gov website no later than January 18, 2022. Instructions on how to attend the open session may be found here.

For any questions on cultural property agreements and the import restrictions imposed thereunder, please contact an attorney at Barnes, Richardson & Colburn LLP.