U.S. Customs and Border Protection January 13, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This final rule amends the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations to reflect the extension of import restrictions on certain archaeological material from the People's Republic of China (China) and makes a technical change to the regulations to clarify that the restriction to monumental sculpture and wall art at least 250 years old should be calculated as of January 14, 2009, the date the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) became effective. These restrictions, which were originally imposed by CBP Dec. 09-03, are due to expire on January 14, 2014, unless extended. The Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs, United States Department of State, has determined that conditions continue to warrant the imposition of import restrictions on the archaeological materials from China. Accordingly, the restrictions will remain in effect for an additional five years, and the CBP regulations are being amended to indicate this further extension through January 14, 2019. Additionally, the Designated List of cultural property described in CBP Dec. 09-03 is revised in this document to clarify that the agreement applies to monumental sculpture and wall art at least 250 years old as of January 14, 2009. These restrictions are being extended pursuant to determinations of the United States Department of State made under the terms of the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act in accordance with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. CBP Dec. 09-03 contains the Designated List of archaeological materials that describes the articles to which the restrictions apply.